DT: Downtown Center (DT)
The area designated as the Downtown Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within the Downtown Center, the Downtown Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.EC: Employment Center (EC)
An area designated as an Employment Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within an Employment Center, the Employment Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.LC: Landmarks Commission (LC)
The City Landmarks Commission as created by Section 14-16-6-2(H) (Landmarks Commission) to review and recommend decisions about potential historic zones or landmarks.Lien: A statutory lien against land for the estimated cost of construction of required infrastructure or improvements by the applicant, Developer, or Subdivider, which is recorded and enforced in accordance with Article 3-36 NMSA 1978 or such other method prescribed by law.MS: Main Street Corridor Area (MS)
An area within 660 feet of the centerline of a Main Street Corridor, as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Main Street area, the Main Street regulations apply to the entire parcel.Sign: Any display to public view of letters, words, numerals, emblems, pictures, or any parts or combinations thereof designed to inform or advertise or promote merchandise, services, or activities except for the following:
1. Non-illuminated names of buildings, dates of erection, monument citations, commemorative tablets and the like when carved into stone, concrete, metal, or any other permanent type construction and made an integral part of a permitted structure or made flush to the ground.
2. Signs required by law or signs of a duly-constituted governmental body.
3. Signs placed by a public utility for the safety, welfare, or convenience of the public, such as signs identifying high voltage, public telephone, or underground cables.
4. Signs on a vehicle, provided that any such vehicle with a sign face of over 2 square feet is not conspicuously parked so as to constitute a sign; nothing herein prevents such a vehicle from being used for delivery or other vehicular purposes.
5. Temporary holiday decorations.
A back-to-back sign or V-shaped sign constitutes 1 sign if it employs a common set of supports. A composite group of signs integrated into 1 framed unit or compact structure constitutes 1 sign.UC: Urban Center
An area designated as an Urban Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within an Urban Center, the Urban Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Abut: To touch or share a property boundary.AC: Activity Center (AC)
An area designated as an Activity Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended, excluding Old Town. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within an Activity Center, the Activity Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Access: A way or means of approach to provide vehicular or pedestrian physical entrance to a property.Accessory Building: A building detached from and, except in the case of agricultural support buildings like barns in the R-A zone district, smaller than the primary building on the same lot. The use of an accessory building shall be subordinate and customarily incidental to the primary use of the lot. Accessory Dwelling Unit: A dwelling unit that is subordinate to a primary single-family or two-family dwelling or non-residential use. Accessory dwelling units may be attached to the primary dwelling, contained within the primary dwelling, or built as a detached building. When accessory to a non-residential use, an accessory dwelling unit serves as quarters for a caretaker. This IDO distinguishes between accessory dwelling units with and without a kitchen.
If a maximum size for accessory dwelling units is specified, a garage or shed attached to the accessory dwelling unit shall not count toward the size.Accessory Dwelling: A dwelling unit that is subordinate to a primary single-family or two-family dwelling or non-residential use. Accessory dwelling units may be attached to the primary dwelling, contained within the primary dwelling, or built as a detached building. When accessory to a non-residential use, an accessory dwelling unit serves as quarters for a caretaker. This IDO distinguishes between accessory dwelling units with and without a kitchen.
If a maximum size for accessory dwelling units is specified, a garage or shed attached to the accessory dwelling unit shall not count toward the size.Accessory Structure: A structure detached from a primary building, customarily used with and clearly incidental and subordinate to the primary building or use, and located on the same lot as such primary building. Including but not limited to swimming pools and shade structures such as covered patios, gazeboes, pergolas, ramadas, or similar roofed structures. Accessory Use: A land use that is subordinate in use, area, or purpose to a primary land use on the same lot or, in any Mixed-use or Non-residential zone district, the same premises. An accessory use may or may not be located in an accessory structure. For the purposes of this IDO, accessory uses are listed in Table 4-2-1, may have separate Use-specific Standards, or may be defined as incidental to another primary use. Acequia: An irrigation ditch operated and maintained by the MRGCD or a community acequia association. Activity Center: An area designated as an Activity Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended, excluding Old Town. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within an Activity Center, the Activity Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Adjacent: Abutting or separated only by a street, alley, trail, or utility easement, whether public or private. Adult Entertainment: An establishment such as an auditorium, bar, cabaret, concert hall, nightclub, restaurant, theater, or other commercial establishment, other than an adult retail establishment, that provides amusement or entertainment featuring 1 or more of the following:
1. A live performance, act, or escort service distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on the depiction, description, exposure, or representation of specified anatomical areas or the conduct or simulation of specified sexual activities.
2. Audio or video displays, computer displays, films, motion pictures, slides or other visual representations or recordings characterized or distinguished by an emphasis on the depiction, description, exposure or representation of specified anatomical areas or the conduct or simulation of specified sexual activities.
Adult entertainment is a primary use and may not be accessory to any other use.Adult or Child Day Care Facility: A facility other than an occupied residence that provides care for more than 12 individual adults or children during the day. This use does not include overnight care. Adult Retail: Any establishment where 25 percent or more of the gross floor area is used to sell or rent adult material, including but not limited to books, magazines, newspapers, films (video tapes and/or DVDs), slides, photographic or written material, and other items or devices that are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on the depiction, description, exposure, or representation of specified anatomical areas or the conduct or simulation of specified sexual activities. Adult retail is a primary use and may not be accessory to any other use. Agricultural Sales Stand: A structure for the retail sale of agricultural products raised on the same premises.Agriculture, General: Any use of land for the purposes of crops, grazing animals, orchards, trees or forest lands, and any other use pertaining to farming or agricultural research, including the raising of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and other farm animals for use or sale, and including all the types of structures normally associated with these uses, such as storage bins, barns, sheds, tool houses, greenhouses, garages, and any other use or facility ancillary to farming or open land. Airport: The area of land used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, passenger and cargo loading areas, and related uses.Alley: A public right-of-way, private way, or thoroughfare, or a part thereof primarily devoted to vehicular use and providing secondary access to abutting property or primary vehicular access to residential properties, minimizing or eliminating the need for driveway access to the street. For the purposes of this IDO, alleys are not considered streets. Allowable Use: A land use allowed in a particular zone district by Table 4-2-1 as a primary or accessory use, whether allowed permissively or conditionally.AMAFCA: Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA)
The political subdivision of the State of New Mexico established pursuant to Article 72-16 NMSA 1978 with specific responsibility for flooding problems in the greater Albuquerque area.Amendment: Any repeal, modification, or addition to a regulation; any new regulation; any change in the number, shape, boundary, or area of any zone district or Overlay zone; or any repeal or abolition of any map, part thereof, or addition thereto.Amphitheater: An outdoor, open-air area or structure suitable for musical or theatrical performances, performing arts, or sporting events with tiers of seats, benches, or berms with seating capacity for less than 1,000 people.Animal Keeping: The keeping of animals as allowed by Article 9-2 of ROA 1994 (Humane and Ethical Animal Rules and Treatment (HEART) Ordinance).Arcade: A street-facing façade with an attached colonnade. For the purposes of MX-FB zone district standards, balconies may overlap the sidewalk while the ground floor remains set at the lot line. This type is ideal for retail use, but only when the sidewalk is fully absorbed within the arcade so that a pedestrian cannot bypass it. An easement for private use of the right-of-way is usually required.Archaeological Resource: Material remains of past human activity and life that are of archaeological interest, including but not limited to pottery, basketry, bottles, weapon projectiles, tools, structures or portions of structures, pit houses, rock paintings, rock carvings, intaglios, graves, human skeletal materials, or any portion or piece of any of the foregoing items. Non-fossilized and fossilized paleontological specimens, or any portion or piece thereof, shall not be considered archaeological resources unless found in an archaeological context. No item shall be treated as an archaeological resource unless such item is at least 75 years old. Material remains that are structures may be considered for further review and protection as a landmark site or structure.Architecturally Integrated: A WTF that is camouflaged into the structure on which it is located by means of color, texturing, architectural treatment, massing, size, design, and/or shape. An architecturally integrated WTF is a concealed facility.Area of Change: An area designated as an Area of Change in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan (ABC Comp Plan), as amended, where growth and development is encouraged, primarily in Centers other than Old Town, Corridors other than Commuter Corridors, Master Development Plan areas, planned communities, and Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas.Area of Consistency: An area designated as an Area of Consistency in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan (ABC Comp Plan), as amended, where development must reinforce the character and intensity of existing development.Areas of Change: Areas designated Area of Change in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan (ABC Comp Plan), as amended, where growth and development is encouraged, primarily in Centers other than Old Town, Corridors other than Commuter Corridors, Master Development Plan areas, planned communities, and Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas.Areas of Consistency: Areas designated Area of Consistency in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan (ABC Comp Plan), as amended, where development must reinforce the character and intensity of existing development.Art Gallery: A building, room, or series of rooms where works of art are exhibited for display or sale. Artisan Manufacturing: Small-scale manufacturing and related processes or activities – including but not limited to application, assembling, compounding, design, fabrication, growing, making, packaging, processing, sculpting, teaching, treating of crafts or products, or welding – often by an artist, artisan, or craftsperson working with ceramic, clay, electronics, metal, paper, plastic, stone, textiles, wood, or similar materials either by hand or with minimal automation or technology, including but not limited to 3D printing. This use includes incidental storage and direct sales to consumers. This use also includes the production of beer, wine, or spirits associated with an approved Small Brewer’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-26.1 NMSA 1978, an approved Winegrower’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978, or an approved Craft Distiller’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-6.1 NMSA 1978. Annual production shall be limited by state statute.Assisted Living Facility: An establishment containing a combination of housing, supportive services, personalized assistance, and health care services designed to respond to the individual needs of those who need help with activities of daily living or memory care services, but not including skilled nursing care. Such facilities may include separate bedrooms or living quarters, a central or private kitchen, dining, recreational, and other residential accessory uses. Auditorium: A hall or seating area, generally enclosed, where an audience views a musical or theatrical performance, concert, sporting, or other entertainment event, including but not limited to a conference center. Automated Teller Machine (ATM): Automated Teller Machine (ATM)
An electronically operated device used to conduct financial transactions on-site by means of direct computerized access. Bail Bond Business: Any business requiring licensure under Part 13.20.2 NMAC, including any person, agency, or corporation that acts as a surety and pledges money or property as bail for the appearance of persons accused in court. For the purposes of this IDO, bail bond businesses are treated as a personal and business services use.Bakery or Confectionary Shop: A facility for the production and sale of baked goods and confectioneries, primarily for retail sales to customers of the facility. Accessory sales to off-site customers is allowed. Bank: An establishment that provides retail banking, mortgage lending, and financial services to individuals and businesses, including check-cashing facilities. A Small Loan Business is considered a bank for the purposes of this IDO.Bar: An establishment having as its primary or predominant uses the serving of beer, wine, or liquor for consumption on the premises, but that does not meet the definition for Tap Room or Tasting Room.Bed and Breakfast: A single-family dwelling with no more than 8 guest rooms that are rented for short-term overnight lodging with breakfast served; some or all guest rooms may be in accessory buildings. Provision of alcoholic beverages is controlled by the New Mexico State statutes for “Bed and breakfast” as governed by Section 60-6A-34 NMSA 1978. Bedroom: Any room in a dwelling that is partitioned by walls and doors, other than the following: one kitchen, one room that may be designated as a living room, one room that may be designated as a dining room or family room, and any number of baths, foyers, corridors, and closets (all as defined Articles 14-1 and 14-3 of ROA 1994 (Uniform Administrative Code and Uniform Housing Code). Rooms greater than 100 square feet may not be considered closets for the purposes of this definition.Bikeway: Any street or trail that is specifically designated for bicycle travel, regardless of whether such facility is designated for the exclusive use of bicycles or is to be shared with other transportation modes.BioPark: City-owned facilities managed by Cultural Services and regulated by a Master Plan, including the ABQ BioPark Zoo, Botanic Garden, Aquarium, and Tingley Beach. Zoned NR-PO-D in the IDO.Blood Services Facility: An establishment that collects whole blood for transfusion or further processing; collects plasma for further processing; or uses plasmapheresis, plateletpheresis, or lenkapheresis processes for removal of blood from a donor. This does not apply to hospitals for human beings, laboratories for collection of personal blood samples, or temporary blood drives.Boat: A vehicle, not exceeding 30 feet in body length, 8 feet in width, or 11 feet in overall height, for traveling in or on water. Height includes the trailer, if the boat is mounted on a trailer.Buffering: A required piece of land in a specific location used to physically separate or screen one land use or piece of property from another and landscaped with at least the minimum requirements specified in this IDO.Building: An independent, fully enclosed structure with a roof supported by columns or walls resting on its own foundations that is built and maintained for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, or property of any kind. A detached building is one separated on all sides from adjacent buildings by open spaces from the ground up. Building and Home Improvement Materials Store: An establishment having a gross floor area greater than 50,000 square feet primarily engaged in retailing a general line of new home repair and improvement materials and supplies, such as lumber, plumbing goods, electrical goods, tools, house wares, hardware and lawn and garden supplies, with the merchandise lines normally arranged in separate departments, with or without central customer checkout. This use includes the sale of plants and garden supplies in outdoor areas and incidental outdoor storage. Building Coverage: The percentage of a lot that is covered by building footprints.Building Height: The vertical distance above the grade at each façade of the building, considered separately, to the top of the coping or parapet on a flat roof, whichever is higher; to the deck line of a mansard roof; or to the average height between the plate and the ridge of a hip, gable, shed, or gambrel roof. The height of a stepped or sloped building is the maximum height above grade of any distinct segment of the building that constitutes at least 10 percent of the gross floor area of the building.Building Mounted Sign: A sign entirely supported by or through a building, including canopy sign, marquee sign, projecting sign, rooftop sign, or wall sign.Bulk Land Subdivision: Any subdivision of property that is primarily intended to facilitate transfer to intermediate land holders, not to create parcels available for development without further subdivision approvals, and that conforms to DRB interpretive rules.Business: A legal entity operating an enterprise in a space separate from any other enterprise.Business Days: For deadlines, a period of days that does not include weekends or holidays listed in Part 3-1-12 of ROA 1994 (Legal Holidays). Campground or Recreational Vehicle Park: A lot developed or used for occupancy by tents and or recreational vehicles for transient dwelling purposes. A campground/recreational vehicle park may include recreational services, facilities, and activities for use by the public and residents to provide comprehensive livability options.Canopy: A roof-like decorative feature projecting from the exterior of a building that may serve as a shelter from the sun, rain, or wind. A tree canopy includes the area beneath a tree’s dripline.Canopy Sign: A type of building-mounted sign mounted on or under a permanent canopy, arcade, or portal. Signs on a freestanding roofed structure, such as a canopy for a vehicle fueling station, are considered wall signs for the purposes of this IDO.Car Wash: A building, or portion of a building, containing facilities for the primary purpose of washing automobiles using production line methods with a chain conveyor, blower, steam cleaning device, or other mechanical devices or providing space, water, equipment, or soap for the complete or partial hand-washing of such automobiles, whether by operator or by customer.Catering Service: An establishment whose primary business is to prepare food on-site, then to transport and serve the food off-site. No retail sale of food or beverages for consumption on the premises is allowed.Centers and Corridors: Areas designated Centers in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended and areas within a specified distance of the centerline of a Corridor or within a specified distance of a transit station on a Premium Transit Corridor, as designated in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Center or Corridor area, the relevant Center or Corridor regulations apply to the entire parcel. Provisions in this IDO related to Centers and Corridors do not apply to the Old Town Center or Commuter Corridors.Certificate of Appropriateness: Written authorization required for alteration, demolition, or new construction in certain zones as provided for in Subsections 14-16-6-5(D) (Historic Certificate of Appropriateness – Minor) or 14-16-6-6(D) (Historic Certificate of Appropriateness – Major).Characteristic Building: A building in the Nob Hill/Highland – CPO-8 zone that exemplifies historic commercial architecture as identified on the map in Section 14-16-3-4(I).Chief Building Official: A City employee in the City Planning Department responsible for enforcing Articles 14-1 and 14-3 of ROA 1994 (Uniform Administrative Code and Uniform Housing Code) and managing the operations of the Building Safety Division of the City Planning Department, including issuing building and demolition permits, performing building inspections, and coordinating with other divisions and departments to help maintain a safe and habitable built environment.Chile Ristra: A string or cord on which natural, unadorned chile peppers are threaded or tied and hung for display.Circus: A travelling enterprise that features feats of physical skill and daring, wild animal acts, and performances by clowns.City: Capitalized, this refers to the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico local government. Uncapitalized, this refers to the geographic area defined by the City of Albuquerque municipal boundary.City Archaeologist: A City employee, or person contracted by the City, who reviews sites for archaeological significance, as described in Section 14-16-6-5(A) (Archaeological Certificate).City Engineer: A City employee who is a professional engineer registered by the State of New Mexico and designated as the City Engineer, including his/her designee, who is also a professional engineer registered by the State of New Mexico.Clear Sight Triangle: An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections at least 3 feet and no more than 8 feet above the gutter line and within a triangular area at the street corner or driveway, regulated by the DPM.Club: An organization, including but not limited to a lodge, catering exclusively to members and their guests for social, intellectual, recreational, or athletic purposes that are not conducted for profit.Club or Event Facility: A publicly or privately owned building devoted to the assembly of people for social, professional, or recreational activities such as meetings, weddings, or conferences. Cluster Development: A development type that concentrates single-family or two-family dwellings on smaller lots than would otherwise be allowed in the zone district in return for the preservation of common open space within the same site, on a separate lot, or in an easement.Cluster Development Design: A design technique that concentrates buildings in specific areas on a site to allow the remaining land to be used for recreation, open space, or preservation of sensitive lands. Collector: A street so designated in the Long Range Transportation System (LRTS) Guide, or a logical geographic extension of that street, as determined by the City Engineer. A collector street carries traffic from local streets to the principal and minor arterial streets. Traffic volumes are substantial but smaller than normally served by minor arterial streets.Co-location: The location of more than one WTF at a single location and/or using the same structure, not including a public utility structure, for mounting wireless telecommunications antennas by more than one provider of wireless telecommunications services. Commercial Services: Any activity involving the provision of services carried out for profit, generally for a business customer and not an individual buyer, including but not limited to upholstering, welding, laundry, printing, or publishing, that is not listed separately as a distinct use in Table 4-2-1.Common Open Space: The area of undeveloped land within a cluster development that is set aside for the use and enjoyment by the owners and occupants of the dwellings in the development and includes agriculture, landscaping, on-site ponding, or outdoor recreation uses. The common open space is a separate lot or easement on the subdivision plat of the cluster development. Community Center: A public building or facility operated for meeting, social, cultural, educational, or recreational purposes, including but not limited to multigenerational and senior centers. Community Garden: A private or public facility for cultivation of fruits, flowers, vegetables, or ornamental plants by more than one person or family as a primary use of land.Community Residential Facility: Any building, structure, home, or facility in which persons reside for a period of more than 24 hours and that is designed to help the residents adjust to the community and society and is used or intended to be used for the purposes of letting rooms, providing meals, and/or providing personal assistance, personal services, personal care, and protective care, but not skilled nursing care. This use specifically includes, but is not limited to, facilities for persons meeting the definition of a handicapped person or for other persons protected against housing discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1998 (or as amended) and court decisions interpreting that Act. For purposes of this definition, the term handicapped does not include persons currently using or addicted to alcohol or controlled substances who are not in a recognized recovery program. This use shall not include half-way houses for individuals in the criminal justice system or residential facilities to divert persons from the criminal justice system.
Community Residential Facility is divided into 3 categories based on the number of individuals residing in the facility (not the size of the structure).
1. Community Residential Facility, Small: A facility in which personal service, personal assistance, personal care, and/or protective care are provided to no more than 8 individuals, except those foster family homes licensed by child-placing agencies.
2. Community Residential Facility, Medium: A facility in which personal service, personal assistance, personal care, and/or protective care are provided to between 9 and 18 individuals, except those foster family homes licensed by child-placing agencies.
3. Community Residential Facility, Large: A facility in which personal service, personal assistance, personal care, and/or protective care are provided to 19 or more individuals.Concealed: As further prescribed in Subsection 14-16-4-3(E)(10)(a), a WTF that is aesthetically integrated or otherwise consistent with surrounding existing buildings, structures, and landscaping, including height, color, style, massing, placement, design, and shape, and that does not visually stand out as a WTF. A face-mounted antenna that is painted to match the façade, but has no other design elements that conceal the antenna, remains readily visible to the naked eye and is not considered a concealed facility.Conditional: A land use that is allowable in a particular zone district subject to conditional approval by the ZHE based on a review of the potential adverse impacts of the use and any appropriate mitigations to minimize those impacts on nearby properties. Table 4-2-1 indicates whether a particular conditional use is primary (listed as C) or accessory (listed as CA) or allowed conditionally in a primary building that has been vacant for a specified amount of time (listed as CV).Consecutive Days: For deadlines, a period of days that includes business days, weekends, and holidays listed in Part 3-1-12 of ROA 1994 (Legal Holidays), unless specified otherwise. If the final day falls on a weekend or a holiday, the period ends on the following business day. Construction Contractor Facility and Yard: A building and related outdoor areas used to store and maintain construction equipment and materials, including but not limited to plumbing, electrical, carpentry, roofing, landscaping, and facilities customarily required in the building trade by a construction contractor. Construction Staging Area, Trailer, or Office: A temporary building or structure used as a construction office or outdoor storage area for equipment and materials for a project located on the same site during its construction.Convertible Parking Structure: A structure or part of a structure designed to accommodate vehicle parking spaces that has a fully enclosed ground level with no ramping on any ground floor street-facing façade so that the ground floor can be adapted to commercial, residential, or office uses. Corner Lot: A lot located at the intersection of and having frontage on 2 or more streets.Correctional Facility: A facility to house persons awaiting trial or persons serving a sentence after being found guilty of committing a crime. This use includes a prison, jail, and adult or juvenile detention center.Cottage Development: A shared-interest low-density residential community in which multiple small individual dwellings are served by shared private ways or infrastructure, and in which the development intensity is measured by the amount of gross floor area in residential dwelling units rather than the number of residential dwelling units. A cottage development may include a combination of dwelling units with shared facilities, including but not limited to open space, parking lots or carports, gardens, recreation areas, community building(s) with facilities such as a kitchen and dining area, meeting and activity spaces, and a maximum of 1 guest room.Council: The governing body of the City and the land use and zoning authority empowered by the state through home rule. The City Council makes discretionary, policy, and regulatory decisions for City-owned property and private property within the city’s municipal boundaries.County: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, unless the context clearly indicates that another county is intended.Courtyard Wall: Wall that is not on the lot line that encloses an outdoor space to form an outdoor courtyard.Crematorium: An establishment that burns dead bodies of humans and/or animals.Cul-de-sac: A short street intersecting another street at one end and terminating at the other end, normally with a vehicular turnaround.Curb Cut: Any break in a curb that facilitates access to or from a street, alley, or driveway.Daytime Gathering Facility: A premises used to provide social services to those in need, for no fee or compensation, or at a fee recognized as being significantly less than charged by for-profit organizations. Services may include, but are not limited to, information and referral services; ambulatory medical services; counseling; skill development; aid through the provision of food or clothing; life skill and personal development programs; alcohol, drug, or substance abuse counseling; and drop-in or activity space.Demolition Permit: The permit issued by the City for the demolition of a structure, excluding a permit issued solely for the demolition of the interior of a structure.Developer: Any individual, corporation, company, firm, partnership, joint venture, or other entity responsible for land platting and/or construction or placement of any structures or infrastructure within the boundaries of the city. If the property owner has engaged a representative to act as his/her agent, the agent must possess a legally binding agreement with the property owner in order to act in the property owner's behalf with regard to the development of the project.Development: Any activity that alters the ground on a property. Development may include construction of buildings, structures, or streets; installation of landscaping, infrastructure, utilities, or site features; and/or activities to prepare land for such construction or installation, such as grading. For the purposes of the IDO, this term includes new development and redevelopment on existing lots.Deviation: An exception to dimensional standards that can be granted administratively by City Planning Department staff or by the DRB within thresholds and based on criteria established by the IDO.Dispatch Center: A facility from which vehicles for couriers, deliveries, security, locksmiths, taxis, senior services, meals-on-wheels, or similar services are dispatched. Accessory uses may include, but are not limited to, administrative offices and vehicle washing facilities.Downtown Center: The area designated as the Downtown Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within the Downtown Center, the Downtown Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.DPM: Development Process Manual (DPM)
A compilation of City requirements related to design criteria, technical and engineering standards, and procedures for the processing of development proposals within the City's jurisdiction, particularly relating to public rights-of-way.Drainage Plan: Drainage Plan
See definition in the DPM.Drainage Report: Drainage Report
See definition in the DPM.DRB: Development Review Board (DRB)
A 6-member board made up of City and Agency staff, as described in Section 14-16-6-2(D) (Development Review Board), that makes decisions about development in the city based on zoning and technical standards.Drive Aisle: A private, unenclosed accessway with a stabilized surface allowing vehicular access either to individual buildings or to parking space(s) within parking lots. In the case of single-family attached and multi-family dwellings, a drive aisle is an accessway shared by the residents and guests of 2 or more dwellings.Drive-in Theater: An establishment including a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, and a large parking area for automobiles from which films projected outdoors may be seen. Accessory uses may include a concession stand. Drive-through: Facilities associated with a primary use, including but not limited to banks, financial institutions, restaurants, dry cleaners, and drug stores, but not including car washes or light vehicle fueling, to offer goods and services directly to customers waiting in motor vehicles. Driveway: An unobstructed area with a stabilized surface leading from the street to a garage or other allowed off-street parking area.DT: Downtown Center (DT)
The area designated as the Downtown Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within the Downtown Center, the Downtown Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Dwelling Unit: Unless specified otherwise in this IDO, one or more connected rooms and a kitchen designed for and occupied by no more than one family for living and sleeping purposes, permanently installed on a permanent foundation and meeting the requirements of Articles 14-1 and 14-3 of ROA 1994 (Uniform Administrative Code and Uniform Housing Code), as of the date of the unit's construction.Dwelling Unit, Accessory: A dwelling unit that is subordinate to a primary single-family or two-family dwelling or non-residential use. Accessory dwelling units may be attached to the primary dwelling, contained within the primary dwelling, or built as a detached building. When accessory to a non-residential use, an accessory dwelling unit serves as quarters for a caretaker. This IDO distinguishes between accessory dwelling units with and without a kitchen.
