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Bernalillo adopts new water‑rights ordinance and amends fee schedule for water budgets
Summary
On July 8, 2024, the Town of Bernalillo adopted Ordinance 353, replacing prior local water‑rights rules and requiring water‑budget analyses for certain development. The council also passed a companion resolution to add water‑budget fees to the town fee schedule; the minutes attach the schedule but the minutes do not specify the exact application fee amount.
The Town of Bernalillo Governing Body voted unanimously July 8, 2024, to adopt Ordinance 353, titled the “Town of Bernalillo Water Rights Ordinance,” which repeals earlier local water‑rights rules and establishes procedures for acquiring and transferring water rights into the town’s water‑rights permit.
Planning and Zoning Director Stephanie Shumsky presented the ordinance at a public hearing, describing it as “an Ordinance Repealing Ordinance 231 Regarding the Transfer of Water Rights and repealing Ordinance 336, section 22, regarding the transfer of Water Rights in conjunction with land subdivision in the Town of Bernalillo and adopting this Ordinance regarding the acquisition and transfer of Water Rights in the Town of Bernalillo, Sandoval County, New Mexico.” The council approved the ordinance by roll call (Councilors Torres‑Quintana, Montoya, Prairie and Valverde voted yea).
Why it matters: the ordinance requires developers and certain new uses to submit a Water Budget and, when thresholds are met, to transfer or purchase water rights or credits for the Town to offset consumptive use. The ordinance sets specific thresholds and procedures, for example: a minimum transfer per residential lot in subdivisions of 0.2 acre‑feet per year (AFY) and a maximum 0.336 AFY per lot unless a water‑professional report justifies a lower number; a 1.5 AFY threshold for commercial and industrial uses that triggers water‑budget review and water‑rights transfer; and 0.12 AFY per multi‑family dwelling unit in new developments. The ordinance also prescribes enforcement (penalties up to $500 per day for violations) and an appeal route to the Town Council.
Companion fee resolution: the council also adopted Resolution 07/08/2024 to amend the town’s Fee Schedule so fees associated with preparation and review of Water Budgets are collected as part of the town’s established schedule. The adopted minutes include Exhibit A (the revised fee schedule) but do not clearly state a single numeric Water Budget Application fee for all project types; several budget‑related fee lines in the attached schedule appear in the record but are not clearly resolved in the minutes. The record therefore shows that a fee schedule was adopted but the transcript minutes mark the precise Water Budget Application fee amount as not specified in the meeting text.
What comes next: under the ordinance, applicants for subdivisions, new commercial or industrial uses, and certain multi‑family developments must submit a Water Budget and satisfy any required transfer of water rights before final plat approval, building permit sign‑off or issuance of a business registration. The ordinance instructs staff to monitor allocated water at the address annually and allows fee adjustments and administrative processing described in the resolution.
Authorities and scope: Ordinance 353 cites State enabling statutes (e.g., 3‑17‑1 NMSA 1978, 3‑20‑9‑1 NMSA 1978, 3‑27‑2 NMSA 1978 and 72‑1‑9 NMSA 1978) as legal bases for the town’s actions; the town’s Fee Schedule was amended by Resolution 07/08/2024 and is attached to the minutes as Exhibit A.
The Governing Body adopted both measures 4–0 (Mayor Torres was recorded absent).
