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Bernalillo County adopts South Kors corridor sector plan with lower density and height limits
Summary
After multiple hearings and public comment, the board adopted the South Kors sector plan, approving map reductions, higher design standards, a hybrid housing approach (duplexes/ADUs permissive; other multifamily conditional), a broad nine‑units‑per‑acre cap, and a two/three‑story height framework for corridor/activity centers.
The Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners adopted the South Kors (South Kores) corridor sector plan on March 11 with several substantive amendments intended to protect neighborhood character while allowing measured development.
Staff presented the plan revisions and a menu of options on housing types, density and building height. Planners proposed new neighborhood activity centers, clarified design standards (signage, fencing and lighting), and suggested allowing multifamily housing more permissively in walkable activity centers. After public comment and several commissioner motions, the board made three major policy choices:
1) Housing type: The board adopted a hybrid approach (option 3) that allows duplexes and secondary dwellings (ADUs) permissively, while larger multifamily developments (e.g., apartment complexes) will require conditional‑use approval. That preserves a pathway for housing while preserving local review for higher‑intensity projects.
2) Density: The commission elected to limit densities broadly to nine dwelling units per acre (option 1), lowering the plan’s initial permissive numbers in corridor and activity center zones. Two neighborhood activity centers near the city were discussed as potential exceptions during deliberation, but the adopted motion set nine units per acre as the general cap.
3) Height: The board chose a straightforward two/three‑story framework (three stories in activity centers; two stories elsewhere) rather than a complex overlay or 45‑degree rule exception. Staff retained a specific exception for the Lasansius community activity center, which already has greater height entitlements under prior approvals.
Other changes and the process The commission also adopted staff’s map reductions (removing some agricultural parcels and school campuses from the activity‑center boundaries at community request) and strengthened design standards: monument signs only (no pole signs), prohibitions on chain‑link or razor wire adjacent to roads or residential uses, lower lighting heights in most areas for dark‑sky compliance, and clarified conditions for contractor‑yard uses.
Several neighborhood groups — including Blake Road Neighborhood Association and the South Valley Coalition of Neighborhood Associations — urged limits on density and height and clearer lighting rules. Jerry Noble (Blake Road) urged adherence to the Southwest Area Plan and a two‑story preference. Commissioners said they worked to balance the plan’s housing goals with safety and neighborhood character.
What this means: The adopted sector plan narrows some of the staff’s earlier permissive entitlements in favor of local controls (conditional use for larger multifamily, a nine‑unit density cap) and raises design standards along the corridor. Staff will reconcile the plan narrative and the numeric limits to eliminate any textual inconsistencies and will draft final findings and conditions reflecting the board’s motions.
Next steps: Staff will prepare final findings and conditions and update the plan documents; the planning department will implement the new zoning framework and process any subsequent applications under the adopted rules.