If a maximum size for accessory dwelling units is specified, a garage or shed attached to the accessory dwelling unit shall not count toward the size.Dwelling, Temporary: A portable dwelling, not attached to a permanent foundation, for use during temporary events or construction periods.Easement: A legal right to use another’s land for a specific, limited purpose, typically within private ways. The purpose may include, but is not limited to, installing and maintaining stormwater drainage, water and sanitary sewer lines, fire hydrants, landscaping, and other infrastructure improvements. Easements may also be granted for open space, view protection, or other specific uses.Electric Utility: A facility used or designed to provide electricity services to the city or part of the city that is regulated as a public utility by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and that is included in the Facility Plan for Electric System Transmission and Generation, as amended.Electric Vehicle Charging Station: A facility or area where electric-powered or hybrid-powered motor vehicles can obtain electrical current to recharge batteries and that is accessory to a primary use of the property. This use can be incidental to any allowable use in any zone district.Electromagnetic Interference: Disturbance caused by intruding signals or electrical current.Electronic Sign: A sign that is internally lit to display messages and images that are changed electronically. The lit sign area may be of various types, including but not limited to flat screen, active display matrix, or a board with a single or multiple lines of text or graphics. The light source may vary but is typically Light Emitting Diodes (LED).Employment Center: An area designated as an Employment Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within an Employment Center, the Employment Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.EPC: A 9-member commission appointed by the Mayor, as described in Section 14-16-6-2(E) (Environmental Planning Commission), that makes discretionary and policy decisions and recommendations about land use in the city.Equestrian Facility: A facility where horses, mules, or ponies are hired, bred, shown, or boarded including accessory stables or exercise areas. Equestrian facilities are often for the display of equestrian skills and the hosting of events, including but not limited to show jumping, dressage, and similar events of other equestrian disciplines.Escarpment: Land with 9 percent slope or more and considered sensitive land, where development is discouraged. The Northwest Mesa Escarpment is part of the Petroglyph National Monument, which is also designated as Major Public Open Space.Establishment: A place of business, industry, institutional, or philanthropic activity, with its furnishings and staff.Existing Vertical Structure: Any tower or other vertical structure that was constructed in accordance with a building permit.Exterior Appearance: The visual character of all outside surfaces of a structure, including the kind and texture of the signs, light fixtures, steps, or appurtenant elements.Extraordinary Facilities: Facilities within Major Public Open Space other than trails, fencing, signs, incidental parking lots, access roads, and infrastructure not visible on the surface that are primarily for facilitating recreation, relaxation, and enjoyment of the outdoors and that require additional review by the Open Space Advisory Board and EPC per the Facility Plan for Major Public Open Space. Extraordinary Facilities may include utility structures, Wireless Telecommunications Facilities, or buildings.Extraordinary Facility: A facility within Major Public Open Space other than a trail, fence, sign, incidental parking lot, access road, or infrastructure not visible on the surface that is primarily for facilitating recreation, relaxation, and enjoyment of the outdoors and that requires additional review by the Open Space Advisory Board and EPC per the Facility Plan for Major Public Open Space. Extraordinary Facilities may include utility structures, Wireless Telecommunications Facilities, or buildings.Face-mounted: An antenna attached to and covering a small portion of the surface of a building. Face-mounted WTF antennas are considered unconcealed and are not allowed. Existing face-mounted WTFs are regulated as Nonconforming uses.Facility Plan: A City plan that is specialized in subject matter. Facility Plans normally cover only one type of utility or public facility, such as electric facilities or Major Public Open Space. Such plans address the entire metropolitan area or city, or at least a major part of it. These Rank 2 plans specify important development standards, as well as general site locations and multi-year programs for facility capital improvements.Fair, Festival, or Theatrical Performance: An organized event or set of events, including but not limited to musical performances and plays, usually happening in one place for a designated period of time with its own social activities, food, or ceremonies and accessory sales of retail goods.Fairgrounds: An area where outdoor fairs, circuses, or exhibitions are held.Family: Any of the following:
1. An individual.
2. Two (2) or more persons related by blood, marriage, legal guardianship, or adoption, plus household staff.
3. Any group of not more than 5 persons living together in a dwelling.
4. Any group of 5 persons or more that has a right to live together pursuant to the federal Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988 (or as amended), as interpreted by the courts.Family Care Facility: An occupied dwelling used for 24-hour care of 1 or 2 residents who are not relatives of the resident family and not under court ordered guardianship of a member of the resident family. This type of facility must be licensed as a Family Care Home by the state and provide services as outlined for Adult Residential Shelter Care or Board and Care Homes in New Mexico Health and Environment Department regulations.Family Home Daycare: An occupied dwelling in which a person provides, for remuneration, care for at least 4 but not more than 12 children on a regular basis for less than 24 hours per day. The resident provider's children who are age 6 or more shall not be counted for this definition.Farmers Market: An occasional or periodic market held in a designated area where groups of individual sellers offer for sale to the public items such as fresh produce, seasonal fruits, fresh flowers, arts and crafts items, and food and beverages dispensed from booths located on-site.Final Plat: The completed subdivision plat in a form for approval and recording.Fire Station: A public facility where fire engines and other equipment are housed and from which calls for emergency fire responses are handled.Flood Fringe: The area between the floodway and the boundary of the 100-year flood.
The City’s flood protection regulations are included in Article 14-5 of ROA 1994 (Flood Hazard and Drainage Control). If there is a conflict between these general definitions and the definitions in Article 14-5, the definitions in Article 14-5 shall prevail.Floodplain: Any land susceptible to being inundated by water from any source.
The City’s flood protection regulations are included in Article 14-5 of ROA 1994 (Flood Hazard and Drainage Control). If there is a conflict between these general definitions and the definitions in Article 14-5, the definitions in Article 14-5 shall prevail.Floodway: The channel of a river, arroyo, or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood.
The City’s flood protection regulations are included in Article 14-5 of ROA 1994 (Flood Hazard and Drainage Control). If there is a conflict between these general definitions and the definitions in Article 14-5, the definitions in Article 14-5 shall prevail.Foot Candle: A unit of illumination of a surface that is equal to one lumen per square foot. For the purposes of this IDO, foot candles shall be measured at a height of 3 feet above finished grade by a digital light meter.Foot Lambert: A unit of luminance equal to 1/π candela per square foot or 3.426 candela per square meter. 200 foot lamberts = 685 nits.Forecourt: A building frontage type in the MX-FB zone district where the street-facing façade is aligned with the front lot line, with a portion of the building set back. A fence or wall at the property line may be used to define the private space of the court. Gardens and vehicular drop-off areas are allowed within the forecourt.Framework Plan: A plan that accompanies applications for the creation of a PC zone district that describes, in general terms and without engineering level detail, proposed land uses (based on definitions in this IDO); proposed maximum and minimum intensities of development for each development phase or area; and the location, size, alignment, and connectivity of proposed automobile, bicycle, and pedestrian circulation systems; open space and/or wildlife habitat systems; and storm drainage systems and facilities.Fraternity or Sorority: A building rented, occupied, or owned by a national or local chapter of a fraternity or sorority that is officially recognized by a college, university, or other educational institution as a residence for students at that college, university, or other educational institution.Freestanding Sign: A sign attached to or supported from the ground and not attached to a building. Signs on walls or fences that are not an integral part of a building are considered freestanding signs. Freestanding signs do not include portable signs. Monument and Pole Signs are considered freestanding.Freestanding WTF: A WTF, other than a public utility co-location, that consists of a standalone support structure, antennas, and associated equipment. The support structure may be a wooden pole, steel monopole, lattice tower, or similar structure.Freight Terminal: A property or building used primarily for the temporary parking of trucks of common or contract carriers during loading or unloading and for receiving and dispatch of freight vehicles, including necessary warehouse space for storage of transitory freight. Incidental uses may include, but are not limited to, a truck wash and loading and unloading from rail spurs.Front Faade: The street-facing façade that is parallel to and closest to the front lot line and that typically contains the front door or primary pedestrian entrance.Front Lot Line: A legal boundary of a lot bordering on a street. For the purpose of determining setback requirements on a corner lot, the side with the street number address is the front lot line. For a through lot, the property owner may designate which of the 2 lot lines is the front lot line.Front Yard: The part of a lot from the front lot line to any front façade of the primary building, extended to both side lot lines.Game Arcade: Any commercial building in which there are more than 3 amusement game machines on the premises that are available to the public. An arcade may contain commercial recreational machines or games otherwise allowed in the state of New Mexico (beyond amusement game machines).Garage: A structure or part of a structure designed to accommodate vehicle parking spaces that are fully or partially enclosed, but not including a parking structure. Garages are typically associated with residential development. For the purposes of this IDO, the terms two- or three-car garages refer to the garage width, assuming side-by-side parking, not tandem parking.Garage or Yard Sale: The occasional sale of household goods from a residential premises to the public, but not including the sale of new or used commercial goods not previously used as household goods by the individuals conducting the sale or goods purchased by the household specifically for resale.Garden: An area of land managed and maintained as an accessory use of land to cultivate fruits, flowers, vegetables, or ornamental plants for personal or group use, consumption, or donation.General Agriculture: Any use of land for the purposes of crops, grazing animals, orchards, trees or forest lands, and any other use pertaining to farming or agricultural research, including the raising of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and other farm animals for use or sale, and including all the types of structures normally associated with these uses, such as storage bins, barns, sheds, tool houses, greenhouses, garages, and any other use or facility ancillary to farming or open land. General Retail: An establishment providing for the retail sale of general merchandise or food to the general public for direct use and not for wholesale; including but not limited to sale of general merchandise, clothing and other apparel, flowers and household plants that are not grown on-site, dry goods, convenience and specialty foods, hardware and similar consumer goods, or other retail sales not listed as a separate use in Table 4-2-1.
General retail is divided into 3 categories based on the size of the establishment or use (not the size of the structure):
1. General Retail, Small: An establishment with no more than 10,000 square feet of gross floor area.
2. General Retail, Medium: An establishment of more than 10,000 square feet of gross floor area and no more than 50,000 square feet of gross floor area.
3. General Retail, Large: An establishment of more than 50,000 square feet of gross floor area.Geothermal Energy: The use of land area for equipment for the conversion of natural geothermal energy into energy.GFA: Gross Floor Area (GFA)
The total floor area, including basements, garages, mezzanines, and upper floors, if any, expressed in square feet measured from the outside surface of exterior walls.Glare: The sensation produced by brightness within the field of vision that is sufficiently greater than the light level to which the eyes are adapted to cause annoyance, discomfort, or loss in visual performance and visibility.Golf Course: A tract of land laid out with a course for playing the game of golf, including any accessory clubhouse, driving range, office, restaurant, concession stand, picnic tables, pro shop, maintenance building, shelters, restroom facility, or similar accessory use or structure. The facility may also include public trails private trails, and golf cart paths.Grade: 1. The average of the approved ground levels immediately adjacent to each façade of a building, considered separately; where an earth embankment is placed against the side of a building or a retaining wall supporting a terrace is placed close to a building, grade shall be measured from the toe, or bottom, of the embankment or retaining wall; building floor level is irrelevant.
2. The elevation of the finished, approved ground level at all points along a wall or fence.
Approved grade shall be no higher than the specified elevation on the grading plan approved by the City in conjunction with subdivision or site development plan approval; in the absence of such approved plans, original natural grade applies.Grocery Store: An establishment that sells a wide variety of goods organized in departments, including but not limited to fresh produce, meat and dairy, canned and packaged food items, small household goods, and similar items, with more than 50 percent of the gross floor area devoted to the sale of food products for home preparation and consumption.Gross Floor Area: The total floor area, including basements, garages, mezzanines, and upper floors, if any, expressed in square feet measured from the outside surface of exterior walls.Ground Floor Commercial Bonus: A building height bonus that provides an additional 12 feet of building height, unless specified otherwise in this IDO, for a development in which at least 50 percent of the ground floor street-facing façade includes uses in the Commercial use category per Table 4-2-1. Building height bonuses are in exchange for a certain type of development that has a civic benefit.Ground Floor Height: The vertical distance of the interior of a ground floor, measured from the slab or sub-floor to the bottom of the roof or second floor structure.Group Home: Any building, structure, home, facility, or place in which persons reside for a period of more than 24 hours designed to help the residents adjust to the community and society and that is intended to be used for the purposes of letting rooms, providing meals, and/or providing personal assistance, personal services, personal care, and protective care to persons that do not meet the definition of a handicapped person or another person protected against housing discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988 (as amended) and court decisions interpreting that Act, but not skilled nursing care. Supportive housing facilities are considered group homes for the purpose of this IDO.
Group Home is divided into 3 categories based on the number of individuals residing in the facility (not the size of the structure).
1. Group Home, Small: A facility housing no more than 8 unrelated individuals receiving services, plus those providing services.
2. Group Home, Medium: A facility housing between 9 and 18 unrelated individuals receiving services, plus those providing services.
3. Group Home, Large: A facility housing 19 or more unrelated individuals receiving services, plus those providing services.Health Club or Gym: A non-medical service establishment intended to maintain or improve the physical condition of persons that contains exercise and game equipment and facilities, steam baths and saunas, or similar equipment and facilities.Heavy Manufacturing: The assembly, fabrication, or processing of goods and materials using processes that ordinarily have greater than average impacts on the environment or that ordinarily have significant impacts on the use and enjoyment of other properties in terms of noise, smoke, fumes, odors, glare, or health or safety hazards. This use includes, but is not limited to, concrete or cement products manufacturing (excluding batch plant) or processing of stone (e.g. granite fabricators). Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use. This use does not include any activity that meets the definition of special manufacturing.Heavy Vehicle and Equipment Sales, Rental, Fueling, and Repair: A facility that is engaged in the sales, fueling, rental, and/or repair of heavy vehicles and equipment typically used in agricultural, transit, commercial, or industrial operations, including but not limited to tractors, vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or greater, semi-trucks and/or trailers, buses, harvesters, loaders, and all tracked vehicles. Sales of parts, whether new or used, for heavy equipment and vehicles, and incidental storage of vehicles related to sales, rental, fueling, and repair are included in this use.Helipad: An area of land or structural surface created for and used for the landing and takeoff of helicopters or similar vertical lift aircraft, including but not limited to medical and law-enforcement helipads.Historic Sign: A sign that is listed or determined to be eligible for listing in the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties either individually or as a contributing part of a property or a sign that contributes to the historic character of a designated City landmark.Home Occupation: An activity that is carried on for commercial or philanthropic purposes on the same lot as a dwelling unit where the operator of the home occupation resides and that is clearly secondary to that dwelling.Hospital: An establishment that provides diagnosis and treatment, both surgical and nonsurgical, for patients who have any of a variety of medical conditions through an organized medical staff and permanent facilities that include inpatient beds, medical services, and continuous licensed professional nursing services. This definition includes any facility licensed by the state as a general, limited, or special hospital.Hotel or Motel: A building or a group of buildings in which sleeping accommodations are offered to the public and intended primarily for rental for temporary occupancy by persons on an overnight basis, not including Bed and Breakfast establishments, which are regulated separately per this IDO.IIA: Infrastructure Improvements Agreement (IIA)
An agreement entered into between the City and a subdivider by which the subdivider agrees to assure construction of required infrastructure improvements.Illuminated Sign: Any sign that is directly lighted by any on-premises electrical light source, internal or external, except light sources specifically and clearly operated for the purpose of lighting the general area in which the sign is located rather than upon the sign itself, including but not limited to luminous tubing signs such as neon signs. All electronic signs are illuminated signs.Independent Living Facility: Multi-family housing accessory to either an assisted living facility or nursing home as part of a continuing care community that allows residents to transfer to higher levels of care as needed. Independent living units may be designed and constructed as part of a central multi-family building along with other levels of care or as attached or detached units similar to low-density residential development. Such facilities may include a central or private kitchen, dining, recreational, and other residential accessory uses.Industrial Development: Properties with uses in the Industrial use category in Table 4-2-1, unless specified otherwise elsewhere in this IDO, including but not limited to provisions related to Edge Buffer Landscaping.Infill Development: An area of platted or unplatted land that includes no more than 20 acres of land and where at least 75 percent of the parcels adjacent to the proposed development have been developed and contain existing primary buildings.Infrastructure: Streets, sidewalks, public or private utility facilities, sanitary sewer and water system facilities, drainage and flood control facilities, street lighting, and other improvements used by the public or used in common by owners of lots within a subdivision. Includes both private (owned by a non-governmental entity) and public (owned by a governmental entity) improvements.Interior Side Yard: The part of a lot from a side lot line that does not abut a street to the side façade of the primary building.Interstate Highway: An access-controlled street that is part of the National Highway System. For the purposes of this IDO, this term includes all right-of-way owned or controlled by NMDOT along Interstate Highway 25 and Interstate Highway 40 associated with the interstate highway, including but not limited to through lanes, frontage roads, on- and off-ramps, and interchanges.Irrigation Facility: The system of water facilities within the MRGCD, including acequias, ditches, laterals, canals, interior drains, riverside drains, and wasteways, which convey water to irrigators or return unused irrigation water to the Rio Grande. Some facilities may also convey stormwater. The irrigation facility includes the canal that conveys the water, the maintenance road(s) along the bank top, and the sloped banks that tie back to the surrounding land. These facilities may or may not have a formal easement.Joint Sign Premises: Two (2) or more abutting premises, each with less than 100 feet of street frontage that are treated as 1 premises through an agreement between their respective owners and the City in order to qualify for a freestanding sign that would not be allowed on the individual premises.Kennel: A premises on which 5 or more dogs or cats or combinations of dogs and cats over 3 months of age are kept, maintained, or boarded.Kitchen: An area of a dwelling where there is a sink of adequate size and shape for washing dishes and food items (as opposed to washing hands) and a cooking stove, range, or oven. The presence of a sink and a hot plate or microwave does not constitute a kitchen.Landmark: Any real property designated as a landmark structure or site pursuant to Subsection 14-16-6-7(C) (Adoption or Amendment of Historic Designation).Landmarks Commission: The City Landmarks Commission as created by Section 14-16-6-2(H) (Landmarks Commission) to review and recommend decisions about potential historic zones or landmarks.Landscape Area: The area, optional or required, that is landscaped with living vegetative materials, such as trees, grasses, vines, spreading shrubs, or flowers. In addition, the landscape area may include natural and manufactured materials, including but not limited to rocks, fountains, reflecting pools, works of art, screens, walls, fences, benches, and other types of street furniture.Landscape Buffer: A required piece of land in a specific location used to physically separate or screen one land use or piece of property from another and landscaped with at least the minimum requirements specified in this IDO.Landscaping: The planting and maintenance of live plants including trees, shrubs, ground cover, flowers, or other low-growing plants that are native or adaptable to the climatic conditions of the Albuquerque area. Includes the provision of non-vegetative materials as ornamental features to make an area more attractive.Large Retail Facility: A single-tenant building with at least 50,000 square feet of gross floor area for the purpose of retailing. A collection of establishments, each less than 50,000 square feet, linked by common walls is not considered a large retail facility.Libraries: Public facilities for the use and loan, but not sale, of literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials.Library: A public facility for the use and loan, but not sale, of literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials.Light Fixture: An assembly that holds the lamp (bulb) in a lighting system. It includes the elements designed to give light output control, such as a reflector (mirror) or refractor (lens), the ballast, housing, and the attachment parts.Light Manufacturing: The assembly, fabrication, or processing of goods and materials, including machine shop and growing food or plants in an indoor structure, using processes that ordinarily do not create noise, smoke, fumes, odors, glare, or health or safety hazards outside of the building or lot where such assembly, fabrication, or processing takes place, where such processes are housed primarily within a building. Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use. This use does not include any use that meets the definition of Heavy Manufacturing or Special Manufacturing.Light Source: The element of a lighting fixture that is the point of origin of the lumens emitted by the fixture.Light Spillover: The shining of light produced by a light fixture beyond the boundaries of the property on which it is located.Light Vehicle Fueling Station: An establishment primarily engaged in the retail dispensing or sale of vehicle fuels, including but not limited to gasoline, gas/oil mixtures, diesel fuel, compressed natural gas, electricity, and hydrogen through fixed, approved dispensing equipment. Incidental uses include, but are not limited to, car washes; minor services or repairs including battery charging, tire repairs, and oil and fluid changes; the sale of convenience items, food, beverages, household necessities, lubricants, and batteries; and similar incidental uses. This definition shall not include any facility meeting the definition of light vehicle repair (except those incidental services listed above), light vehicle sales and rental, outdoor vehicle storage, or liquor retail.Light Vehicle Repair: Any facility providing for the major or minor repair and maintenance, beyond what is allowed in a light vehicle fueling station, of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, vans, trailers, scooters, all-terrain vehicles, and similar vehicles under 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.Light Vehicle Sales and Rental: An establishment primarily engaged in the retail sale and/or rental of new and used automobiles, non-commercial trucks, motor homes, boats, recreational vehicles, modular and manufactured home sales, trailers, motorcycles, mopeds, and/or ATVs, including incidental outdoor display, storage, maintenance, and servicing. This use does not include outdoor vehicle storage as a primary use.Liquor Retail: A retail sales establishment licensed by the state selling packaged alcoholic liquors (including beer, wine, and spirituous liquors) for consumption off-site. Establishments that operate under a Small Brewer's, Winegrower's, or Craft Distiller's license are not considered Liquor Retail.Live-work: A residential dwelling unit that includes a dedicated work space accessible from the living area, reserved for and regularly used by one or more residents of the dwelling unit, and in which the type or size of the work performed is larger or more extensive than that allowed as a home occupation. Loading Area: An area where merchandise and/or supplies are delivered and unloaded or where customers can receive goods for transport off the site.Local Street: A street that is primarily for access to abutting properties. It carries low traffic volumes. It may further be defined as a Normal Street or Access Street, and may be designated for Infrequent Parking or Intermittent Parking, subject to the standards and requirements of the DPM.Lot: A tract or parcel of land, exclusive of public right-of-way, that meets any of the following criteria:
1. Has been platted and placed on the Bernalillo County Clerk's record in accordance with laws and ordinances applicable at the time.
2. Is described by metes and bounds held in separate ownership prior to June 20, 1950 or October 2, 1950,as shown on the records of the Bernalillo County Assessor.
3. Is a portion of one or more platted lots, which portion was placed on the records of the Bernalillo County Assessor prior to November 16, 1973, provided such portion met all requirements of area and dimension of the zone in which it was located when created.
4. Has been placed in the records of the Bernalillo County Assessor pursuant to the laws of the State of New Mexico related to situations not covered by the applicable subdivision regulations in effect at that time.Lot Area: The area of a lot exclusive of easements for a private way or street.Lot Size: The area of a lot exclusive of easements for a private way or street.Lot Width: The length of a straight line between the mid-points of each of the side lot lines, or between an interior side lot line and a corner street frontage lot line that is not the front lot line.Low-density Residential Development: Properties with residential development of any allowable land use in the Household Living category in Table 4-2-1 other than multi-family dwellings. Properties with small community residential facilities are also considered low-density residential development. Properties that include other uses accessory to residential primary uses are still considered low-density residential development for the purposes of this IDO. LUHO: Land Use Hearing Officer (LUHO)
The individual(s) appointed and designated by the City Council as described in Section 14-16-6-2(I) (Land Use Hearing Officer) to review and recommend decisions on appeals to the City Council.Lumen: A quantitative unit measuring the amount of light emitted by a light source. A lamp is generally rated in lumens.Luminance: The brightness of an object, expressed in terms of foot lamberts, determined from a point 5 feet above grade on another premises or the public right-of-way, but no closer than 20 horizontal feet from the object measured.Main Street: Corridor Area (MS) an area within 660 feet of the centerline of a Main Street Corridor, as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Main Street area, the Main Street regulations apply to the entire parcel.Major Arroyo: An arroyo designated by the Facility Plan for Arroyos as a Major Open Space Arroyo or Major Open Space Link.Major Public Infrastructure: Although ultimately determined on a case-by-case basis, major public infrastructure generally includes construction or significant redesign of a street, drainage or utility facility, or similar public infrastructure that is necessary for the subject property, and often nearby properties, to develop.Major Public Open Space: Publicly-owned spaces managed by the Open Space Division of the City Parks and Recreation Department, including the Rio Grande State Park (i.e. the Bosque), Petroglyph National Monument, and Sandia foothills. These are typically greater than 5 acres and may include natural and cultural resources, preserves, low-impact recreational facilities, dedicated lands, arroyos, or trail corridors. The adopted Facility Plan for Major Public Open Space guides the management of these areas. For the purposes of this IDO, Major Public Open Space located outside the city municipal boundary still triggers Major Public Open Space Edge requirements for properties within the city adjacent to or within the specified distance of Major Public Open Space.Major Transit Area: An area within 660 feet of the centerline of a Major Transit Corridor, as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Major Transit area, the Major Transit regulations apply to the entire parcel.Major Utility: A facility sized or designed to serve the entire city, or a wide area of the city, and regulated as a public utility or common carrier by the state or other relevant jurisdiction or agency, including but not limited to major telephone facilities, natural gas facilities, water treatment plants, water pump stations, sewage treatment plants, stormwater drainage facilities, irrigation facilities, or similar public services, but shall not include mass transit or railroad depots or terminals or any similar traffic generating activity, any facility that provides wireless telecommunications services to the public, or any use listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Manufactured Home: A structure transportable in one or more sections that is built on a permanent chassis, is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and meets the construction safety standards of the federal Manufactured Housing Act of 1974. Similar structures that do not meet the construction safety standards of that Act are referred to as mobile homes and are not allowed to be installed in the City.Marquee Sign: A type of projecting sign mounted on a continuous structural band that forms the more or less vertical edge of the marquee structure.Massing: The overall composition of the exterior of the major volumes of a building and their relationship to each other in a sequence in the overall design of the building or structure.Master Development Plan: A plan created by an applicant and approved by the City to achieve a coordinated private development, such as a business or industrial park, on larger sites that comprise more than one lot and building. A Master Development Plan may include standards that implement a cohesive design on the site. Master Plan: A Rank 3 Plan developed and approved by an implementing City department to guide the development, maintenance, and operation of individual public resources or facilities. For the purposes of the State Constitution, the Master Plan is a duly adopted plan or any of its parts for the development of an area within the planning and platting jurisdiction of a municipality for the general purpose of guiding and accomplishing coordinated, adjusted, and harmonious development. In the case of the City and Bernalillo County, this Master Plan is the ABC Comp Plan.Maximum Extent Practicable: No feasible or prudent alternative exists, as determined by the relevant decision-making body, after the applicant has taken all possible steps to comply with the standards or regulations and to minimize potential harmful or adverse impacts. Constraints to compliance that are self-imposed, such as through a particular platting proposal when other options are feasible, shall not be considered sufficient justification. Economic considerations may be taken into account but shall not be the overriding factor.Medical or Dental Clinic: An establishment where patients who are not lodged overnight are admitted for examination and treatment by a group of licensed health care practitioners, dentists, or licensed health care practitioners and dentists in practice together.Metropolitan Redevelopment Area: An area that has been designated for targeted initiatives, incentives, or public and/or private investment in order to promote the repurposing or expansion of existing structures to accommodate new economic uses, or to promote the demolition, remediation, and/or redevelopment of sites to accommodate new economic uses.Minor Arterial: A street that is designated in the LRTS Guide, used primarily for serving large volumes of traffic, but smaller volumes than are normally served by principal arterial streets; speed is comparatively high.Mixed-use Development: Properties with residential development and non-residential development on a single lot or premises. For the purposes of this IDO, mixed-use development can take place in the same building (i.e. vertical mixed-use) or separate buildings on the same lot or premises (i.e. horizontal mixed-use).Mixed-use Zone District: Those zone districts categorized as Mixed-use in Part 14-16-2 of this IDO.Mobile Food Truck: Any wagon, truck, trailer, or vehicle self-propelled or otherwise movable from place to place from which any person sells, offers for sale, or gives away, beverages, food, or any food product for human consumption.Mobile Home: A transportable structure that does not meet the construction safety standards of the federal Manufactured Housing Act of 1974.Mobile Vending Cart: A mobile structure that has functional wheels and at least one axle, used for the sale of goods, including but not limited to food, raw produce, flowers, arts, and crafts.Model Home: A dwelling or dwelling unit representative of other dwellings or units offered for sale or lease or to be built in an area of residential development. A model home may be used as a residential real estate sales office for the development in which it is located before occupancy by a household.Monument Sign: A sign with a maximum of 2 sign faces that is integrated into a solid structure beginning at the ground and including a base and/or up to 2 masonry or concealed supports. The total width of the support(s) at the bottom of the sign shall be no less than 25 percent of the width at the top of the sign.Mortuary: An establishment in which the dead are prepared for burial or cremation, the body may be viewed, and funeral services are sometimes held.MS: Main Street Corridor Area (MS)
An area within 660 feet of the centerline of a Main Street Corridor, as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Main Street area, the Main Street regulations apply to the entire parcel.MT: Major Transit Area (MT)
An area within 660 feet of the centerline of a Major Transit Corridor, as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Major Transit area, the Major Transit regulations apply to the entire parcel.Multi-family: A building, located on a single lot, containing 3 or more dwelling units, each of which is designed for or occupied by one family only, with separate housekeeping and cooking facilities for each, and that does not meet the definition of a townhouse dwelling.Multi-family Development: Residential development of multi-family dwellings or uses from the Group Living category (except small community residential facilities) in zone districts as allowed per Table 4-2-1. Properties that include both multi-family dwellings and low-density residential development are considered multi-family development for the purposes of this IDO. Properties with other uses accessory to residential primary uses allowed per Table 4-2-1 are still considered multi-family development for the purposes of this IDO.Multi-family Residential Development: Residential development of multi-family dwellings or uses from the Group Living category (except small community residential facilities) in zone districts as allowed per Table 4-2-1. Properties that include both multi-family dwellings and low-density residential development are considered multi-family development for the purposes of this IDO. Properties with other uses accessory to residential primary uses allowed per Table 4-2-1 are still considered multi-family development for the purposes of this IDO.Multi-use Trail: A paved path physically separated from motorized vehicle traffic by an open space or barrier and constructed within the street right-of-way or within an independent right-of-way, including shared-use rights-of-way or utility or drainage easements that permits more than one type of non-motorized use.Museum: A facility open to the public, with or without charge, for the collection and display of paintings, sculpture, textiles, antiquities, other works of art, or similar items.Natural Grade: Grade based on the original site contours, prior to any grading.Natural Resource Extraction: The extraction and/or refining of dirt, minerals, sand, gravel, and ores, from their natural occurrences on affected land and transportation of extracted materials to locations off-site. Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use.Neighborhood Association: When used in this IDO, this term refers to both Recognized and Non-recognized Neighborhood Associations, as defined by of Part 14-8-2 of ROA 1994 (Neighborhood Association Recognition Ordinance), as well as any other group registered with the Office of Neighborhood Association in compliance with Part 14-8-2 of ROA 1994 (Neighborhood Association Recognition Ordinance).Neon Sign: A sign that uses neon, argon, or a similar gas to fill tubing, made of glass or similar material, that is charged with electricity and used to create an illuminated tubular sign or illuminated elements of a sign that includes, at a minimum lettering and/or images. The tubing may contain an alternative illumination technology, including but not limited to light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Any non-gaseous illumination technology, such as LEDs, must produce illumination that appears to be a continuous, uninterrupted line, similar to illumination produced by gaseous illumination technology.Net Lot Area: For purposes of calculating landscaping requirements, the total area of the lot minus the following:
1. The area of the lot covered by buildings.
2. The portions of the lot that are not required for off-street parking or a parking lot and that are fully screened from view from any abutting lot or public right-of-way by an opaque wall or fence at least 6 feet high, in which no landscape will be required except required buffer landscaping; chain link fence with slats does not constitute acceptable full screening.
3. The area of any approved landscape that the property owner installs and maintains in the abutting public right-of-way, exclusive of the area of any existing or planned public sidewalk.Nightclub: An establishment dispensing liquor in which music, dancing, or entertainment is provided, but not including any adult entertainment use. Non-commercial or Broadcasting Antenna: An antenna that transmits and/or receives signals or waves radiated or captured for non-commercial or broadcasting purposes, including amateur radio station operation/receive-only antenna if owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio station operator or used exclusively for a receive-only antenna, wireless telecommunications facilities used exclusively for emergency services, any antenna used for AM, FM, or TV broadcasting, or any other facility exempted from local regulation under the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended and interpreted by the courts and related regulations of the Federal Communications Commission.Non-commercial Vehicle: A motor vehicle used in the conduct of normal daily activities that has a gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 10,000 pounds and can be lawfully parked in a parking space that meets the requirements of the DPM. The term includes motor vehicles commonly called motorcycles, automobiles, vans, sport utility vehicles, light trucks, or pickups.Nonconforming Lot: A lot that was lawfully created but does not conform to the lot size, lot dimension, or other requirements of this IDO related to the lot.Nonconforming Structure: A structure that does not conform to the IDO requirements for structures in the zone district where it is located, for reasons other than the use of the structure, but that did not violate those requirements at the time the structure was constructed. By way of example: a nonconforming structure could be one that violates height, setback, aesthetic, or form requirements.Nonconforming Use: A use of a structure or land that does not conform to the IDO requirements for land uses in the zone district where it is located, but that was an approved use at the time the use began.Nonconformity: A structure, use, lot, sign, or site feature that does not conform to applicable zoning but that did conform to applicable zoning in effect at the time it was built or developed.Non-residential Development: Development of allowable land uses on a property that includes no residential development.Non-residential Zone District: Any zone district categorized as Non-residential in Part 14-16-2 of this IDO.Nursery: A primary use of land in which the predominant activity is the growing of plants for wholesale or retail sales, which may take place outside or in greenhouses. Outdoor sales of plants are allowed.Nursing Home: Facilities primarily engaged in providing shelter, food and intermediate or long-term medical and health related care for individuals. This definition includes facilities providing in-patient care for individuals suffering from a terminal illness. Support services typically include commercial level kitchens with shared dining facilities for residents; medical services with personnel that provide assistance with medication, administration, dressing, bathing, and social activities; activity rooms; indoor recreational amenities; gift shops; hair salons; administrative offices; laundry services; worship space; overnight guest units for short term visitors; and other uses accessory to residential primary uses.Office: Establishments providing executive, management, administrative, professional services, consulting, record keeping, or a headquarters of an enterprise or organization, but not including the on-premises sale of retail goods, or any use included in the definition of personal or business services.Off-premises Sign: A sign, the content of which does not refer to an establishment operating on the premises where the sign is displayed.On-premises Sign: A sign, the content of which relates to the premises on which it is located, referring exclusively to the name, location, products, persons, accommodations, services, or activities of or on those premises, or the sale, lease, or construction of those premises.On-street Parking Space: An on-street storage area for the parking of one motor vehicle. For the purposes of this IDO, an on-street parking space abutting a lot may be counted as 1 on-street parking space for that lot if over ½ the length of the space is located between the imaginary extensions of the lot lines that are perpendicular to the street into the street right-of-way. See DPM for dimensional standards.Opaque Wall: A continuous non-transparent vertical surface. A fence with inserts or non-rigid or cloth-like materials attached to the fence does not constitute an opaque wall or fence.Open Air Market: Open air sales of new retail goods, produce, and/or handcrafts; incidental sales of food and beverages is allowed.Open Space: In lowercase letters, a generic term for any outdoor space or amenity intended to retain access to open air and sunlight, regardless of location, ownership, or management responsibility. Open space is required through various means in order to provide a psychological and physical respite from development densities. Healthy places balance density vs. openness, urban vs. natural environments. For the purposes of this IDO, City-owned open space is called Major Public Open Space.Other Indoor Entertainment: A facility providing entertainment or recreation activities where all activities take place within enclosed structures, but not including a theater, auditorium, or any other use listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Examples include, but are not limited to, baseball batting cages, bowling alleys, climbing walls, game arcades, laser tag centers, miniature golf courses, paintball, skating rinks, shooting ranges, swimming pools, tennis clubs, trampoline centers, and velodromes.Other Major Utility: A facility sized or designed to serve the entire city, or a wide area of the city, and regulated as a public utility or common carrier by the state or other relevant jurisdiction or agency, including but not limited to major telephone facilities, natural gas facilities, water treatment plants, water pump stations, sewage treatment plants, stormwater drainage facilities, irrigation facilities, or similar public services, but shall not include mass transit or railroad depots or terminals or any similar traffic generating activity, any facility that provides wireless telecommunications services to the public, or any use listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Other Outdoor Entertainment: An outdoor facility whose main purpose is to provide entertainment or recreation, with or without charge, but not including auto or horse race tracks, drive-in theaters, or any similar outdoor use not listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Examples include, but are not limited to, amusement parks, batting cages, go-cart tracks, golf driving ranges, miniature golf, skateboard parks, skating rinks, sports courts, swimming pools, target sport ranges, and water parks.Other Pet Services: A facility providing care and services for household pets, such as animal grooming, training, or day care but which is not listed separately in Table 4-2-1.Other Use Accessory to a Non-residential Primary Use: A land use that is subordinate in use, area, or purpose to a primary non-residential land use on the same lot, serving a purpose naturally and normally incidental to such primary land use, and that is not listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Examples include, but are not limited to, an employee exercise room, employee café/cafeteria, outdoor exercise area/track, employee nursery/child care, small display/sales room for goods produced on the premises, and storage of maintenance equipment used on the premises (e.g. lawn mowers).Other Use Accessory to a Residential Primary Use: A land use that is subordinate in use, area, or purpose to a primary residential land use on the same lot and serving a purpose naturally and normally incidental to such primary land use and that is not listed separately in Table 4-2-1. For residential uses other than multi-family dwellings, this use includes, but is not limited to, tennis courts, game rooms, patios, outdoor kitchens, swimming pools, and accessory buildings for storage, recreation, hobbies, and gardening for the use of the residents living in the dwellings on the same lot as this use. For multi-family development, this use includes, but is not limited to, sales of convenience items, personal service shop, rental/management office, concierge/doorman services, and similar uses for the use and convenience of the residents of the multi-family or group living development.Outdoor Animal Run: An area for the temporary outdoor containment of animals associated with a kennel, veterinary clinic, animal breeding facility, or other commercial activity. For the purposes of this IDO, this use does not include an outdoor animal run for personal pets.Outdoor Storage: The keeping, in an unroofed area, of any goods, material, or merchandise in the same place for more than 24 hours, but not including any storage activity or use of land listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Outdoor Vehicle Storage: The keeping, in an unroofed area, of motor vehicles or equipment not used for transportation purposes on an active, regular, or continuing basis, generally for a period of 7 consecutive days or more, whether or not the motor vehicle is titled, licensed, or operable, either as a primary use or accessory use, but not including a salvage yard.Overlay Zone: Regulations that prevail over other IDO regulations to ensure protection for designated areas. Overlay zones include Airport Protection Overlay (APO), Character Protection Overlay (CPO), Historic Protection Overlay (HPO), and View Protection Overlay (VPO).Overnight Shelter: A facility that provides sleeping accommodations for 6 or more persons with no charge or a charge substantially less than market value; it may provide meals and social services.Paid Parking Lot: An area used to provide parking, as a commercial enterprise, for 4 or more motor vehicles for a fee. The term does not include a commercial parking structure that is a building primarily used for the provision of parking for a fee.Park-and-ride Facility, Temporary: The temporary provisions of parking for transit customers using service provided by the municipal transit agency in conjunction with a temporary civic use, including but not limited to the New Mexico State Fair and the International Balloon Fiesta. The use may include a ticket booth, portable restrooms, lighting, concession stand, and barriers contributing to traffic management. Park-and-ride Lot: An area or structure intended to accommodate parked vehicles where commuters park and continue travel to another destination via public transit, carpool, vanpool, walking, or bicycle. This use may be operated in a parking area owned or operated by a third party with the consent of that party, but spaces dedicated to this use may not be counted toward required off-street parking spaces for any primary or accessory use operated by the third party.Parking Lot: Any off-street outdoor area for the parking of motor vehicles, including any spaces, aisles, and driveways necessary for the function of the parking lot or for the convenience of patrons.Parking Lot Multiple Drive Aisles: A parking lot that may have more than 1 drive aisle.Parking Lot Single Drive Aisle: A parking lot with only 1 drive aisle, which may be one-way or two-way. The drive aisle may serve 1 or 2 rows of parking spaces.Parking Lot Area: The area of a parking lot that includes parking spaces and drive aisles.Parking Space: An on- or off-street storage area for the parking of one motor vehicle. See DPM for dimensional standards.Parking Structure: A structure or part of a structure designed to accommodate vehicle parking spaces that are fully or partially enclosed, but not including a parking structure that is located underground or within the outer building envelope of another building. Parking structures are typically associated with Mixed-use and Non-residential development.Parking Structure with Ground Floor Uses: A structure or part of a structure designed to accommodate vehicle parking spaces that incorporates retail, office, or residential uses along at least 50 percent of the ground floor street-facing façade. Pavement Width: See definition in DPM.Pawn Shop: Any establishment engaged in the business of lending money on the deposit or pledge of personal property; the purchase of personal property with the expressed or implied agreement or understanding to sell it back at a stipulated price; or engaged in the business of purchasing items of gold, silver, platinum or other precious metals or gems and reselling the product.Pedestrian-oriented: Intended primarily to provide access, amenities, or space for services that benefit people on foot. Pedestrian-oriented features include, but are not limited to, sidewalks, walkways, multi-use trails, transit stops, spaces for outdoor seating or vending, plazas, parks, and public facilities associated with City Major Public Open Space.Pedestrian-scale Lighting: Lighting in pedestrian areas not to exceed 16 feet in height that allows people to see and be seen from a distance of 40 to 60 feet.Perimeter Wall: A wall constructed on a lot line, typically to define a property boundary, enclose a property, or provide privacy.Permissive Use: A land use that is allowed by-right in a particular zone district, either as a primary or accessory use. Permissive Primary uses are listed as P in Table 4-2-1. Permissive Accessory uses are listed as A in Table 4-2-1.Person: An individual, corporation, governmental agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, 2 or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal entity.Personal and Business Services: Establishments providing services to individuals or businesses for profit, including but not limited to bail bond providers, beauty and barber shops, shoe repair, tailor/alterations shops, tattoo parlors, taxidermy services, electronic data processing, and employment service; mailing, addressing, stenographic services; and specialty business service such as travel bureau, news service, exporter, importer, interpreter, appraiser, and film library. This use is divided into 2 categories based on the size of the establishment (not the size of the structure):
1. Personal and Business Services, Small: An establishment with 10,000 square feet or less of gross floor area.
2. Personal and Business Services, Large: An establishment with more than 10,000 square feet of gross floor area.Planning Director: The chief administrative officer of the City Planning Department or his/her authorized representative or designee. Plat: A graphic and written description of a lot or lots with survey reference ties to permanent survey monuments related to the subdivision, resubdivision, or consolidation of land.Pole Sign: A sign attached to or supported from the ground by a single pole or post and not attached to a building.Porch: A roofed structure that is not more than 50 percent enclosed (except for removable screens, screen doors, storm sashes, or awnings) on at least 2 sides, that projects from the exterior wall of a building, and that is used as an outdoor living area. If a porch extends from the front of a building or from any side of the building that faces a street, that side of the porch must be open, and the side(s) facing the street must not be more than 50 percent enclosed (except for removable screens, screen doors, storm sashes, or awnings).
For the purposes of MX-FB zone district standards, porches are common frontages associated with single-family houses where the street-facing façade is set back a minimum of 10 feet from the right-of-way with a front yard. A wall or fence at the property line may be used to define the private space of the yard. An encroaching porch may also be appended to the façade. A great variety of porch and fence designs are possible, including a raised front yard with a retaining wall at the property line with entry steps to the yard.Portable Sign: An A-frame or sandwich board sign. A portable sign shall rest on the ground and shall not be supported by a person or animal.Preliminary Plat: A tentative plat of a proposed subdivision prepared in accordance with the specifications of this IDO for presentation to the DRB for action.Premises: Any lot or combination of abutting or adjacent lots held in single ownership, together with the development on that lot or lots; there may be multiple occupancy.Premium Transit: An area within 660 feet of a transit station with transit service of 15 minute or greater frequency on a Premium Transit Corridor as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Premium Transit area, the Premium Transit regulations apply to the entire parcel. Development standards associated with the Premium Transit designation apply once the station locations have been identified and funding for the transit service and any associated streetscape improvements has been secured.Primary Building: A building within which a primary use of the property takes place.Primary Pedestrian Entrance: A public entrance to a primary building. If there is more than one, for the purposes of this IDO, the entrance demarcated by more façade articulation, signage, landscaping, site amenities, or other design treatments shall be considered the primary pedestrian entrance. If all entrances are thus demarcated, the applicant may choose which entrance shall be considered the primary pedestrian entrance to satisfy any relevant requirements in this IDO.Primary Use: A land use that is a primary use of a property and allowable within a particular zone district either permissively or conditionally. A primary use may be combined with other primary or accessory uses allowable within that zone district, subject to IDO standards.Principal Arterial: A street that is designated in the LRTS Guide, used primarily for serving large volumes of comparatively high speed traffic and to which access is controlled.Private Open Space: Open space for passive or active recreation that is owned, managed, and maintained privately in its natural state and accessible either to the public or to the residents of a subdivision and zoned NR-PO-C. In the case of cluster or cottage development, private open space that is created by clustering dwelling units may count as usable open space.Private Way: A lot or easement that is not public right-of-way and that contains a street or alley providing access between public right-of-way and one or more lots. The term may include easements for public and private infrastructure when such are established through a suitable legal document, along with the access rights.Separation of Uses: In all instances where the IDO requires a separation of uses, zone districts, lots, or buildings, such distance shall be measured in a geometrically straight line using a scaled map, or a survey if necessary. Such measurement shall be made without regard to any intervening structures, objects, uses, the street grid, landforms, waterways, or any other topographical features.
1. Unless specified otherwise, this distance shall be measured from the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the regulated use to the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the use, or in the zone district, from which the regulated use is required to be separated.
2. If the IDO requires a separation between a building containing a regulated use and a specified use or zone district, the distance shall be measured from the nearest point on the building containing the regulated use to the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the specified use or in the specified zone district.Project Site: A lot or collection of lots shown on a Subdivision – Minor or Major or on a Site Plan. This term refers to the largest geography specified in the earliest request for decision on the first application related to a particular development. For example, if a large parcel is subdivided and submitted for development in phases, any regulation referring to the project site would apply to the entirety of the land in the original parcel included in the Subdivision application.Projecting Sign: A type of building-mounted sign, other than a wall sign or canopy sign, that projects from and is supported by a wall of a building.Premium Transit Area: An area within 660 feet of a transit station with transit service of 15 minute or greater frequency on a Premium Transit Corridor as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Premium Transit area, the Premium Transit regulations apply to the entire parcel. Development standards associated with the Premium Transit designation apply once the station locations have been identified and funding for the transit service and any associated streetscape improvements has been secured.Public Area: An area of land owned by or intended to be owned by a governmental entity or over which a governmental entity enjoys an easement, whether deeded, dedicated, or otherwise acquired, and that is generally, but not required, to be used to serve the public with some service or benefit, including public infrastructure.Public Hearing: A formal meeting open to the public in which the decision-making body makes a discretionary decision based on policy in addition to regulations. Public Meeting: A meeting open to the public in which the decision-making body makes a decision based on zoning requirements, technical standards, or other regulations without the ability to make discretionary decisions. Public Right-of-way: hat area of land deeded, reserved or dedicated by plat or otherwise acquired by any unit of government for the purposes of movement of vehicles, bicycles, pedestrian traffic, and/or for conveyance of public utility services and drainage. This land generally does not have established zoning and is instead designated as “unclassified” in the Official Zoning Map. Public Utility Co-location: The location of one or more wireless telecommunications antennas on a public utility structure, including transmission structures.Public Utility Structure: A structure, owned by a unit of government or by a public utility company, that is an electric switching station; electric substation operating at voltages greater than 50 kilovolts (kV); gas transfer station or border station; lift station, odor control (or chlorine) station, water well or pump station, or water reservoir; streetlight or traffic signal structure; or any other public utility structure controlled by a Facility Plan approved by the City.Racetrack: An outdoor facility for sanctioned competition of racing vehicles (including cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles designed for racing purposes) or for horses or dogs, on a closed circuit. In addition to a racetrack, the facility may include spectator seating (bleacher-type stands), a paddock area for support crews and maintenance, racetrack operations offices, and spectator services.Railroad Yard: A primary use of land that includes an area and related facilities in which the predominant activity is a the assembly or disassembly and loading or unloading of trains, including without limitation passenger or freight terminals, operations and maintenance shacks, train sheds, and classification yards.Real Estate Office: A facility or area used as a temporary office to sell or lease land or buildings or interests in land or buildings within a specified area.Rear Lot Line: A legal boundary that is opposite and most distant from the front lot line. In the case of an L-shaped or other irregularly shaped lot where 2 or more lines are so located all are considered rear lines, except those that are within 50 feet of the front lot line. In the case of a lot that comes to a point at the rear, the rear lot line is the imaginary line parallel to the front lot line, not less than 10 feet long, lying wholly within the lot, and farthest from the front lot line.Rear Yard: The part of a lot from the rear lot line to any rear façade of the primary building, extended to both side lot lines.Recreational Vehicle: A motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities, including but not limited to bus campers, camper trailers, pickup campers, travel trailers, motor homes, park model trailers, and tiny houses.Recycling Drop-off Bin Facility: An accessory use, structure, or enclosed area that serves as a neighborhood drop-off point for temporary storage of recyclable materials, including but not limited to paper, aluminum, glass, and plastic, but not including compost or organic materials.Reflective or Mirrored Glass: Glass with greater than 15 percent average daylight exterior reflectance as published by the manufacturer.Religious Institution: A structure or place where worship, ceremonies, rituals, and education pertaining to a particular system of beliefs are held, together with its accessory buildings, that is operated, maintained, and controlled under the direction of a religious group. Incidental uses include, but are not limited to, school and recreational facilities, parking, caretaker's housing, religious leader’s housing, philanthropic or humanitarian activities, and group living facilities such as convents or monasteries.Residential Community Amenity: A use provided for the comfort and convenience of residents of more than 1 unit in a low-density or multi-family residential development, including but not limited to a clubhouse, exercise room, swimming pool, tennis court, community room, or laundry room.Residential Development: Development of any allowable land use from the Residential category in Table 4-2-1 (i.e. any allowable combination of Household Living uses and Group Living uses) that occurs on properties with no land use from another category, with the following exceptions:
1. Property with both Household Living uses and parks and open space are still considered residential development for the purposes of this IDO.
2. Properties that include other uses accessory to residential primary uses allowed per Table 4-2-1 are still considered residential development for the purposes of this IDO.
3. A property that has an approved non-residential Temporary Use but that otherwise meets this definition is still considered residential development for the purposes of this IDO. Residential Zone District: Any zone district categorized as Residential in Part 14-16-2 of this IDO.Resource Management Plan: Rank 3 Plans developed by the Open Space Division of the City Parks and Recreation Department to provide policy guidance on how to manage and protect natural, historic, or cultural resources and/or scenic views for individual City-owned or managed Major Public Open Space. Resource Management Plans also guide visitor uses, budgeting, and decision making.Restaurant: An establishment that serves food and beverages that are consumed on its premises by customers seated at tables and/or counters either inside or outside the building thereon and which may also be engaged in providing customers with take-out service of food and/or non-alcoholic beverages for off-site consumption. Sale of alcoholic beverages is controlled by other provisions in this IDO and the New Mexico State statutes regarding alcoholic drink sales.Retaining Wall: A wall designed and constructed to resist the lateral pressure of soil.Rock Outcropping: Bedrock or other stratum a minimum of 6 feet high on its steepest side as measured from the adjacent 10 percent slope line and in excess of 500 square feet in surface area.Roof-mounted WTF: A WTF placed on a rooftop through gravity mounts or other surface attachments and integrated into the natural rooftop profile of the building so as to resemble a permissible rooftop structure, such as a ventilator, cooling equipment, solar equipment, water tank, chimney, or parapet.Rooftop Sign: A building-mounted sign that is mounted on the roof of a building.Salvage Yard: Any use involving storage and/or sale of inoperable, disused, dismantled or wrecked vehicles, equipment, machinery, or goods, or the storage or processing of scrap metal, wastepaper, rags, wastes, construction wastes, industrial wastes or other scrap, salvage, waste, or junk materials. School: An accredited public or private institution offering a course of education recognized by the state as leading to a high school diploma or equivalent. Accessory uses may include student sports fields or facilities, playgrounds, gardens, and an accessory dwelling unit for a caretaker. This use is divided into:
1. Elementary or middle school: An educational facility for grades kindergarten through 8.
2. High school: An educational facility for grades 9 through 12.Seasonal Outdoor Sales: The temporary outdoor or indoor display and sale of goods or products associated with the season or a cultural event, such as the sale of fireworks, Christmas trees, pumpkins, or seasonal produce, and typically occurring at a location not devoted to such sales for the remainder of the year. Self-storage: A use consisting of 3 or more individual, small, self-contained units in a building that are leased or owned for the indoor storage of business and household goods or contractors' supplies.Setback: The shortest distance between a structure and a lot line. In the case of a setback from an Irrigation Facility, the measurement is taken from the toe of the slope to the structure or from the lot line to the structure, whichever is greater.Separation of Uses: In all instances where the IDO requires a separation of uses, zone districts, lots, or buildings, such distance shall be measured in a geometrically straight line using a scaled map, or a survey if necessary. Such measurement shall be made without regard to any intervening structures, objects, uses, the street grid, landforms, waterways, or any other topographical features.
1. Unless specified otherwise, this distance shall be measured from the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the regulated use to the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the use, or in the zone district, from which the regulated use is required to be separated.
2. If the IDO requires a separation between a building containing a regulated use and a specified use or zone district, the distance shall be measured from the nearest point on the building containing the regulated use to the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the specified use or in the specified zone district.Side Lot Line: A lot line that is not a front lot line or a rear lot line.Side Street: On a corner lot, the street abutting the side lot line of the lot.Sidewalk: A hard-surfaced walk or raised path and any curb ramps or blended transitions along and generally paralleling the side of the streets for pedestrians. Sidewalks do not include the curb or gutter structures.Sign Area: 1. For freestanding and projecting signs, the area of 1 rectangle or of 2 contiguous rectangles in the same plane, drawn with horizontal and vertical lines so as to include the entire sign except sign base or supports. The maximum area of any double-sided or V-shaped sign shall be measured for the larger sign face only.
2. For building-mounted signs, except canopy signs, the area enclosed with a sign border or the sum of the areas of the minimum imaginary rectangles enclosing each word or non-verbal symbol if there is no sign border.
3. For add-on signs to off-premises signs, the area of up to 2 rectangles in addition to the rectangle that defines the area of the basic sign.Sign Height: The vertical distance from grade to the highest point of the sign. For rooftop signs, the vertical distance from the top of the highest parapet to the top of the sign. Significant Archaeological Site: A geographic location that contains an archaeological resource likely, as determined by the City Archaeologist, to yield information important to the prehistory or history of the Albuquerque area.Single-family: A residential building used for occupancy by 1 household that is not attached to any other dwelling unit through shared side or rear walls, floors or ceilings, or corner points.Site Development Plan: A term used prior to the effective date of the IDO for a scaled plan for development on one or more lots that specifies at minimum the site, proposed use(s), pedestrian and vehicular access, any internal circulation, maximum building height, building setbacks, maximum total dwelling units, and/or nonresidential floor area. A more detailed site development plan would also specify the exact locations of structures, their elevations and dimensions, the parking and loading areas, landscaping, and schedule of development. The equivalent approval in the IDO will be determined based on the level of detail provided in the prior approval.Site Plan: An accurate plan that includes all information required for that type of application, structure, or development.Sketch Plat: A conceptual plat of a proposed subdivision used for discussion by the applicant and DRB to determine suitability for subdivision. A sketch plat typically shows general building and parking locations and specifies design requirements for buildings, landscaping, lighting, and signage.Small Loan Business: Any business requiring licensure under the New Mexico Small Loan Business Act, Article 58-15 NMSA 1978, including but not limited to businesses offering Payday Loans, Title Loans, Installment Loans, or Refund Tax Anticipation Loans. For the purposes of this IDO, small loan businesses are treated as a bank use. Small-cell WTF: A WTF that is designed to act as a booster site that provides increased localized network capacity. A small-cell WTF has 3 or fewer antennas, no greater than 4 feet long each, and does not exceed 35 feet in height for a freestanding small-cell WTF, and includes associated equipment cabinet(s).Solar Energy: The use of land or buildings as locations for mounting of solar collectors or other devices that rely on sunshine as an energy source and are capable of collecting, distributing, or storing the sun's radiant energy.Solid Waste Convenience Center: City-owned and operated locations for the drop-off of solid waste by residents and small commercial haulers only.Special Manufacturing: An establishment or business that uses hazardous inputs or creates hazardous by-products, as defined by federal regulation, in the course of manufacturing, assembly, fabrication, or materials treatment, or that uses manufacturing, assembly, fabrication, or treatment processes that create potentially hazardous impacts, including but not limited to explosions or leakage of nuclear or electromagnetic radiation into the environment or surrounding areas. Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use.Specified Anatomical Areas: Any of the following:
1. Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus, or female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areolae.
2. Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.Specified Sexual Activities: Any of the following:
1. Human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.
2. Acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or sodomy.
3. Fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic regions, buttocks or female breasts.
4. Flagellation or torture in the context of a sexual relationship.
5. Masochism, erotic or sexually oriented torture, beating or the infliction of pain.
6. Erotic touching, fondling or other such contact with an animal by a human being.
7. Human excretion, urination, menstruation, vaginal, or anal irrigation as a part of or in connection with any of the activities set forth in 1 through 6 above.Sports Field: A facility designed for amateur or professional sporting events, exhibitions, or shows.Stacking Space: A term used in designing vehicle circulation areas for the queuing of vehicles. See definition in the DPM.Stadium: An outdoor, open-air area or structure suitable for sporting events or performances with tiers of seats or benches and with seating capacity for 1,000 or more people.Stepback: For the purposes of measuring a second story stepback where required, each plane of the façade should be independently considered to determine the relevant stepback for that portion of the building.Stoop: A building frontage type in the MX-FB zone district where the street-facing façade is placed close to the frontage line with the ground story elevated from the sidewalk, securing privacy for the windows. This type is suitable for ground floor residential uses with short setbacks. This type may be interspersed with the storefront frontage type. A porch may also cover the stoop.Storefront: A portion of the street-facing facade typically associated with retail uses that includes a primary pedestrian entrance.
For the purposes of MX-FB zone district standards, the street-facing façade is placed at or close to the right-of-way line, with the entrance at sidewalk grade.Sopfronts are commonly equipped with cantilevered shed roof or awning. The absence of a raised ground floor story precludes residential use on the ground floor facing the street, although this use is appropriate behind and above.Street: That portion of a public right-of-way or private way or thoroughfare, from curb to curb (or from edge or paving to edge of paving if there is no curb, or from edge of visible travelway to edge of visible travelway, if there is no paving) that is primarily devoted to vehicular use. For the purposes of this IDO, this term does not include alleys.Street Frontage: The boundary between a premises and a public right-of-way, whether or not direct access is allowed from the public right-of-way segment to the premises.Street Side Yard: The part of a lot from a side lot line that abuts a street to the side façade of the primary building.Street Tree: A tree that meets the provisions of Part 6-6-2 of ROA 1994 (Street Trees).Street-facing Faade: Any façade that faces or is within 30 feet of a public right-of-way. A building may have more than one street-facing façade.Structure: Anything constructed or erected above ground level that requires location on the ground or attached to something having a location on the ground but not including a tent, vehicle, vegetation, or public utility pole or line.Structure Height: The vertical distance above grade of the highest point on a structure that is not a building, but not including decorative or incidental features that do not extend more than 10 percent of the length of any side of the structure or occupy more than 10 percent of the ground coverage of the structure.Structured Parking Bonus: A building height bonus that provides an additional 12 feet of building height, unless specified otherwise in this IDO, for a development that includes structured, podium, or subterranean parking on the same premises. Building height bonuses are in exchange for a certain type of development that has a civic benefit.Stub Street: A non-permanent dead-end street intended to be extended in conjunction with development on adjacent lots or sites.Subdivide: To divide or re-divide land into 2 or more parts by whatever means to facilitate the present or future conveyance or other transfer of incidents of ownership or use.Subdivider: Any person who, by reason of his/her power, authority, and/or interest with respect to a specific parcel of land, effects, brings about, causes, or proposes the subdivision of that parcel.Subdivision: 1. The process of subdividing land into 2 or more lots or parcels for purposes of sale or development.
2. The parcel of land subdivided.Substantial Change: As defined and regulated by federal law pertaining to Wireless Telecommunicatios Facilities (WTFs).Tandem Parking: Off-street parking area where 2 or more parking spaces arranged one behind or above the other.Tap Room: An establishment associated with a local brewery, winery, or distillery operating under an approved Small Brewer’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-26.1 NMSA 1978, an approved Winegrower’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978, or an approved Craft Distiller’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-6.1 NMSA 1978 where beer, wine, or spirits are available for consumption on-site. Any production of alcohol as regulated by State law under one of these licenses is considered artisan manufacturing. Any sale of alcohol for off-premises consumption as regulated by State law under these licenses is not considered liquor retail.Tap Room or Tasting Room: An establishment associated with a local brewery, winery, or distillery operating under an approved Small Brewer’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-26.1 NMSA 1978, an approved Winegrower’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978, or an approved Craft Distiller’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-6.1 NMSA 1978 where beer, wine, or spirits are available for consumption on-site. Any production of alcohol as regulated by State law under one of these licenses is considered artisan manufacturing. Any sale of alcohol for off-premises consumption as regulated by State law under these licenses is not considered liquor retail.Tattoo Parlor: A facility where permanent marks, scars, or designs are made on the skin by a process of pricking and ingraining an indelible pigment or by raising scars; or in which other bodily decorations, such as piercing, are provided.Taxidermy: An establishment where the preparing, stuffing, and mounting of the skins of dead animals takes place.Temporary Dwelling: A portable dwelling, not attached to a permanent foundation, for use during temporary events or construction periods.Temporary Sign: Temporary Sign A public display of letters, words, numerals, figures, statues, devices, emblems, pictures, etc. for a specified period of time.Theater: A facility with fixed seats for the viewing of movies or live presentations of musicians or other performing artists.Through Lane: A continuous travel lane, excluding any turn lanes or ramps that provide access to or exit from travel lanes. Distance to a through lane is measured to the closest striped edge.Through Lot: A lot having frontage on 2 separate parallel or approximately parallel dedicated public streets.Toe of Slope: The point where the irrigation facility bank meets natural grade.Townhouse: A group of 3 or more dwelling units divided from each other by vertical common walls, each having a separate entrance leading directly to the outdoors at ground level. For the purposes of this IDO, this use is considered a type of low-density residential development, whether the townhouses are platted on separate lots or not.Tract: A portion of land identified on a plat, often for a purpose other than development of a building, such as for drainage, transportation, open space, or as a remainder parcel that will not be sold as a lot.Trailer: A vehicle without motive power, designed so that it can be drawn by a motor vehicle, to be used for the carrying of persons or property or as a human habitation. A structure that meets the requirements of Articles 14-1 and 14-3 of ROA 1994 (Uniform Administrative Code and Uniform Housing Code) in all ways, including foundation, is not a trailer, whether or not it was once a vehicle.Transit Facility: A land use for bus or rail stops, stations, terminals, shelters, transfer points, depots, park and ride lots, and/or related facilities on publicly or privately owned parcels.Transit Shelter: A shelter erected and maintained under the direction and control of ABQ RIDE or other public transportation provider as part of a public transit system for the use of transit patrons.Transit Shelter Sign: A sign located on a City of Albuquerque Transit Department shelter.Transit Station: A designated place where transit vehicles stop for passengers to board or alight from the vehicles. Usually associated with a premium service such as bus rapid transit, transit stations are distinguished from transit stops by having level-boarding platforms and passenger amenities such as ticket vending machines and real-time transit information, as well as common transit stop amenities such as seating and/or shelters.Transit Stop: A designated place where transit vehicles stop for passengers to board or alight from a bus. Boarding and alighting are generally accomplished from the street curb by means of steps or deployable ramps. The level of amenity at a transit stop tends to reflect the level of usage. Stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating and possible electronic passenger information systems; less busy stops may use a simple pole and route sign to mark the location.Transparent Window or Door: A window or door with glazing rated with a Visible Transmittance of 70 percent or greater or a combination of glass and coating or finish to satisfy the equivalent standard. A transparent window or door on the ground floor permits easy viewing into the building from the sidewalk from a minimum distance of 3 feet away from the building. Reflective or mirrored glass is not considered to be transparent. Any portion of a door or window that is covered with a sign or translucent window wrap is not considered to be transparent.Transparent Windows and/or Doors: Windows and/or doors with glazing rated with a Visible Transmittance of 70 percent or greater or a combination of glass and coating or finish to satisfy the equivalent standard. A transparent window or door on the ground floor permits easy viewing into the building from the sidewalk from a minimum distance of 3 feet away from the building. Reflective or mirrored glass is not considered to be transparent. Any portion of a door or window that is covered with a sign or translucent window wrap is not considered to be transparentTwo-family Detached: A residential building containing 2 dwelling units, each of which is designed for or occupied by 1 family only, with kitchens for each. Each unit in a two-family dwelling is completely separated from the other by an unpierced wall dividing the 2 units side-to-side or back-to-front or by an unpierced ceiling and floor extending from exterior wall to exterior wall (over-under), except for a stairwell exterior to 1 of the dwelling units.UC: Urban Center
An area designated as an Urban Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within an Urban Center, the Urban Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Unconcealed: A nonconforming WTF that is not designed as a concealed structure. These include lattice towers with exposed wireless telecommunications antennas and face-mounted wireless telecommunications antennas. New construction of this type of facility is not allowed.University or College: An institution, other than a vocational school, that provides full-time or part-time education beyond high school.Upgrade: The replacement, or addition of wireless telecommunications antenna(s) or equipment, but does not include routine maintenance. As defined and regulated by federal law.Urban Center: An area designated as an Urban Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within an Urban Center, the Urban Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Urban Residential: A building frontage type in the MX-FB zone district. Residential frontage where windows that front a street are at least twice as tall as they are wide. Residential units may be accessed from street-fronting doors to a lobby or to individual units. May be used in combination with other frontage types.Usable Open Space: Outdoor space to be preserved on-site and managed privately to help ensure livable conditions on each site by providing light and air and meeting visual, psychological, and recreational needs. These areas can be used for a variety of purposes and are not required to be at ground level. Usable open space may include, but is not limited to, lawns; community gardens; decorative and native plantings; open balconies; rooftop decks; plazas; courtyards; covered patios open on at least 2 sides; walkways; landscaped medians, buffers, or setbacks; active and passive recreational areas; fountains; swimming pools; wooded areas; and water courses. Such space shall be available for entry and use by users of the development. Required drainage facilities or land within an easement for overhead utilities that are not landscaped shall not count toward required usable open space. Usable open space does not include public right-of-way, parking lots, off-street parking, driveways, other private vehicular surfaces, or buildings other than swimming pool rooms.Utility, Electric: A facility used or designed to provide electricity services to the city or part of the city that is regulated as a public utility by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and that is included in the Facility Plan for Electric System Transmission and Generation, as amended.Utility, Other Major: A facility sized or designed to serve the entire city, or a wide area of the city, and regulated as a public utility or common carrier by the state or other relevant jurisdiction or agency, including but not limited to major telephone facilities, natural gas facilities, water treatment plants, water pump stations, sewage treatment plants, stormwater drainage facilities, irrigation facilities, or similar public services, but shall not include mass transit or railroad depots or terminals or any similar traffic generating activity, any facility that provides wireless telecommunications services to the public, or any use listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Vacation: The act that rescinds all or part of a recorded subdivision plat including legal dedications and grants of easements.Variance: Exceptions to dimensional standards or variations from the strict, literal application of standards in this IDO or the DPM. Variances from zoning standards are reviewed and decided by the ZHE or EPC, while Variances from technical standards in Section 14-16-5-3 (Access and Connectivity), Section 14-16-5-4 (Subdivision of Land), Section 14-16-5-5 (Parking and Loading), or any standard in the DPM or related to projects in public rights-of-way are decided by the DRB. The allowable use of premises may never be changed via a Variance. Vegetative Screen: A view screen created from evergreen plant material that is at least 75 percent opaque on average across the area to be screened at maturity. Plant material can be trees, ivy, or shrubs, as long as they otherwise meet standards in this IDO.Vehicle: A vehicle that meets the definition in Section 8-1-1-2 of ROA 1994 (Traffic Code).Veterinary Hospital: An establishment of licensed practitioners primarily rendering dentistry, surgical, and medical treatment for animals that may provide overnight accommodations to pets for a limited period before or after medical procedures. Accessory uses include outdoor animal runs and crematory facilities.View Fencing: A wall that is at most 25% opaque to perpendicular view, unless specified otherwise in this IDO, constructed of wood, painted or coated pipe, wrought iron, or smooth wire pasture fence material. View fencing is intended to provide a sense of openness and continuity, visual transparency, and passive surveillance while still providing perimeter security.Vocational School: A public or private institution that provides specialized training and education beyond the high school level, but that does not provide lodging or dwelling units for students or faculty, and that has programs that typically result in the awarding of a certificate. Walkway: A passage or path for walking located on private property, which often connects the sidewalk to a building entrance or connects between different buildings on a site.Wall: A vertical structure of masonry (which includes stone, clay, brick, and poured concrete), wood, plaster, or other material that defines or encloses an area. Where the IDO provides standards about the wall of a building, the term “façade” is used. Otherwise, the IDO provides standards about walls, fences, perimeter walls, courtyard walls, and retaining walls. Unless specified otherwise, this term includes walls, fences, perimeter walls, courtyard walls, and retaining walls. A post that supports a structure other than a wall, such as a sign or a carport, is not considered a wall.Wall Height: For a perimeter wall along the front lot line, wall height shall be measured from the grade on the public side of the wall. For other perimeter walls along other lot lines or for walls between the front lot line and the front façade of the primary building, wall height shall be measured from the grade on the side of the wall that provides the taller wall height. Wall height does not include decorative or incidental features, such as pilasters or fence posts, that are allowed or required by this IDO.Wall Sign: A sign flush to the exterior surface of a building, applied directly on the building or a signboard attached flush to the building, projecting no more than 18 inches from the building surface and not projecting above the roof. However, light sources aimed at the wall sign may extend farther. A sign on a freestanding roofed structure, such as a canopy for a vehicle fueling station, outdoor storage or display, or drive-up facility, is also considered a wall sign.Walled Court: Elevated gardens or terraces that are set back from the frontage line. This type can effectively buffer residential quarters from the sidewalk, while removing the private yard from public encroachment. The court is also suitable for restaurants and cafes as the eye of the sitter is level with that of the standing passerby.Warehouse: A building frontage type in the MX-FB zone district in which up to half of the required windows or doors may be opaque. A warehouse frontage may not have loading docks fronting a street.Warehousing: The use of a building primarily for the holding or storage of goods, including cold storage, and merchandise for onward transportation or for distribution to retailers, but not for sale to the general public, and not including self-storage. Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use.Waste and/or Recycling Transfer Station: A site or facility where materials to be recycled or reprocessed are unloaded after collection and transferred onto transport vehicles, either immediately or following a temporary storage period, aggregation, or sorting. The facility may feature sorting, material crushing apparatus, and the storage of the material until it is transported. Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use.Water Harvesting: A water conservation method used to capture, divert, and/or store rainwater for plant irrigation and other uses.Wholesaling and Distribution Center: A facility for the storage of products, supplies, and equipment offered for wholesale distribution, and not for direct sale to the general public.Wind Energy: The use of land for the installation wind energy turbines, wind chargers, windmills, battery banks, and related equipment to generate electrical power from wind or the installation of such equipment or devices on a building.Window Sign: A sign on a window or door, with its message or image discernible from the exterior of the building. Window wraps and glazing with messages or images are considered window signs.Wireless Telecommunications Antenna: A component of a WTF. Any exterior transmitting or receiving device that may be mounted on a tower, building, or structure and used in communications that radiates or captures electromagnetic waves, digital signals, analog signals, radio frequencies (excluding radar signals), or other commercial signals. It includes, but is not limited to, directional antennas (such as panels, microwave dishes, and satellite dishes) and omni-directional antennas (such as whips), but not including non-commercial or broadcasting antennas.Wireless Telecommunications Facility: A facility that transmits and/or receives signals or waves radiated or captured by a wireless telecommunications antenna. It may include: antennas of all kinds including microwave dishes, horns, and other types of equipment for the transmission or reception of such signals, telecommunications tower or similar structures supporting said equipment, equipment buildings or cabinets, parking area, and/or other accessory development. Non-commercial or broadcasting antennas are not considered to be wireless telecommunications facilities.Wireless Telecommunications Services: The provision or offering for rent, sale, or lease, or in exchange for other value received, of the transmittal of voice, data, image, graphic, and video programming information between or among points excluding only cable services.Workforce Housing: Housing meeting the definition of the City's Workforce Housing Opportunity regulations.Workforce Housing Bonus: A building height bonus that provides an additional 12 feet of building height, unless specified otherwise in this IDO, for a development in which at least 30 percent of the dwelling units meet the definition of workforce housing in the City's Workforce Housing Opportunity regulations. Building height bonuses are in exchange for a certain type of development that has a civic benefit.Wrapped Parking: A structure, part of a structure, or a parking lot designed to accommodate vehicle parking spaces that is wrapped on all sides that abut a street by buildings with residential, commercial, or office uses.WTF: Wireless Telecommunications Facility (WTF)
A facility that transmits and/or receives signals or waves radiated or captured by a wireless telecommunications antenna. It may include: antennas of all kinds including microwave dishes, horns, and other types of equipment for the transmission or reception of such signals, telecommunications tower or similar structures supporting said equipment, equipment buildings or cabinets, parking area, and/or other accessory development. Non-commercial or broadcasting antennas are not considered to be wireless telecommunications facilities.Yard Sign: A type of free-standing sign that is relatively small and short, typically supported by 1 or 2 wires or posts, and located in the front or street side yard of a property.ZEO: Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO)
A City Planning Department employee or his/her authorized representative who interprets the provisions of this IDO, reviews applications for decisions related to this IDO, and may make administrative decisions.ZHE: A City employee, or a person or firm on contract with the City, who reviews and decides applications for Conditional Use Approvals, Expansions of Nonconforming Use or Structure, and Variances.Zone Boundary: The boundary of a zone is a lot line unless clearly otherwise shown on the Official Zoning Map, in which case, the boundary of a zone is determined by use of the scale of measurement shown on the Official Zoning Map.Zoning Enforcement Officer: A City Planning Department employee or his/her authorized representative who interprets the provisions of this IDO, reviews applications for decisions related to this IDO, and may make administrative decisions.Zoo: A facility, indoor or outdoor, where animals are kept for viewing by the public, and that may be accredited by the American Zoological Association. Office, retail, and other commercial uses commonly established in such facilities and related parking structures shall be allowed as accessory appurtenances. This use does not include the ABQ BioPark, which is listed as a separate use in this IDO and regulated per the BioPark Master Plan.
The area designated as the Downtown Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within the Downtown Center, the Downtown Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.EC: Employment Center (EC)
An area designated as an Employment Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within an Employment Center, the Employment Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.LC: Landmarks Commission (LC)
The City Landmarks Commission as created by Section 14-16-6-2(H) (Landmarks Commission) to review and recommend decisions about potential historic zones or landmarks.Lien: A statutory lien against land for the estimated cost of construction of required infrastructure or improvements by the applicant, Developer, or Subdivider, which is recorded and enforced in accordance with Article 3-36 NMSA 1978 or such other method prescribed by law.MS: Main Street Corridor Area (MS)
An area within 660 feet of the centerline of a Main Street Corridor, as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Main Street area, the Main Street regulations apply to the entire parcel.Sign: Any display to public view of letters, words, numerals, emblems, pictures, or any parts or combinations thereof designed to inform or advertise or promote merchandise, services, or activities except for the following:
1. Non-illuminated names of buildings, dates of erection, monument citations, commemorative tablets and the like when carved into stone, concrete, metal, or any other permanent type construction and made an integral part of a permitted structure or made flush to the ground.
2. Signs required by law or signs of a duly-constituted governmental body.
3. Signs placed by a public utility for the safety, welfare, or convenience of the public, such as signs identifying high voltage, public telephone, or underground cables.
4. Signs on a vehicle, provided that any such vehicle with a sign face of over 2 square feet is not conspicuously parked so as to constitute a sign; nothing herein prevents such a vehicle from being used for delivery or other vehicular purposes.
5. Temporary holiday decorations.
A back-to-back sign or V-shaped sign constitutes 1 sign if it employs a common set of supports. A composite group of signs integrated into 1 framed unit or compact structure constitutes 1 sign.UC: Urban Center
An area designated as an Urban Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within an Urban Center, the Urban Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Abut: To touch or share a property boundary.AC: Activity Center (AC)
An area designated as an Activity Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended, excluding Old Town. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within an Activity Center, the Activity Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Access: A way or means of approach to provide vehicular or pedestrian physical entrance to a property.Accessory Building: A building detached from and, except in the case of agricultural support buildings like barns in the R-A zone district, smaller than the primary building on the same lot. The use of an accessory building shall be subordinate and customarily incidental to the primary use of the lot. Accessory Dwelling Unit: A dwelling unit that is subordinate to a primary single-family or two-family dwelling or non-residential use. Accessory dwelling units may be attached to the primary dwelling, contained within the primary dwelling, or built as a detached building. When accessory to a non-residential use, an accessory dwelling unit serves as quarters for a caretaker. This IDO distinguishes between accessory dwelling units with and without a kitchen.
If a maximum size for accessory dwelling units is specified, a garage or shed attached to the accessory dwelling unit shall not count toward the size.Accessory Dwelling: A dwelling unit that is subordinate to a primary single-family or two-family dwelling or non-residential use. Accessory dwelling units may be attached to the primary dwelling, contained within the primary dwelling, or built as a detached building. When accessory to a non-residential use, an accessory dwelling unit serves as quarters for a caretaker. This IDO distinguishes between accessory dwelling units with and without a kitchen.
If a maximum size for accessory dwelling units is specified, a garage or shed attached to the accessory dwelling unit shall not count toward the size.Accessory Structure: A structure detached from a primary building, customarily used with and clearly incidental and subordinate to the primary building or use, and located on the same lot as such primary building. Including but not limited to swimming pools and shade structures such as covered patios, gazeboes, pergolas, ramadas, or similar roofed structures. Accessory Use: A land use that is subordinate in use, area, or purpose to a primary land use on the same lot or, in any Mixed-use or Non-residential zone district, the same premises. An accessory use may or may not be located in an accessory structure. For the purposes of this IDO, accessory uses are listed in Table 4-2-1, may have separate Use-specific Standards, or may be defined as incidental to another primary use. Acequia: An irrigation ditch operated and maintained by the MRGCD or a community acequia association. Activity Center: An area designated as an Activity Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended, excluding Old Town. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within an Activity Center, the Activity Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Adjacent: Abutting or separated only by a street, alley, trail, or utility easement, whether public or private. Adult Entertainment: An establishment such as an auditorium, bar, cabaret, concert hall, nightclub, restaurant, theater, or other commercial establishment, other than an adult retail establishment, that provides amusement or entertainment featuring 1 or more of the following:
1. A live performance, act, or escort service distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on the depiction, description, exposure, or representation of specified anatomical areas or the conduct or simulation of specified sexual activities.
2. Audio or video displays, computer displays, films, motion pictures, slides or other visual representations or recordings characterized or distinguished by an emphasis on the depiction, description, exposure or representation of specified anatomical areas or the conduct or simulation of specified sexual activities.
Adult entertainment is a primary use and may not be accessory to any other use.Adult or Child Day Care Facility: A facility other than an occupied residence that provides care for more than 12 individual adults or children during the day. This use does not include overnight care. Adult Retail: Any establishment where 25 percent or more of the gross floor area is used to sell or rent adult material, including but not limited to books, magazines, newspapers, films (video tapes and/or DVDs), slides, photographic or written material, and other items or devices that are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on the depiction, description, exposure, or representation of specified anatomical areas or the conduct or simulation of specified sexual activities. Adult retail is a primary use and may not be accessory to any other use. Agricultural Sales Stand: A structure for the retail sale of agricultural products raised on the same premises.Agriculture, General: Any use of land for the purposes of crops, grazing animals, orchards, trees or forest lands, and any other use pertaining to farming or agricultural research, including the raising of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and other farm animals for use or sale, and including all the types of structures normally associated with these uses, such as storage bins, barns, sheds, tool houses, greenhouses, garages, and any other use or facility ancillary to farming or open land. Airport: The area of land used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, passenger and cargo loading areas, and related uses.Alley: A public right-of-way, private way, or thoroughfare, or a part thereof primarily devoted to vehicular use and providing secondary access to abutting property or primary vehicular access to residential properties, minimizing or eliminating the need for driveway access to the street. For the purposes of this IDO, alleys are not considered streets. Allowable Use: A land use allowed in a particular zone district by Table 4-2-1 as a primary or accessory use, whether allowed permissively or conditionally.AMAFCA: Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA)
The political subdivision of the State of New Mexico established pursuant to Article 72-16 NMSA 1978 with specific responsibility for flooding problems in the greater Albuquerque area.Amendment: Any repeal, modification, or addition to a regulation; any new regulation; any change in the number, shape, boundary, or area of any zone district or Overlay zone; or any repeal or abolition of any map, part thereof, or addition thereto.Amphitheater: An outdoor, open-air area or structure suitable for musical or theatrical performances, performing arts, or sporting events with tiers of seats, benches, or berms with seating capacity for less than 1,000 people.Animal Keeping: The keeping of animals as allowed by Article 9-2 of ROA 1994 (Humane and Ethical Animal Rules and Treatment (HEART) Ordinance).Arcade: A street-facing façade with an attached colonnade. For the purposes of MX-FB zone district standards, balconies may overlap the sidewalk while the ground floor remains set at the lot line. This type is ideal for retail use, but only when the sidewalk is fully absorbed within the arcade so that a pedestrian cannot bypass it. An easement for private use of the right-of-way is usually required.Archaeological Resource: Material remains of past human activity and life that are of archaeological interest, including but not limited to pottery, basketry, bottles, weapon projectiles, tools, structures or portions of structures, pit houses, rock paintings, rock carvings, intaglios, graves, human skeletal materials, or any portion or piece of any of the foregoing items. Non-fossilized and fossilized paleontological specimens, or any portion or piece thereof, shall not be considered archaeological resources unless found in an archaeological context. No item shall be treated as an archaeological resource unless such item is at least 75 years old. Material remains that are structures may be considered for further review and protection as a landmark site or structure.Architecturally Integrated: A WTF that is camouflaged into the structure on which it is located by means of color, texturing, architectural treatment, massing, size, design, and/or shape. An architecturally integrated WTF is a concealed facility.Area of Change: An area designated as an Area of Change in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan (ABC Comp Plan), as amended, where growth and development is encouraged, primarily in Centers other than Old Town, Corridors other than Commuter Corridors, Master Development Plan areas, planned communities, and Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas.Area of Consistency: An area designated as an Area of Consistency in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan (ABC Comp Plan), as amended, where development must reinforce the character and intensity of existing development.Areas of Change: Areas designated Area of Change in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan (ABC Comp Plan), as amended, where growth and development is encouraged, primarily in Centers other than Old Town, Corridors other than Commuter Corridors, Master Development Plan areas, planned communities, and Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas.Areas of Consistency: Areas designated Area of Consistency in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan (ABC Comp Plan), as amended, where development must reinforce the character and intensity of existing development.Art Gallery: A building, room, or series of rooms where works of art are exhibited for display or sale. Artisan Manufacturing: Small-scale manufacturing and related processes or activities – including but not limited to application, assembling, compounding, design, fabrication, growing, making, packaging, processing, sculpting, teaching, treating of crafts or products, or welding – often by an artist, artisan, or craftsperson working with ceramic, clay, electronics, metal, paper, plastic, stone, textiles, wood, or similar materials either by hand or with minimal automation or technology, including but not limited to 3D printing. This use includes incidental storage and direct sales to consumers. This use also includes the production of beer, wine, or spirits associated with an approved Small Brewer’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-26.1 NMSA 1978, an approved Winegrower’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978, or an approved Craft Distiller’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-6.1 NMSA 1978. Annual production shall be limited by state statute.Assisted Living Facility: An establishment containing a combination of housing, supportive services, personalized assistance, and health care services designed to respond to the individual needs of those who need help with activities of daily living or memory care services, but not including skilled nursing care. Such facilities may include separate bedrooms or living quarters, a central or private kitchen, dining, recreational, and other residential accessory uses. Auditorium: A hall or seating area, generally enclosed, where an audience views a musical or theatrical performance, concert, sporting, or other entertainment event, including but not limited to a conference center. Automated Teller Machine (ATM): Automated Teller Machine (ATM)
An electronically operated device used to conduct financial transactions on-site by means of direct computerized access. Bail Bond Business: Any business requiring licensure under Part 13.20.2 NMAC, including any person, agency, or corporation that acts as a surety and pledges money or property as bail for the appearance of persons accused in court. For the purposes of this IDO, bail bond businesses are treated as a personal and business services use.Bakery or Confectionary Shop: A facility for the production and sale of baked goods and confectioneries, primarily for retail sales to customers of the facility. Accessory sales to off-site customers is allowed. Bank: An establishment that provides retail banking, mortgage lending, and financial services to individuals and businesses, including check-cashing facilities. A Small Loan Business is considered a bank for the purposes of this IDO.Bar: An establishment having as its primary or predominant uses the serving of beer, wine, or liquor for consumption on the premises, but that does not meet the definition for Tap Room or Tasting Room.Bed and Breakfast: A single-family dwelling with no more than 8 guest rooms that are rented for short-term overnight lodging with breakfast served; some or all guest rooms may be in accessory buildings. Provision of alcoholic beverages is controlled by the New Mexico State statutes for “Bed and breakfast” as governed by Section 60-6A-34 NMSA 1978. Bedroom: Any room in a dwelling that is partitioned by walls and doors, other than the following: one kitchen, one room that may be designated as a living room, one room that may be designated as a dining room or family room, and any number of baths, foyers, corridors, and closets (all as defined Articles 14-1 and 14-3 of ROA 1994 (Uniform Administrative Code and Uniform Housing Code). Rooms greater than 100 square feet may not be considered closets for the purposes of this definition.Bikeway: Any street or trail that is specifically designated for bicycle travel, regardless of whether such facility is designated for the exclusive use of bicycles or is to be shared with other transportation modes.BioPark: City-owned facilities managed by Cultural Services and regulated by a Master Plan, including the ABQ BioPark Zoo, Botanic Garden, Aquarium, and Tingley Beach. Zoned NR-PO-D in the IDO.Blood Services Facility: An establishment that collects whole blood for transfusion or further processing; collects plasma for further processing; or uses plasmapheresis, plateletpheresis, or lenkapheresis processes for removal of blood from a donor. This does not apply to hospitals for human beings, laboratories for collection of personal blood samples, or temporary blood drives.Boat: A vehicle, not exceeding 30 feet in body length, 8 feet in width, or 11 feet in overall height, for traveling in or on water. Height includes the trailer, if the boat is mounted on a trailer.Buffering: A required piece of land in a specific location used to physically separate or screen one land use or piece of property from another and landscaped with at least the minimum requirements specified in this IDO.Building: An independent, fully enclosed structure with a roof supported by columns or walls resting on its own foundations that is built and maintained for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, or property of any kind. A detached building is one separated on all sides from adjacent buildings by open spaces from the ground up. Building and Home Improvement Materials Store: An establishment having a gross floor area greater than 50,000 square feet primarily engaged in retailing a general line of new home repair and improvement materials and supplies, such as lumber, plumbing goods, electrical goods, tools, house wares, hardware and lawn and garden supplies, with the merchandise lines normally arranged in separate departments, with or without central customer checkout. This use includes the sale of plants and garden supplies in outdoor areas and incidental outdoor storage. Building Coverage: The percentage of a lot that is covered by building footprints.Building Height: The vertical distance above the grade at each façade of the building, considered separately, to the top of the coping or parapet on a flat roof, whichever is higher; to the deck line of a mansard roof; or to the average height between the plate and the ridge of a hip, gable, shed, or gambrel roof. The height of a stepped or sloped building is the maximum height above grade of any distinct segment of the building that constitutes at least 10 percent of the gross floor area of the building.Building Mounted Sign: A sign entirely supported by or through a building, including canopy sign, marquee sign, projecting sign, rooftop sign, or wall sign.Bulk Land Subdivision: Any subdivision of property that is primarily intended to facilitate transfer to intermediate land holders, not to create parcels available for development without further subdivision approvals, and that conforms to DRB interpretive rules.Business: A legal entity operating an enterprise in a space separate from any other enterprise.Business Days: For deadlines, a period of days that does not include weekends or holidays listed in Part 3-1-12 of ROA 1994 (Legal Holidays). Campground or Recreational Vehicle Park: A lot developed or used for occupancy by tents and or recreational vehicles for transient dwelling purposes. A campground/recreational vehicle park may include recreational services, facilities, and activities for use by the public and residents to provide comprehensive livability options.Canopy: A roof-like decorative feature projecting from the exterior of a building that may serve as a shelter from the sun, rain, or wind. A tree canopy includes the area beneath a tree’s dripline.Canopy Sign: A type of building-mounted sign mounted on or under a permanent canopy, arcade, or portal. Signs on a freestanding roofed structure, such as a canopy for a vehicle fueling station, are considered wall signs for the purposes of this IDO.Car Wash: A building, or portion of a building, containing facilities for the primary purpose of washing automobiles using production line methods with a chain conveyor, blower, steam cleaning device, or other mechanical devices or providing space, water, equipment, or soap for the complete or partial hand-washing of such automobiles, whether by operator or by customer.Catering Service: An establishment whose primary business is to prepare food on-site, then to transport and serve the food off-site. No retail sale of food or beverages for consumption on the premises is allowed.Centers and Corridors: Areas designated Centers in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended and areas within a specified distance of the centerline of a Corridor or within a specified distance of a transit station on a Premium Transit Corridor, as designated in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Center or Corridor area, the relevant Center or Corridor regulations apply to the entire parcel. Provisions in this IDO related to Centers and Corridors do not apply to the Old Town Center or Commuter Corridors.Certificate of Appropriateness: Written authorization required for alteration, demolition, or new construction in certain zones as provided for in Subsections 14-16-6-5(D) (Historic Certificate of Appropriateness – Minor) or 14-16-6-6(D) (Historic Certificate of Appropriateness – Major).Characteristic Building: A building in the Nob Hill/Highland – CPO-8 zone that exemplifies historic commercial architecture as identified on the map in Section 14-16-3-4(I).Chief Building Official: A City employee in the City Planning Department responsible for enforcing Articles 14-1 and 14-3 of ROA 1994 (Uniform Administrative Code and Uniform Housing Code) and managing the operations of the Building Safety Division of the City Planning Department, including issuing building and demolition permits, performing building inspections, and coordinating with other divisions and departments to help maintain a safe and habitable built environment.Chile Ristra: A string or cord on which natural, unadorned chile peppers are threaded or tied and hung for display.Circus: A travelling enterprise that features feats of physical skill and daring, wild animal acts, and performances by clowns.City: Capitalized, this refers to the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico local government. Uncapitalized, this refers to the geographic area defined by the City of Albuquerque municipal boundary.City Archaeologist: A City employee, or person contracted by the City, who reviews sites for archaeological significance, as described in Section 14-16-6-5(A) (Archaeological Certificate).City Engineer: A City employee who is a professional engineer registered by the State of New Mexico and designated as the City Engineer, including his/her designee, who is also a professional engineer registered by the State of New Mexico.Clear Sight Triangle: An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections at least 3 feet and no more than 8 feet above the gutter line and within a triangular area at the street corner or driveway, regulated by the DPM.Club: An organization, including but not limited to a lodge, catering exclusively to members and their guests for social, intellectual, recreational, or athletic purposes that are not conducted for profit.Club or Event Facility: A publicly or privately owned building devoted to the assembly of people for social, professional, or recreational activities such as meetings, weddings, or conferences. Cluster Development: A development type that concentrates single-family or two-family dwellings on smaller lots than would otherwise be allowed in the zone district in return for the preservation of common open space within the same site, on a separate lot, or in an easement.Cluster Development Design: A design technique that concentrates buildings in specific areas on a site to allow the remaining land to be used for recreation, open space, or preservation of sensitive lands. Collector: A street so designated in the Long Range Transportation System (LRTS) Guide, or a logical geographic extension of that street, as determined by the City Engineer. A collector street carries traffic from local streets to the principal and minor arterial streets. Traffic volumes are substantial but smaller than normally served by minor arterial streets.Co-location: The location of more than one WTF at a single location and/or using the same structure, not including a public utility structure, for mounting wireless telecommunications antennas by more than one provider of wireless telecommunications services. Commercial Services: Any activity involving the provision of services carried out for profit, generally for a business customer and not an individual buyer, including but not limited to upholstering, welding, laundry, printing, or publishing, that is not listed separately as a distinct use in Table 4-2-1.Common Open Space: The area of undeveloped land within a cluster development that is set aside for the use and enjoyment by the owners and occupants of the dwellings in the development and includes agriculture, landscaping, on-site ponding, or outdoor recreation uses. The common open space is a separate lot or easement on the subdivision plat of the cluster development. Community Center: A public building or facility operated for meeting, social, cultural, educational, or recreational purposes, including but not limited to multigenerational and senior centers. Community Garden: A private or public facility for cultivation of fruits, flowers, vegetables, or ornamental plants by more than one person or family as a primary use of land.Community Residential Facility: Any building, structure, home, or facility in which persons reside for a period of more than 24 hours and that is designed to help the residents adjust to the community and society and is used or intended to be used for the purposes of letting rooms, providing meals, and/or providing personal assistance, personal services, personal care, and protective care, but not skilled nursing care. This use specifically includes, but is not limited to, facilities for persons meeting the definition of a handicapped person or for other persons protected against housing discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1998 (or as amended) and court decisions interpreting that Act. For purposes of this definition, the term handicapped does not include persons currently using or addicted to alcohol or controlled substances who are not in a recognized recovery program. This use shall not include half-way houses for individuals in the criminal justice system or residential facilities to divert persons from the criminal justice system.
Community Residential Facility is divided into 3 categories based on the number of individuals residing in the facility (not the size of the structure).
1. Community Residential Facility, Small: A facility in which personal service, personal assistance, personal care, and/or protective care are provided to no more than 8 individuals, except those foster family homes licensed by child-placing agencies.
2. Community Residential Facility, Medium: A facility in which personal service, personal assistance, personal care, and/or protective care are provided to between 9 and 18 individuals, except those foster family homes licensed by child-placing agencies.
3. Community Residential Facility, Large: A facility in which personal service, personal assistance, personal care, and/or protective care are provided to 19 or more individuals.Concealed: As further prescribed in Subsection 14-16-4-3(E)(10)(a), a WTF that is aesthetically integrated or otherwise consistent with surrounding existing buildings, structures, and landscaping, including height, color, style, massing, placement, design, and shape, and that does not visually stand out as a WTF. A face-mounted antenna that is painted to match the façade, but has no other design elements that conceal the antenna, remains readily visible to the naked eye and is not considered a concealed facility.Conditional: A land use that is allowable in a particular zone district subject to conditional approval by the ZHE based on a review of the potential adverse impacts of the use and any appropriate mitigations to minimize those impacts on nearby properties. Table 4-2-1 indicates whether a particular conditional use is primary (listed as C) or accessory (listed as CA) or allowed conditionally in a primary building that has been vacant for a specified amount of time (listed as CV).Consecutive Days: For deadlines, a period of days that includes business days, weekends, and holidays listed in Part 3-1-12 of ROA 1994 (Legal Holidays), unless specified otherwise. If the final day falls on a weekend or a holiday, the period ends on the following business day. Construction Contractor Facility and Yard: A building and related outdoor areas used to store and maintain construction equipment and materials, including but not limited to plumbing, electrical, carpentry, roofing, landscaping, and facilities customarily required in the building trade by a construction contractor. Construction Staging Area, Trailer, or Office: A temporary building or structure used as a construction office or outdoor storage area for equipment and materials for a project located on the same site during its construction.Convertible Parking Structure: A structure or part of a structure designed to accommodate vehicle parking spaces that has a fully enclosed ground level with no ramping on any ground floor street-facing façade so that the ground floor can be adapted to commercial, residential, or office uses. Corner Lot: A lot located at the intersection of and having frontage on 2 or more streets.Correctional Facility: A facility to house persons awaiting trial or persons serving a sentence after being found guilty of committing a crime. This use includes a prison, jail, and adult or juvenile detention center.Cottage Development: A shared-interest low-density residential community in which multiple small individual dwellings are served by shared private ways or infrastructure, and in which the development intensity is measured by the amount of gross floor area in residential dwelling units rather than the number of residential dwelling units. A cottage development may include a combination of dwelling units with shared facilities, including but not limited to open space, parking lots or carports, gardens, recreation areas, community building(s) with facilities such as a kitchen and dining area, meeting and activity spaces, and a maximum of 1 guest room.Council: The governing body of the City and the land use and zoning authority empowered by the state through home rule. The City Council makes discretionary, policy, and regulatory decisions for City-owned property and private property within the city’s municipal boundaries.County: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, unless the context clearly indicates that another county is intended.Courtyard Wall: Wall that is not on the lot line that encloses an outdoor space to form an outdoor courtyard.Crematorium: An establishment that burns dead bodies of humans and/or animals.Cul-de-sac: A short street intersecting another street at one end and terminating at the other end, normally with a vehicular turnaround.Curb Cut: Any break in a curb that facilitates access to or from a street, alley, or driveway.Daytime Gathering Facility: A premises used to provide social services to those in need, for no fee or compensation, or at a fee recognized as being significantly less than charged by for-profit organizations. Services may include, but are not limited to, information and referral services; ambulatory medical services; counseling; skill development; aid through the provision of food or clothing; life skill and personal development programs; alcohol, drug, or substance abuse counseling; and drop-in or activity space.Demolition Permit: The permit issued by the City for the demolition of a structure, excluding a permit issued solely for the demolition of the interior of a structure.Developer: Any individual, corporation, company, firm, partnership, joint venture, or other entity responsible for land platting and/or construction or placement of any structures or infrastructure within the boundaries of the city. If the property owner has engaged a representative to act as his/her agent, the agent must possess a legally binding agreement with the property owner in order to act in the property owner's behalf with regard to the development of the project.Development: Any activity that alters the ground on a property. Development may include construction of buildings, structures, or streets; installation of landscaping, infrastructure, utilities, or site features; and/or activities to prepare land for such construction or installation, such as grading. For the purposes of the IDO, this term includes new development and redevelopment on existing lots.Deviation: An exception to dimensional standards that can be granted administratively by City Planning Department staff or by the DRB within thresholds and based on criteria established by the IDO.Dispatch Center: A facility from which vehicles for couriers, deliveries, security, locksmiths, taxis, senior services, meals-on-wheels, or similar services are dispatched. Accessory uses may include, but are not limited to, administrative offices and vehicle washing facilities.Downtown Center: The area designated as the Downtown Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within the Downtown Center, the Downtown Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.DPM: Development Process Manual (DPM)
A compilation of City requirements related to design criteria, technical and engineering standards, and procedures for the processing of development proposals within the City's jurisdiction, particularly relating to public rights-of-way.Drainage Plan: Drainage Plan
See definition in the DPM.Drainage Report: Drainage Report
See definition in the DPM.DRB: Development Review Board (DRB)
A 6-member board made up of City and Agency staff, as described in Section 14-16-6-2(D) (Development Review Board), that makes decisions about development in the city based on zoning and technical standards.Drive Aisle: A private, unenclosed accessway with a stabilized surface allowing vehicular access either to individual buildings or to parking space(s) within parking lots. In the case of single-family attached and multi-family dwellings, a drive aisle is an accessway shared by the residents and guests of 2 or more dwellings.Drive-in Theater: An establishment including a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, and a large parking area for automobiles from which films projected outdoors may be seen. Accessory uses may include a concession stand. Drive-through: Facilities associated with a primary use, including but not limited to banks, financial institutions, restaurants, dry cleaners, and drug stores, but not including car washes or light vehicle fueling, to offer goods and services directly to customers waiting in motor vehicles. Driveway: An unobstructed area with a stabilized surface leading from the street to a garage or other allowed off-street parking area.DT: Downtown Center (DT)
The area designated as the Downtown Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within the Downtown Center, the Downtown Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Dwelling Unit: Unless specified otherwise in this IDO, one or more connected rooms and a kitchen designed for and occupied by no more than one family for living and sleeping purposes, permanently installed on a permanent foundation and meeting the requirements of Articles 14-1 and 14-3 of ROA 1994 (Uniform Administrative Code and Uniform Housing Code), as of the date of the unit's construction.Dwelling Unit, Accessory: A dwelling unit that is subordinate to a primary single-family or two-family dwelling or non-residential use. Accessory dwelling units may be attached to the primary dwelling, contained within the primary dwelling, or built as a detached building. When accessory to a non-residential use, an accessory dwelling unit serves as quarters for a caretaker. This IDO distinguishes between accessory dwelling units with and without a kitchen.
If a maximum size for accessory dwelling units is specified, a garage or shed attached to the accessory dwelling unit shall not count toward the size.Dwelling, Temporary: A portable dwelling, not attached to a permanent foundation, for use during temporary events or construction periods.Easement: A legal right to use another’s land for a specific, limited purpose, typically within private ways. The purpose may include, but is not limited to, installing and maintaining stormwater drainage, water and sanitary sewer lines, fire hydrants, landscaping, and other infrastructure improvements. Easements may also be granted for open space, view protection, or other specific uses.Electric Utility: A facility used or designed to provide electricity services to the city or part of the city that is regulated as a public utility by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and that is included in the Facility Plan for Electric System Transmission and Generation, as amended.Electric Vehicle Charging Station: A facility or area where electric-powered or hybrid-powered motor vehicles can obtain electrical current to recharge batteries and that is accessory to a primary use of the property. This use can be incidental to any allowable use in any zone district.Electromagnetic Interference: Disturbance caused by intruding signals or electrical current.Electronic Sign: A sign that is internally lit to display messages and images that are changed electronically. The lit sign area may be of various types, including but not limited to flat screen, active display matrix, or a board with a single or multiple lines of text or graphics. The light source may vary but is typically Light Emitting Diodes (LED).Employment Center: An area designated as an Employment Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within an Employment Center, the Employment Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.EPC: A 9-member commission appointed by the Mayor, as described in Section 14-16-6-2(E) (Environmental Planning Commission), that makes discretionary and policy decisions and recommendations about land use in the city.Equestrian Facility: A facility where horses, mules, or ponies are hired, bred, shown, or boarded including accessory stables or exercise areas. Equestrian facilities are often for the display of equestrian skills and the hosting of events, including but not limited to show jumping, dressage, and similar events of other equestrian disciplines.Escarpment: Land with 9 percent slope or more and considered sensitive land, where development is discouraged. The Northwest Mesa Escarpment is part of the Petroglyph National Monument, which is also designated as Major Public Open Space.Establishment: A place of business, industry, institutional, or philanthropic activity, with its furnishings and staff.Existing Vertical Structure: Any tower or other vertical structure that was constructed in accordance with a building permit.Exterior Appearance: The visual character of all outside surfaces of a structure, including the kind and texture of the signs, light fixtures, steps, or appurtenant elements.Extraordinary Facilities: Facilities within Major Public Open Space other than trails, fencing, signs, incidental parking lots, access roads, and infrastructure not visible on the surface that are primarily for facilitating recreation, relaxation, and enjoyment of the outdoors and that require additional review by the Open Space Advisory Board and EPC per the Facility Plan for Major Public Open Space. Extraordinary Facilities may include utility structures, Wireless Telecommunications Facilities, or buildings.Extraordinary Facility: A facility within Major Public Open Space other than a trail, fence, sign, incidental parking lot, access road, or infrastructure not visible on the surface that is primarily for facilitating recreation, relaxation, and enjoyment of the outdoors and that requires additional review by the Open Space Advisory Board and EPC per the Facility Plan for Major Public Open Space. Extraordinary Facilities may include utility structures, Wireless Telecommunications Facilities, or buildings.Face-mounted: An antenna attached to and covering a small portion of the surface of a building. Face-mounted WTF antennas are considered unconcealed and are not allowed. Existing face-mounted WTFs are regulated as Nonconforming uses.Facility Plan: A City plan that is specialized in subject matter. Facility Plans normally cover only one type of utility or public facility, such as electric facilities or Major Public Open Space. Such plans address the entire metropolitan area or city, or at least a major part of it. These Rank 2 plans specify important development standards, as well as general site locations and multi-year programs for facility capital improvements.Fair, Festival, or Theatrical Performance: An organized event or set of events, including but not limited to musical performances and plays, usually happening in one place for a designated period of time with its own social activities, food, or ceremonies and accessory sales of retail goods.Fairgrounds: An area where outdoor fairs, circuses, or exhibitions are held.Family: Any of the following:
1. An individual.
2. Two (2) or more persons related by blood, marriage, legal guardianship, or adoption, plus household staff.
3. Any group of not more than 5 persons living together in a dwelling.
4. Any group of 5 persons or more that has a right to live together pursuant to the federal Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988 (or as amended), as interpreted by the courts.Family Care Facility: An occupied dwelling used for 24-hour care of 1 or 2 residents who are not relatives of the resident family and not under court ordered guardianship of a member of the resident family. This type of facility must be licensed as a Family Care Home by the state and provide services as outlined for Adult Residential Shelter Care or Board and Care Homes in New Mexico Health and Environment Department regulations.Family Home Daycare: An occupied dwelling in which a person provides, for remuneration, care for at least 4 but not more than 12 children on a regular basis for less than 24 hours per day. The resident provider's children who are age 6 or more shall not be counted for this definition.Farmers Market: An occasional or periodic market held in a designated area where groups of individual sellers offer for sale to the public items such as fresh produce, seasonal fruits, fresh flowers, arts and crafts items, and food and beverages dispensed from booths located on-site.Final Plat: The completed subdivision plat in a form for approval and recording.Fire Station: A public facility where fire engines and other equipment are housed and from which calls for emergency fire responses are handled.Flood Fringe: The area between the floodway and the boundary of the 100-year flood.
The City’s flood protection regulations are included in Article 14-5 of ROA 1994 (Flood Hazard and Drainage Control). If there is a conflict between these general definitions and the definitions in Article 14-5, the definitions in Article 14-5 shall prevail.Floodplain: Any land susceptible to being inundated by water from any source.
The City’s flood protection regulations are included in Article 14-5 of ROA 1994 (Flood Hazard and Drainage Control). If there is a conflict between these general definitions and the definitions in Article 14-5, the definitions in Article 14-5 shall prevail.Floodway: The channel of a river, arroyo, or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood.
The City’s flood protection regulations are included in Article 14-5 of ROA 1994 (Flood Hazard and Drainage Control). If there is a conflict between these general definitions and the definitions in Article 14-5, the definitions in Article 14-5 shall prevail.Foot Candle: A unit of illumination of a surface that is equal to one lumen per square foot. For the purposes of this IDO, foot candles shall be measured at a height of 3 feet above finished grade by a digital light meter.Foot Lambert: A unit of luminance equal to 1/π candela per square foot or 3.426 candela per square meter. 200 foot lamberts = 685 nits.Forecourt: A building frontage type in the MX-FB zone district where the street-facing façade is aligned with the front lot line, with a portion of the building set back. A fence or wall at the property line may be used to define the private space of the court. Gardens and vehicular drop-off areas are allowed within the forecourt.Framework Plan: A plan that accompanies applications for the creation of a PC zone district that describes, in general terms and without engineering level detail, proposed land uses (based on definitions in this IDO); proposed maximum and minimum intensities of development for each development phase or area; and the location, size, alignment, and connectivity of proposed automobile, bicycle, and pedestrian circulation systems; open space and/or wildlife habitat systems; and storm drainage systems and facilities.Fraternity or Sorority: A building rented, occupied, or owned by a national or local chapter of a fraternity or sorority that is officially recognized by a college, university, or other educational institution as a residence for students at that college, university, or other educational institution.Freestanding Sign: A sign attached to or supported from the ground and not attached to a building. Signs on walls or fences that are not an integral part of a building are considered freestanding signs. Freestanding signs do not include portable signs. Monument and Pole Signs are considered freestanding.Freestanding WTF: A WTF, other than a public utility co-location, that consists of a standalone support structure, antennas, and associated equipment. The support structure may be a wooden pole, steel monopole, lattice tower, or similar structure.Freight Terminal: A property or building used primarily for the temporary parking of trucks of common or contract carriers during loading or unloading and for receiving and dispatch of freight vehicles, including necessary warehouse space for storage of transitory freight. Incidental uses may include, but are not limited to, a truck wash and loading and unloading from rail spurs.Front Faade: The street-facing façade that is parallel to and closest to the front lot line and that typically contains the front door or primary pedestrian entrance.Front Lot Line: A legal boundary of a lot bordering on a street. For the purpose of determining setback requirements on a corner lot, the side with the street number address is the front lot line. For a through lot, the property owner may designate which of the 2 lot lines is the front lot line.Front Yard: The part of a lot from the front lot line to any front façade of the primary building, extended to both side lot lines.Game Arcade: Any commercial building in which there are more than 3 amusement game machines on the premises that are available to the public. An arcade may contain commercial recreational machines or games otherwise allowed in the state of New Mexico (beyond amusement game machines).Garage: A structure or part of a structure designed to accommodate vehicle parking spaces that are fully or partially enclosed, but not including a parking structure. Garages are typically associated with residential development. For the purposes of this IDO, the terms two- or three-car garages refer to the garage width, assuming side-by-side parking, not tandem parking.Garage or Yard Sale: The occasional sale of household goods from a residential premises to the public, but not including the sale of new or used commercial goods not previously used as household goods by the individuals conducting the sale or goods purchased by the household specifically for resale.Garden: An area of land managed and maintained as an accessory use of land to cultivate fruits, flowers, vegetables, or ornamental plants for personal or group use, consumption, or donation.General Agriculture: Any use of land for the purposes of crops, grazing animals, orchards, trees or forest lands, and any other use pertaining to farming or agricultural research, including the raising of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and other farm animals for use or sale, and including all the types of structures normally associated with these uses, such as storage bins, barns, sheds, tool houses, greenhouses, garages, and any other use or facility ancillary to farming or open land. General Retail: An establishment providing for the retail sale of general merchandise or food to the general public for direct use and not for wholesale; including but not limited to sale of general merchandise, clothing and other apparel, flowers and household plants that are not grown on-site, dry goods, convenience and specialty foods, hardware and similar consumer goods, or other retail sales not listed as a separate use in Table 4-2-1.
General retail is divided into 3 categories based on the size of the establishment or use (not the size of the structure):
1. General Retail, Small: An establishment with no more than 10,000 square feet of gross floor area.
2. General Retail, Medium: An establishment of more than 10,000 square feet of gross floor area and no more than 50,000 square feet of gross floor area.
3. General Retail, Large: An establishment of more than 50,000 square feet of gross floor area.Geothermal Energy: The use of land area for equipment for the conversion of natural geothermal energy into energy.GFA: Gross Floor Area (GFA)
The total floor area, including basements, garages, mezzanines, and upper floors, if any, expressed in square feet measured from the outside surface of exterior walls.Glare: The sensation produced by brightness within the field of vision that is sufficiently greater than the light level to which the eyes are adapted to cause annoyance, discomfort, or loss in visual performance and visibility.Golf Course: A tract of land laid out with a course for playing the game of golf, including any accessory clubhouse, driving range, office, restaurant, concession stand, picnic tables, pro shop, maintenance building, shelters, restroom facility, or similar accessory use or structure. The facility may also include public trails private trails, and golf cart paths.Grade: 1. The average of the approved ground levels immediately adjacent to each façade of a building, considered separately; where an earth embankment is placed against the side of a building or a retaining wall supporting a terrace is placed close to a building, grade shall be measured from the toe, or bottom, of the embankment or retaining wall; building floor level is irrelevant.
2. The elevation of the finished, approved ground level at all points along a wall or fence.
Approved grade shall be no higher than the specified elevation on the grading plan approved by the City in conjunction with subdivision or site development plan approval; in the absence of such approved plans, original natural grade applies.Grocery Store: An establishment that sells a wide variety of goods organized in departments, including but not limited to fresh produce, meat and dairy, canned and packaged food items, small household goods, and similar items, with more than 50 percent of the gross floor area devoted to the sale of food products for home preparation and consumption.Gross Floor Area: The total floor area, including basements, garages, mezzanines, and upper floors, if any, expressed in square feet measured from the outside surface of exterior walls.Ground Floor Commercial Bonus: A building height bonus that provides an additional 12 feet of building height, unless specified otherwise in this IDO, for a development in which at least 50 percent of the ground floor street-facing façade includes uses in the Commercial use category per Table 4-2-1. Building height bonuses are in exchange for a certain type of development that has a civic benefit.Ground Floor Height: The vertical distance of the interior of a ground floor, measured from the slab or sub-floor to the bottom of the roof or second floor structure.Group Home: Any building, structure, home, facility, or place in which persons reside for a period of more than 24 hours designed to help the residents adjust to the community and society and that is intended to be used for the purposes of letting rooms, providing meals, and/or providing personal assistance, personal services, personal care, and protective care to persons that do not meet the definition of a handicapped person or another person protected against housing discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988 (as amended) and court decisions interpreting that Act, but not skilled nursing care. Supportive housing facilities are considered group homes for the purpose of this IDO.
Group Home is divided into 3 categories based on the number of individuals residing in the facility (not the size of the structure).
1. Group Home, Small: A facility housing no more than 8 unrelated individuals receiving services, plus those providing services.
2. Group Home, Medium: A facility housing between 9 and 18 unrelated individuals receiving services, plus those providing services.
3. Group Home, Large: A facility housing 19 or more unrelated individuals receiving services, plus those providing services.Health Club or Gym: A non-medical service establishment intended to maintain or improve the physical condition of persons that contains exercise and game equipment and facilities, steam baths and saunas, or similar equipment and facilities.Heavy Manufacturing: The assembly, fabrication, or processing of goods and materials using processes that ordinarily have greater than average impacts on the environment or that ordinarily have significant impacts on the use and enjoyment of other properties in terms of noise, smoke, fumes, odors, glare, or health or safety hazards. This use includes, but is not limited to, concrete or cement products manufacturing (excluding batch plant) or processing of stone (e.g. granite fabricators). Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use. This use does not include any activity that meets the definition of special manufacturing.Heavy Vehicle and Equipment Sales, Rental, Fueling, and Repair: A facility that is engaged in the sales, fueling, rental, and/or repair of heavy vehicles and equipment typically used in agricultural, transit, commercial, or industrial operations, including but not limited to tractors, vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or greater, semi-trucks and/or trailers, buses, harvesters, loaders, and all tracked vehicles. Sales of parts, whether new or used, for heavy equipment and vehicles, and incidental storage of vehicles related to sales, rental, fueling, and repair are included in this use.Helipad: An area of land or structural surface created for and used for the landing and takeoff of helicopters or similar vertical lift aircraft, including but not limited to medical and law-enforcement helipads.Historic Sign: A sign that is listed or determined to be eligible for listing in the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties either individually or as a contributing part of a property or a sign that contributes to the historic character of a designated City landmark.Home Occupation: An activity that is carried on for commercial or philanthropic purposes on the same lot as a dwelling unit where the operator of the home occupation resides and that is clearly secondary to that dwelling.Hospital: An establishment that provides diagnosis and treatment, both surgical and nonsurgical, for patients who have any of a variety of medical conditions through an organized medical staff and permanent facilities that include inpatient beds, medical services, and continuous licensed professional nursing services. This definition includes any facility licensed by the state as a general, limited, or special hospital.Hotel or Motel: A building or a group of buildings in which sleeping accommodations are offered to the public and intended primarily for rental for temporary occupancy by persons on an overnight basis, not including Bed and Breakfast establishments, which are regulated separately per this IDO.IIA: Infrastructure Improvements Agreement (IIA)
An agreement entered into between the City and a subdivider by which the subdivider agrees to assure construction of required infrastructure improvements.Illuminated Sign: Any sign that is directly lighted by any on-premises electrical light source, internal or external, except light sources specifically and clearly operated for the purpose of lighting the general area in which the sign is located rather than upon the sign itself, including but not limited to luminous tubing signs such as neon signs. All electronic signs are illuminated signs.Independent Living Facility: Multi-family housing accessory to either an assisted living facility or nursing home as part of a continuing care community that allows residents to transfer to higher levels of care as needed. Independent living units may be designed and constructed as part of a central multi-family building along with other levels of care or as attached or detached units similar to low-density residential development. Such facilities may include a central or private kitchen, dining, recreational, and other residential accessory uses.Industrial Development: Properties with uses in the Industrial use category in Table 4-2-1, unless specified otherwise elsewhere in this IDO, including but not limited to provisions related to Edge Buffer Landscaping.Infill Development: An area of platted or unplatted land that includes no more than 20 acres of land and where at least 75 percent of the parcels adjacent to the proposed development have been developed and contain existing primary buildings.Infrastructure: Streets, sidewalks, public or private utility facilities, sanitary sewer and water system facilities, drainage and flood control facilities, street lighting, and other improvements used by the public or used in common by owners of lots within a subdivision. Includes both private (owned by a non-governmental entity) and public (owned by a governmental entity) improvements.Interior Side Yard: The part of a lot from a side lot line that does not abut a street to the side façade of the primary building.Interstate Highway: An access-controlled street that is part of the National Highway System. For the purposes of this IDO, this term includes all right-of-way owned or controlled by NMDOT along Interstate Highway 25 and Interstate Highway 40 associated with the interstate highway, including but not limited to through lanes, frontage roads, on- and off-ramps, and interchanges.Irrigation Facility: The system of water facilities within the MRGCD, including acequias, ditches, laterals, canals, interior drains, riverside drains, and wasteways, which convey water to irrigators or return unused irrigation water to the Rio Grande. Some facilities may also convey stormwater. The irrigation facility includes the canal that conveys the water, the maintenance road(s) along the bank top, and the sloped banks that tie back to the surrounding land. These facilities may or may not have a formal easement.Joint Sign Premises: Two (2) or more abutting premises, each with less than 100 feet of street frontage that are treated as 1 premises through an agreement between their respective owners and the City in order to qualify for a freestanding sign that would not be allowed on the individual premises.Kennel: A premises on which 5 or more dogs or cats or combinations of dogs and cats over 3 months of age are kept, maintained, or boarded.Kitchen: An area of a dwelling where there is a sink of adequate size and shape for washing dishes and food items (as opposed to washing hands) and a cooking stove, range, or oven. The presence of a sink and a hot plate or microwave does not constitute a kitchen.Landmark: Any real property designated as a landmark structure or site pursuant to Subsection 14-16-6-7(C) (Adoption or Amendment of Historic Designation).Landmarks Commission: The City Landmarks Commission as created by Section 14-16-6-2(H) (Landmarks Commission) to review and recommend decisions about potential historic zones or landmarks.Landscape Area: The area, optional or required, that is landscaped with living vegetative materials, such as trees, grasses, vines, spreading shrubs, or flowers. In addition, the landscape area may include natural and manufactured materials, including but not limited to rocks, fountains, reflecting pools, works of art, screens, walls, fences, benches, and other types of street furniture.Landscape Buffer: A required piece of land in a specific location used to physically separate or screen one land use or piece of property from another and landscaped with at least the minimum requirements specified in this IDO.Landscaping: The planting and maintenance of live plants including trees, shrubs, ground cover, flowers, or other low-growing plants that are native or adaptable to the climatic conditions of the Albuquerque area. Includes the provision of non-vegetative materials as ornamental features to make an area more attractive.Large Retail Facility: A single-tenant building with at least 50,000 square feet of gross floor area for the purpose of retailing. A collection of establishments, each less than 50,000 square feet, linked by common walls is not considered a large retail facility.Libraries: Public facilities for the use and loan, but not sale, of literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials.Library: A public facility for the use and loan, but not sale, of literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials.Light Fixture: An assembly that holds the lamp (bulb) in a lighting system. It includes the elements designed to give light output control, such as a reflector (mirror) or refractor (lens), the ballast, housing, and the attachment parts.Light Manufacturing: The assembly, fabrication, or processing of goods and materials, including machine shop and growing food or plants in an indoor structure, using processes that ordinarily do not create noise, smoke, fumes, odors, glare, or health or safety hazards outside of the building or lot where such assembly, fabrication, or processing takes place, where such processes are housed primarily within a building. Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use. This use does not include any use that meets the definition of Heavy Manufacturing or Special Manufacturing.Light Source: The element of a lighting fixture that is the point of origin of the lumens emitted by the fixture.Light Spillover: The shining of light produced by a light fixture beyond the boundaries of the property on which it is located.Light Vehicle Fueling Station: An establishment primarily engaged in the retail dispensing or sale of vehicle fuels, including but not limited to gasoline, gas/oil mixtures, diesel fuel, compressed natural gas, electricity, and hydrogen through fixed, approved dispensing equipment. Incidental uses include, but are not limited to, car washes; minor services or repairs including battery charging, tire repairs, and oil and fluid changes; the sale of convenience items, food, beverages, household necessities, lubricants, and batteries; and similar incidental uses. This definition shall not include any facility meeting the definition of light vehicle repair (except those incidental services listed above), light vehicle sales and rental, outdoor vehicle storage, or liquor retail.Light Vehicle Repair: Any facility providing for the major or minor repair and maintenance, beyond what is allowed in a light vehicle fueling station, of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, vans, trailers, scooters, all-terrain vehicles, and similar vehicles under 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.Light Vehicle Sales and Rental: An establishment primarily engaged in the retail sale and/or rental of new and used automobiles, non-commercial trucks, motor homes, boats, recreational vehicles, modular and manufactured home sales, trailers, motorcycles, mopeds, and/or ATVs, including incidental outdoor display, storage, maintenance, and servicing. This use does not include outdoor vehicle storage as a primary use.Liquor Retail: A retail sales establishment licensed by the state selling packaged alcoholic liquors (including beer, wine, and spirituous liquors) for consumption off-site. Establishments that operate under a Small Brewer's, Winegrower's, or Craft Distiller's license are not considered Liquor Retail.Live-work: A residential dwelling unit that includes a dedicated work space accessible from the living area, reserved for and regularly used by one or more residents of the dwelling unit, and in which the type or size of the work performed is larger or more extensive than that allowed as a home occupation. Loading Area: An area where merchandise and/or supplies are delivered and unloaded or where customers can receive goods for transport off the site.Local Street: A street that is primarily for access to abutting properties. It carries low traffic volumes. It may further be defined as a Normal Street or Access Street, and may be designated for Infrequent Parking or Intermittent Parking, subject to the standards and requirements of the DPM.Lot: A tract or parcel of land, exclusive of public right-of-way, that meets any of the following criteria:
1. Has been platted and placed on the Bernalillo County Clerk's record in accordance with laws and ordinances applicable at the time.
2. Is described by metes and bounds held in separate ownership prior to June 20, 1950 or October 2, 1950,as shown on the records of the Bernalillo County Assessor.
3. Is a portion of one or more platted lots, which portion was placed on the records of the Bernalillo County Assessor prior to November 16, 1973, provided such portion met all requirements of area and dimension of the zone in which it was located when created.
4. Has been placed in the records of the Bernalillo County Assessor pursuant to the laws of the State of New Mexico related to situations not covered by the applicable subdivision regulations in effect at that time.Lot Area: The area of a lot exclusive of easements for a private way or street.Lot Size: The area of a lot exclusive of easements for a private way or street.Lot Width: The length of a straight line between the mid-points of each of the side lot lines, or between an interior side lot line and a corner street frontage lot line that is not the front lot line.Low-density Residential Development: Properties with residential development of any allowable land use in the Household Living category in Table 4-2-1 other than multi-family dwellings. Properties with small community residential facilities are also considered low-density residential development. Properties that include other uses accessory to residential primary uses are still considered low-density residential development for the purposes of this IDO. LUHO: Land Use Hearing Officer (LUHO)
The individual(s) appointed and designated by the City Council as described in Section 14-16-6-2(I) (Land Use Hearing Officer) to review and recommend decisions on appeals to the City Council.Lumen: A quantitative unit measuring the amount of light emitted by a light source. A lamp is generally rated in lumens.Luminance: The brightness of an object, expressed in terms of foot lamberts, determined from a point 5 feet above grade on another premises or the public right-of-way, but no closer than 20 horizontal feet from the object measured.Main Street: Corridor Area (MS) an area within 660 feet of the centerline of a Main Street Corridor, as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Main Street area, the Main Street regulations apply to the entire parcel.Major Arroyo: An arroyo designated by the Facility Plan for Arroyos as a Major Open Space Arroyo or Major Open Space Link.Major Public Infrastructure: Although ultimately determined on a case-by-case basis, major public infrastructure generally includes construction or significant redesign of a street, drainage or utility facility, or similar public infrastructure that is necessary for the subject property, and often nearby properties, to develop.Major Public Open Space: Publicly-owned spaces managed by the Open Space Division of the City Parks and Recreation Department, including the Rio Grande State Park (i.e. the Bosque), Petroglyph National Monument, and Sandia foothills. These are typically greater than 5 acres and may include natural and cultural resources, preserves, low-impact recreational facilities, dedicated lands, arroyos, or trail corridors. The adopted Facility Plan for Major Public Open Space guides the management of these areas. For the purposes of this IDO, Major Public Open Space located outside the city municipal boundary still triggers Major Public Open Space Edge requirements for properties within the city adjacent to or within the specified distance of Major Public Open Space.Major Transit Area: An area within 660 feet of the centerline of a Major Transit Corridor, as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Major Transit area, the Major Transit regulations apply to the entire parcel.Major Utility: A facility sized or designed to serve the entire city, or a wide area of the city, and regulated as a public utility or common carrier by the state or other relevant jurisdiction or agency, including but not limited to major telephone facilities, natural gas facilities, water treatment plants, water pump stations, sewage treatment plants, stormwater drainage facilities, irrigation facilities, or similar public services, but shall not include mass transit or railroad depots or terminals or any similar traffic generating activity, any facility that provides wireless telecommunications services to the public, or any use listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Manufactured Home: A structure transportable in one or more sections that is built on a permanent chassis, is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and meets the construction safety standards of the federal Manufactured Housing Act of 1974. Similar structures that do not meet the construction safety standards of that Act are referred to as mobile homes and are not allowed to be installed in the City.Marquee Sign: A type of projecting sign mounted on a continuous structural band that forms the more or less vertical edge of the marquee structure.Massing: The overall composition of the exterior of the major volumes of a building and their relationship to each other in a sequence in the overall design of the building or structure.Master Development Plan: A plan created by an applicant and approved by the City to achieve a coordinated private development, such as a business or industrial park, on larger sites that comprise more than one lot and building. A Master Development Plan may include standards that implement a cohesive design on the site. Master Plan: A Rank 3 Plan developed and approved by an implementing City department to guide the development, maintenance, and operation of individual public resources or facilities. For the purposes of the State Constitution, the Master Plan is a duly adopted plan or any of its parts for the development of an area within the planning and platting jurisdiction of a municipality for the general purpose of guiding and accomplishing coordinated, adjusted, and harmonious development. In the case of the City and Bernalillo County, this Master Plan is the ABC Comp Plan.Maximum Extent Practicable: No feasible or prudent alternative exists, as determined by the relevant decision-making body, after the applicant has taken all possible steps to comply with the standards or regulations and to minimize potential harmful or adverse impacts. Constraints to compliance that are self-imposed, such as through a particular platting proposal when other options are feasible, shall not be considered sufficient justification. Economic considerations may be taken into account but shall not be the overriding factor.Medical or Dental Clinic: An establishment where patients who are not lodged overnight are admitted for examination and treatment by a group of licensed health care practitioners, dentists, or licensed health care practitioners and dentists in practice together.Metropolitan Redevelopment Area: An area that has been designated for targeted initiatives, incentives, or public and/or private investment in order to promote the repurposing or expansion of existing structures to accommodate new economic uses, or to promote the demolition, remediation, and/or redevelopment of sites to accommodate new economic uses.Minor Arterial: A street that is designated in the LRTS Guide, used primarily for serving large volumes of traffic, but smaller volumes than are normally served by principal arterial streets; speed is comparatively high.Mixed-use Development: Properties with residential development and non-residential development on a single lot or premises. For the purposes of this IDO, mixed-use development can take place in the same building (i.e. vertical mixed-use) or separate buildings on the same lot or premises (i.e. horizontal mixed-use).Mixed-use Zone District: Those zone districts categorized as Mixed-use in Part 14-16-2 of this IDO.Mobile Food Truck: Any wagon, truck, trailer, or vehicle self-propelled or otherwise movable from place to place from which any person sells, offers for sale, or gives away, beverages, food, or any food product for human consumption.Mobile Home: A transportable structure that does not meet the construction safety standards of the federal Manufactured Housing Act of 1974.Mobile Vending Cart: A mobile structure that has functional wheels and at least one axle, used for the sale of goods, including but not limited to food, raw produce, flowers, arts, and crafts.Model Home: A dwelling or dwelling unit representative of other dwellings or units offered for sale or lease or to be built in an area of residential development. A model home may be used as a residential real estate sales office for the development in which it is located before occupancy by a household.Monument Sign: A sign with a maximum of 2 sign faces that is integrated into a solid structure beginning at the ground and including a base and/or up to 2 masonry or concealed supports. The total width of the support(s) at the bottom of the sign shall be no less than 25 percent of the width at the top of the sign.Mortuary: An establishment in which the dead are prepared for burial or cremation, the body may be viewed, and funeral services are sometimes held.MS: Main Street Corridor Area (MS)
An area within 660 feet of the centerline of a Main Street Corridor, as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Main Street area, the Main Street regulations apply to the entire parcel.MT: Major Transit Area (MT)
An area within 660 feet of the centerline of a Major Transit Corridor, as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Major Transit area, the Major Transit regulations apply to the entire parcel.Multi-family: A building, located on a single lot, containing 3 or more dwelling units, each of which is designed for or occupied by one family only, with separate housekeeping and cooking facilities for each, and that does not meet the definition of a townhouse dwelling.Multi-family Development: Residential development of multi-family dwellings or uses from the Group Living category (except small community residential facilities) in zone districts as allowed per Table 4-2-1. Properties that include both multi-family dwellings and low-density residential development are considered multi-family development for the purposes of this IDO. Properties with other uses accessory to residential primary uses allowed per Table 4-2-1 are still considered multi-family development for the purposes of this IDO.Multi-family Residential Development: Residential development of multi-family dwellings or uses from the Group Living category (except small community residential facilities) in zone districts as allowed per Table 4-2-1. Properties that include both multi-family dwellings and low-density residential development are considered multi-family development for the purposes of this IDO. Properties with other uses accessory to residential primary uses allowed per Table 4-2-1 are still considered multi-family development for the purposes of this IDO.Multi-use Trail: A paved path physically separated from motorized vehicle traffic by an open space or barrier and constructed within the street right-of-way or within an independent right-of-way, including shared-use rights-of-way or utility or drainage easements that permits more than one type of non-motorized use.Museum: A facility open to the public, with or without charge, for the collection and display of paintings, sculpture, textiles, antiquities, other works of art, or similar items.Natural Grade: Grade based on the original site contours, prior to any grading.Natural Resource Extraction: The extraction and/or refining of dirt, minerals, sand, gravel, and ores, from their natural occurrences on affected land and transportation of extracted materials to locations off-site. Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use.Neighborhood Association: When used in this IDO, this term refers to both Recognized and Non-recognized Neighborhood Associations, as defined by of Part 14-8-2 of ROA 1994 (Neighborhood Association Recognition Ordinance), as well as any other group registered with the Office of Neighborhood Association in compliance with Part 14-8-2 of ROA 1994 (Neighborhood Association Recognition Ordinance).Neon Sign: A sign that uses neon, argon, or a similar gas to fill tubing, made of glass or similar material, that is charged with electricity and used to create an illuminated tubular sign or illuminated elements of a sign that includes, at a minimum lettering and/or images. The tubing may contain an alternative illumination technology, including but not limited to light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Any non-gaseous illumination technology, such as LEDs, must produce illumination that appears to be a continuous, uninterrupted line, similar to illumination produced by gaseous illumination technology.Net Lot Area: For purposes of calculating landscaping requirements, the total area of the lot minus the following:
1. The area of the lot covered by buildings.
2. The portions of the lot that are not required for off-street parking or a parking lot and that are fully screened from view from any abutting lot or public right-of-way by an opaque wall or fence at least 6 feet high, in which no landscape will be required except required buffer landscaping; chain link fence with slats does not constitute acceptable full screening.
3. The area of any approved landscape that the property owner installs and maintains in the abutting public right-of-way, exclusive of the area of any existing or planned public sidewalk.Nightclub: An establishment dispensing liquor in which music, dancing, or entertainment is provided, but not including any adult entertainment use. Non-commercial or Broadcasting Antenna: An antenna that transmits and/or receives signals or waves radiated or captured for non-commercial or broadcasting purposes, including amateur radio station operation/receive-only antenna if owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio station operator or used exclusively for a receive-only antenna, wireless telecommunications facilities used exclusively for emergency services, any antenna used for AM, FM, or TV broadcasting, or any other facility exempted from local regulation under the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended and interpreted by the courts and related regulations of the Federal Communications Commission.Non-commercial Vehicle: A motor vehicle used in the conduct of normal daily activities that has a gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 10,000 pounds and can be lawfully parked in a parking space that meets the requirements of the DPM. The term includes motor vehicles commonly called motorcycles, automobiles, vans, sport utility vehicles, light trucks, or pickups.Nonconforming Lot: A lot that was lawfully created but does not conform to the lot size, lot dimension, or other requirements of this IDO related to the lot.Nonconforming Structure: A structure that does not conform to the IDO requirements for structures in the zone district where it is located, for reasons other than the use of the structure, but that did not violate those requirements at the time the structure was constructed. By way of example: a nonconforming structure could be one that violates height, setback, aesthetic, or form requirements.Nonconforming Use: A use of a structure or land that does not conform to the IDO requirements for land uses in the zone district where it is located, but that was an approved use at the time the use began.Nonconformity: A structure, use, lot, sign, or site feature that does not conform to applicable zoning but that did conform to applicable zoning in effect at the time it was built or developed.Non-residential Development: Development of allowable land uses on a property that includes no residential development.Non-residential Zone District: Any zone district categorized as Non-residential in Part 14-16-2 of this IDO.Nursery: A primary use of land in which the predominant activity is the growing of plants for wholesale or retail sales, which may take place outside or in greenhouses. Outdoor sales of plants are allowed.Nursing Home: Facilities primarily engaged in providing shelter, food and intermediate or long-term medical and health related care for individuals. This definition includes facilities providing in-patient care for individuals suffering from a terminal illness. Support services typically include commercial level kitchens with shared dining facilities for residents; medical services with personnel that provide assistance with medication, administration, dressing, bathing, and social activities; activity rooms; indoor recreational amenities; gift shops; hair salons; administrative offices; laundry services; worship space; overnight guest units for short term visitors; and other uses accessory to residential primary uses.Office: Establishments providing executive, management, administrative, professional services, consulting, record keeping, or a headquarters of an enterprise or organization, but not including the on-premises sale of retail goods, or any use included in the definition of personal or business services.Off-premises Sign: A sign, the content of which does not refer to an establishment operating on the premises where the sign is displayed.On-premises Sign: A sign, the content of which relates to the premises on which it is located, referring exclusively to the name, location, products, persons, accommodations, services, or activities of or on those premises, or the sale, lease, or construction of those premises.On-street Parking Space: An on-street storage area for the parking of one motor vehicle. For the purposes of this IDO, an on-street parking space abutting a lot may be counted as 1 on-street parking space for that lot if over ½ the length of the space is located between the imaginary extensions of the lot lines that are perpendicular to the street into the street right-of-way. See DPM for dimensional standards.Opaque Wall: A continuous non-transparent vertical surface. A fence with inserts or non-rigid or cloth-like materials attached to the fence does not constitute an opaque wall or fence.Open Air Market: Open air sales of new retail goods, produce, and/or handcrafts; incidental sales of food and beverages is allowed.Open Space: In lowercase letters, a generic term for any outdoor space or amenity intended to retain access to open air and sunlight, regardless of location, ownership, or management responsibility. Open space is required through various means in order to provide a psychological and physical respite from development densities. Healthy places balance density vs. openness, urban vs. natural environments. For the purposes of this IDO, City-owned open space is called Major Public Open Space.Other Indoor Entertainment: A facility providing entertainment or recreation activities where all activities take place within enclosed structures, but not including a theater, auditorium, or any other use listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Examples include, but are not limited to, baseball batting cages, bowling alleys, climbing walls, game arcades, laser tag centers, miniature golf courses, paintball, skating rinks, shooting ranges, swimming pools, tennis clubs, trampoline centers, and velodromes.Other Major Utility: A facility sized or designed to serve the entire city, or a wide area of the city, and regulated as a public utility or common carrier by the state or other relevant jurisdiction or agency, including but not limited to major telephone facilities, natural gas facilities, water treatment plants, water pump stations, sewage treatment plants, stormwater drainage facilities, irrigation facilities, or similar public services, but shall not include mass transit or railroad depots or terminals or any similar traffic generating activity, any facility that provides wireless telecommunications services to the public, or any use listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Other Outdoor Entertainment: An outdoor facility whose main purpose is to provide entertainment or recreation, with or without charge, but not including auto or horse race tracks, drive-in theaters, or any similar outdoor use not listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Examples include, but are not limited to, amusement parks, batting cages, go-cart tracks, golf driving ranges, miniature golf, skateboard parks, skating rinks, sports courts, swimming pools, target sport ranges, and water parks.Other Pet Services: A facility providing care and services for household pets, such as animal grooming, training, or day care but which is not listed separately in Table 4-2-1.Other Use Accessory to a Non-residential Primary Use: A land use that is subordinate in use, area, or purpose to a primary non-residential land use on the same lot, serving a purpose naturally and normally incidental to such primary land use, and that is not listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Examples include, but are not limited to, an employee exercise room, employee café/cafeteria, outdoor exercise area/track, employee nursery/child care, small display/sales room for goods produced on the premises, and storage of maintenance equipment used on the premises (e.g. lawn mowers).Other Use Accessory to a Residential Primary Use: A land use that is subordinate in use, area, or purpose to a primary residential land use on the same lot and serving a purpose naturally and normally incidental to such primary land use and that is not listed separately in Table 4-2-1. For residential uses other than multi-family dwellings, this use includes, but is not limited to, tennis courts, game rooms, patios, outdoor kitchens, swimming pools, and accessory buildings for storage, recreation, hobbies, and gardening for the use of the residents living in the dwellings on the same lot as this use. For multi-family development, this use includes, but is not limited to, sales of convenience items, personal service shop, rental/management office, concierge/doorman services, and similar uses for the use and convenience of the residents of the multi-family or group living development.Outdoor Animal Run: An area for the temporary outdoor containment of animals associated with a kennel, veterinary clinic, animal breeding facility, or other commercial activity. For the purposes of this IDO, this use does not include an outdoor animal run for personal pets.Outdoor Storage: The keeping, in an unroofed area, of any goods, material, or merchandise in the same place for more than 24 hours, but not including any storage activity or use of land listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Outdoor Vehicle Storage: The keeping, in an unroofed area, of motor vehicles or equipment not used for transportation purposes on an active, regular, or continuing basis, generally for a period of 7 consecutive days or more, whether or not the motor vehicle is titled, licensed, or operable, either as a primary use or accessory use, but not including a salvage yard.Overlay Zone: Regulations that prevail over other IDO regulations to ensure protection for designated areas. Overlay zones include Airport Protection Overlay (APO), Character Protection Overlay (CPO), Historic Protection Overlay (HPO), and View Protection Overlay (VPO).Overnight Shelter: A facility that provides sleeping accommodations for 6 or more persons with no charge or a charge substantially less than market value; it may provide meals and social services.Paid Parking Lot: An area used to provide parking, as a commercial enterprise, for 4 or more motor vehicles for a fee. The term does not include a commercial parking structure that is a building primarily used for the provision of parking for a fee.Park-and-ride Facility, Temporary: The temporary provisions of parking for transit customers using service provided by the municipal transit agency in conjunction with a temporary civic use, including but not limited to the New Mexico State Fair and the International Balloon Fiesta. The use may include a ticket booth, portable restrooms, lighting, concession stand, and barriers contributing to traffic management. Park-and-ride Lot: An area or structure intended to accommodate parked vehicles where commuters park and continue travel to another destination via public transit, carpool, vanpool, walking, or bicycle. This use may be operated in a parking area owned or operated by a third party with the consent of that party, but spaces dedicated to this use may not be counted toward required off-street parking spaces for any primary or accessory use operated by the third party.Parking Lot: Any off-street outdoor area for the parking of motor vehicles, including any spaces, aisles, and driveways necessary for the function of the parking lot or for the convenience of patrons.Parking Lot Multiple Drive Aisles: A parking lot that may have more than 1 drive aisle.Parking Lot Single Drive Aisle: A parking lot with only 1 drive aisle, which may be one-way or two-way. The drive aisle may serve 1 or 2 rows of parking spaces.Parking Lot Area: The area of a parking lot that includes parking spaces and drive aisles.Parking Space: An on- or off-street storage area for the parking of one motor vehicle. See DPM for dimensional standards.Parking Structure: A structure or part of a structure designed to accommodate vehicle parking spaces that are fully or partially enclosed, but not including a parking structure that is located underground or within the outer building envelope of another building. Parking structures are typically associated with Mixed-use and Non-residential development.Parking Structure with Ground Floor Uses: A structure or part of a structure designed to accommodate vehicle parking spaces that incorporates retail, office, or residential uses along at least 50 percent of the ground floor street-facing façade. Pavement Width: See definition in DPM.Pawn Shop: Any establishment engaged in the business of lending money on the deposit or pledge of personal property; the purchase of personal property with the expressed or implied agreement or understanding to sell it back at a stipulated price; or engaged in the business of purchasing items of gold, silver, platinum or other precious metals or gems and reselling the product.Pedestrian-oriented: Intended primarily to provide access, amenities, or space for services that benefit people on foot. Pedestrian-oriented features include, but are not limited to, sidewalks, walkways, multi-use trails, transit stops, spaces for outdoor seating or vending, plazas, parks, and public facilities associated with City Major Public Open Space.Pedestrian-scale Lighting: Lighting in pedestrian areas not to exceed 16 feet in height that allows people to see and be seen from a distance of 40 to 60 feet.Perimeter Wall: A wall constructed on a lot line, typically to define a property boundary, enclose a property, or provide privacy.Permissive Use: A land use that is allowed by-right in a particular zone district, either as a primary or accessory use. Permissive Primary uses are listed as P in Table 4-2-1. Permissive Accessory uses are listed as A in Table 4-2-1.Person: An individual, corporation, governmental agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, 2 or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal entity.Personal and Business Services: Establishments providing services to individuals or businesses for profit, including but not limited to bail bond providers, beauty and barber shops, shoe repair, tailor/alterations shops, tattoo parlors, taxidermy services, electronic data processing, and employment service; mailing, addressing, stenographic services; and specialty business service such as travel bureau, news service, exporter, importer, interpreter, appraiser, and film library. This use is divided into 2 categories based on the size of the establishment (not the size of the structure):
1. Personal and Business Services, Small: An establishment with 10,000 square feet or less of gross floor area.
2. Personal and Business Services, Large: An establishment with more than 10,000 square feet of gross floor area.Planning Director: The chief administrative officer of the City Planning Department or his/her authorized representative or designee. Plat: A graphic and written description of a lot or lots with survey reference ties to permanent survey monuments related to the subdivision, resubdivision, or consolidation of land.Pole Sign: A sign attached to or supported from the ground by a single pole or post and not attached to a building.Porch: A roofed structure that is not more than 50 percent enclosed (except for removable screens, screen doors, storm sashes, or awnings) on at least 2 sides, that projects from the exterior wall of a building, and that is used as an outdoor living area. If a porch extends from the front of a building or from any side of the building that faces a street, that side of the porch must be open, and the side(s) facing the street must not be more than 50 percent enclosed (except for removable screens, screen doors, storm sashes, or awnings).
For the purposes of MX-FB zone district standards, porches are common frontages associated with single-family houses where the street-facing façade is set back a minimum of 10 feet from the right-of-way with a front yard. A wall or fence at the property line may be used to define the private space of the yard. An encroaching porch may also be appended to the façade. A great variety of porch and fence designs are possible, including a raised front yard with a retaining wall at the property line with entry steps to the yard.Portable Sign: An A-frame or sandwich board sign. A portable sign shall rest on the ground and shall not be supported by a person or animal.Preliminary Plat: A tentative plat of a proposed subdivision prepared in accordance with the specifications of this IDO for presentation to the DRB for action.Premises: Any lot or combination of abutting or adjacent lots held in single ownership, together with the development on that lot or lots; there may be multiple occupancy.Premium Transit: An area within 660 feet of a transit station with transit service of 15 minute or greater frequency on a Premium Transit Corridor as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Premium Transit area, the Premium Transit regulations apply to the entire parcel. Development standards associated with the Premium Transit designation apply once the station locations have been identified and funding for the transit service and any associated streetscape improvements has been secured.Primary Building: A building within which a primary use of the property takes place.Primary Pedestrian Entrance: A public entrance to a primary building. If there is more than one, for the purposes of this IDO, the entrance demarcated by more façade articulation, signage, landscaping, site amenities, or other design treatments shall be considered the primary pedestrian entrance. If all entrances are thus demarcated, the applicant may choose which entrance shall be considered the primary pedestrian entrance to satisfy any relevant requirements in this IDO.Primary Use: A land use that is a primary use of a property and allowable within a particular zone district either permissively or conditionally. A primary use may be combined with other primary or accessory uses allowable within that zone district, subject to IDO standards.Principal Arterial: A street that is designated in the LRTS Guide, used primarily for serving large volumes of comparatively high speed traffic and to which access is controlled.Private Open Space: Open space for passive or active recreation that is owned, managed, and maintained privately in its natural state and accessible either to the public or to the residents of a subdivision and zoned NR-PO-C. In the case of cluster or cottage development, private open space that is created by clustering dwelling units may count as usable open space.Private Way: A lot or easement that is not public right-of-way and that contains a street or alley providing access between public right-of-way and one or more lots. The term may include easements for public and private infrastructure when such are established through a suitable legal document, along with the access rights.Separation of Uses: In all instances where the IDO requires a separation of uses, zone districts, lots, or buildings, such distance shall be measured in a geometrically straight line using a scaled map, or a survey if necessary. Such measurement shall be made without regard to any intervening structures, objects, uses, the street grid, landforms, waterways, or any other topographical features.
1. Unless specified otherwise, this distance shall be measured from the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the regulated use to the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the use, or in the zone district, from which the regulated use is required to be separated.
2. If the IDO requires a separation between a building containing a regulated use and a specified use or zone district, the distance shall be measured from the nearest point on the building containing the regulated use to the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the specified use or in the specified zone district.Project Site: A lot or collection of lots shown on a Subdivision – Minor or Major or on a Site Plan. This term refers to the largest geography specified in the earliest request for decision on the first application related to a particular development. For example, if a large parcel is subdivided and submitted for development in phases, any regulation referring to the project site would apply to the entirety of the land in the original parcel included in the Subdivision application.Projecting Sign: A type of building-mounted sign, other than a wall sign or canopy sign, that projects from and is supported by a wall of a building.Premium Transit Area: An area within 660 feet of a transit station with transit service of 15 minute or greater frequency on a Premium Transit Corridor as designated by the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO, if any portion of a parcel is within a Premium Transit area, the Premium Transit regulations apply to the entire parcel. Development standards associated with the Premium Transit designation apply once the station locations have been identified and funding for the transit service and any associated streetscape improvements has been secured.Public Area: An area of land owned by or intended to be owned by a governmental entity or over which a governmental entity enjoys an easement, whether deeded, dedicated, or otherwise acquired, and that is generally, but not required, to be used to serve the public with some service or benefit, including public infrastructure.Public Hearing: A formal meeting open to the public in which the decision-making body makes a discretionary decision based on policy in addition to regulations. Public Meeting: A meeting open to the public in which the decision-making body makes a decision based on zoning requirements, technical standards, or other regulations without the ability to make discretionary decisions. Public Right-of-way: hat area of land deeded, reserved or dedicated by plat or otherwise acquired by any unit of government for the purposes of movement of vehicles, bicycles, pedestrian traffic, and/or for conveyance of public utility services and drainage. This land generally does not have established zoning and is instead designated as “unclassified” in the Official Zoning Map. Public Utility Co-location: The location of one or more wireless telecommunications antennas on a public utility structure, including transmission structures.Public Utility Structure: A structure, owned by a unit of government or by a public utility company, that is an electric switching station; electric substation operating at voltages greater than 50 kilovolts (kV); gas transfer station or border station; lift station, odor control (or chlorine) station, water well or pump station, or water reservoir; streetlight or traffic signal structure; or any other public utility structure controlled by a Facility Plan approved by the City.Racetrack: An outdoor facility for sanctioned competition of racing vehicles (including cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles designed for racing purposes) or for horses or dogs, on a closed circuit. In addition to a racetrack, the facility may include spectator seating (bleacher-type stands), a paddock area for support crews and maintenance, racetrack operations offices, and spectator services.Railroad Yard: A primary use of land that includes an area and related facilities in which the predominant activity is a the assembly or disassembly and loading or unloading of trains, including without limitation passenger or freight terminals, operations and maintenance shacks, train sheds, and classification yards.Real Estate Office: A facility or area used as a temporary office to sell or lease land or buildings or interests in land or buildings within a specified area.Rear Lot Line: A legal boundary that is opposite and most distant from the front lot line. In the case of an L-shaped or other irregularly shaped lot where 2 or more lines are so located all are considered rear lines, except those that are within 50 feet of the front lot line. In the case of a lot that comes to a point at the rear, the rear lot line is the imaginary line parallel to the front lot line, not less than 10 feet long, lying wholly within the lot, and farthest from the front lot line.Rear Yard: The part of a lot from the rear lot line to any rear façade of the primary building, extended to both side lot lines.Recreational Vehicle: A motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities, including but not limited to bus campers, camper trailers, pickup campers, travel trailers, motor homes, park model trailers, and tiny houses.Recycling Drop-off Bin Facility: An accessory use, structure, or enclosed area that serves as a neighborhood drop-off point for temporary storage of recyclable materials, including but not limited to paper, aluminum, glass, and plastic, but not including compost or organic materials.Reflective or Mirrored Glass: Glass with greater than 15 percent average daylight exterior reflectance as published by the manufacturer.Religious Institution: A structure or place where worship, ceremonies, rituals, and education pertaining to a particular system of beliefs are held, together with its accessory buildings, that is operated, maintained, and controlled under the direction of a religious group. Incidental uses include, but are not limited to, school and recreational facilities, parking, caretaker's housing, religious leader’s housing, philanthropic or humanitarian activities, and group living facilities such as convents or monasteries.Residential Community Amenity: A use provided for the comfort and convenience of residents of more than 1 unit in a low-density or multi-family residential development, including but not limited to a clubhouse, exercise room, swimming pool, tennis court, community room, or laundry room.Residential Development: Development of any allowable land use from the Residential category in Table 4-2-1 (i.e. any allowable combination of Household Living uses and Group Living uses) that occurs on properties with no land use from another category, with the following exceptions:
1. Property with both Household Living uses and parks and open space are still considered residential development for the purposes of this IDO.
2. Properties that include other uses accessory to residential primary uses allowed per Table 4-2-1 are still considered residential development for the purposes of this IDO.
3. A property that has an approved non-residential Temporary Use but that otherwise meets this definition is still considered residential development for the purposes of this IDO. Residential Zone District: Any zone district categorized as Residential in Part 14-16-2 of this IDO.Resource Management Plan: Rank 3 Plans developed by the Open Space Division of the City Parks and Recreation Department to provide policy guidance on how to manage and protect natural, historic, or cultural resources and/or scenic views for individual City-owned or managed Major Public Open Space. Resource Management Plans also guide visitor uses, budgeting, and decision making.Restaurant: An establishment that serves food and beverages that are consumed on its premises by customers seated at tables and/or counters either inside or outside the building thereon and which may also be engaged in providing customers with take-out service of food and/or non-alcoholic beverages for off-site consumption. Sale of alcoholic beverages is controlled by other provisions in this IDO and the New Mexico State statutes regarding alcoholic drink sales.Retaining Wall: A wall designed and constructed to resist the lateral pressure of soil.Rock Outcropping: Bedrock or other stratum a minimum of 6 feet high on its steepest side as measured from the adjacent 10 percent slope line and in excess of 500 square feet in surface area.Roof-mounted WTF: A WTF placed on a rooftop through gravity mounts or other surface attachments and integrated into the natural rooftop profile of the building so as to resemble a permissible rooftop structure, such as a ventilator, cooling equipment, solar equipment, water tank, chimney, or parapet.Rooftop Sign: A building-mounted sign that is mounted on the roof of a building.Salvage Yard: Any use involving storage and/or sale of inoperable, disused, dismantled or wrecked vehicles, equipment, machinery, or goods, or the storage or processing of scrap metal, wastepaper, rags, wastes, construction wastes, industrial wastes or other scrap, salvage, waste, or junk materials. School: An accredited public or private institution offering a course of education recognized by the state as leading to a high school diploma or equivalent. Accessory uses may include student sports fields or facilities, playgrounds, gardens, and an accessory dwelling unit for a caretaker. This use is divided into:
1. Elementary or middle school: An educational facility for grades kindergarten through 8.
2. High school: An educational facility for grades 9 through 12.Seasonal Outdoor Sales: The temporary outdoor or indoor display and sale of goods or products associated with the season or a cultural event, such as the sale of fireworks, Christmas trees, pumpkins, or seasonal produce, and typically occurring at a location not devoted to such sales for the remainder of the year. Self-storage: A use consisting of 3 or more individual, small, self-contained units in a building that are leased or owned for the indoor storage of business and household goods or contractors' supplies.Setback: The shortest distance between a structure and a lot line. In the case of a setback from an Irrigation Facility, the measurement is taken from the toe of the slope to the structure or from the lot line to the structure, whichever is greater.Separation of Uses: In all instances where the IDO requires a separation of uses, zone districts, lots, or buildings, such distance shall be measured in a geometrically straight line using a scaled map, or a survey if necessary. Such measurement shall be made without regard to any intervening structures, objects, uses, the street grid, landforms, waterways, or any other topographical features.
1. Unless specified otherwise, this distance shall be measured from the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the regulated use to the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the use, or in the zone district, from which the regulated use is required to be separated.
2. If the IDO requires a separation between a building containing a regulated use and a specified use or zone district, the distance shall be measured from the nearest point on the building containing the regulated use to the nearest point on the nearest lot line of the lot containing the specified use or in the specified zone district.Side Lot Line: A lot line that is not a front lot line or a rear lot line.Side Street: On a corner lot, the street abutting the side lot line of the lot.Sidewalk: A hard-surfaced walk or raised path and any curb ramps or blended transitions along and generally paralleling the side of the streets for pedestrians. Sidewalks do not include the curb or gutter structures.Sign Area: 1. For freestanding and projecting signs, the area of 1 rectangle or of 2 contiguous rectangles in the same plane, drawn with horizontal and vertical lines so as to include the entire sign except sign base or supports. The maximum area of any double-sided or V-shaped sign shall be measured for the larger sign face only.
2. For building-mounted signs, except canopy signs, the area enclosed with a sign border or the sum of the areas of the minimum imaginary rectangles enclosing each word or non-verbal symbol if there is no sign border.
3. For add-on signs to off-premises signs, the area of up to 2 rectangles in addition to the rectangle that defines the area of the basic sign.Sign Height: The vertical distance from grade to the highest point of the sign. For rooftop signs, the vertical distance from the top of the highest parapet to the top of the sign. Significant Archaeological Site: A geographic location that contains an archaeological resource likely, as determined by the City Archaeologist, to yield information important to the prehistory or history of the Albuquerque area.Single-family: A residential building used for occupancy by 1 household that is not attached to any other dwelling unit through shared side or rear walls, floors or ceilings, or corner points.Site Development Plan: A term used prior to the effective date of the IDO for a scaled plan for development on one or more lots that specifies at minimum the site, proposed use(s), pedestrian and vehicular access, any internal circulation, maximum building height, building setbacks, maximum total dwelling units, and/or nonresidential floor area. A more detailed site development plan would also specify the exact locations of structures, their elevations and dimensions, the parking and loading areas, landscaping, and schedule of development. The equivalent approval in the IDO will be determined based on the level of detail provided in the prior approval.Site Plan: An accurate plan that includes all information required for that type of application, structure, or development.Sketch Plat: A conceptual plat of a proposed subdivision used for discussion by the applicant and DRB to determine suitability for subdivision. A sketch plat typically shows general building and parking locations and specifies design requirements for buildings, landscaping, lighting, and signage.Small Loan Business: Any business requiring licensure under the New Mexico Small Loan Business Act, Article 58-15 NMSA 1978, including but not limited to businesses offering Payday Loans, Title Loans, Installment Loans, or Refund Tax Anticipation Loans. For the purposes of this IDO, small loan businesses are treated as a bank use. Small-cell WTF: A WTF that is designed to act as a booster site that provides increased localized network capacity. A small-cell WTF has 3 or fewer antennas, no greater than 4 feet long each, and does not exceed 35 feet in height for a freestanding small-cell WTF, and includes associated equipment cabinet(s).Solar Energy: The use of land or buildings as locations for mounting of solar collectors or other devices that rely on sunshine as an energy source and are capable of collecting, distributing, or storing the sun's radiant energy.Solid Waste Convenience Center: City-owned and operated locations for the drop-off of solid waste by residents and small commercial haulers only.Special Manufacturing: An establishment or business that uses hazardous inputs or creates hazardous by-products, as defined by federal regulation, in the course of manufacturing, assembly, fabrication, or materials treatment, or that uses manufacturing, assembly, fabrication, or treatment processes that create potentially hazardous impacts, including but not limited to explosions or leakage of nuclear or electromagnetic radiation into the environment or surrounding areas. Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use.Specified Anatomical Areas: Any of the following:
1. Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus, or female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areolae.
2. Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.Specified Sexual Activities: Any of the following:
1. Human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.
2. Acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or sodomy.
3. Fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic regions, buttocks or female breasts.
4. Flagellation or torture in the context of a sexual relationship.
5. Masochism, erotic or sexually oriented torture, beating or the infliction of pain.
6. Erotic touching, fondling or other such contact with an animal by a human being.
7. Human excretion, urination, menstruation, vaginal, or anal irrigation as a part of or in connection with any of the activities set forth in 1 through 6 above.Sports Field: A facility designed for amateur or professional sporting events, exhibitions, or shows.Stacking Space: A term used in designing vehicle circulation areas for the queuing of vehicles. See definition in the DPM.Stadium: An outdoor, open-air area or structure suitable for sporting events or performances with tiers of seats or benches and with seating capacity for 1,000 or more people.Stepback: For the purposes of measuring a second story stepback where required, each plane of the façade should be independently considered to determine the relevant stepback for that portion of the building.Stoop: A building frontage type in the MX-FB zone district where the street-facing façade is placed close to the frontage line with the ground story elevated from the sidewalk, securing privacy for the windows. This type is suitable for ground floor residential uses with short setbacks. This type may be interspersed with the storefront frontage type. A porch may also cover the stoop.Storefront: A portion of the street-facing facade typically associated with retail uses that includes a primary pedestrian entrance.
For the purposes of MX-FB zone district standards, the street-facing façade is placed at or close to the right-of-way line, with the entrance at sidewalk grade.Sopfronts are commonly equipped with cantilevered shed roof or awning. The absence of a raised ground floor story precludes residential use on the ground floor facing the street, although this use is appropriate behind and above.Street: That portion of a public right-of-way or private way or thoroughfare, from curb to curb (or from edge or paving to edge of paving if there is no curb, or from edge of visible travelway to edge of visible travelway, if there is no paving) that is primarily devoted to vehicular use. For the purposes of this IDO, this term does not include alleys.Street Frontage: The boundary between a premises and a public right-of-way, whether or not direct access is allowed from the public right-of-way segment to the premises.Street Side Yard: The part of a lot from a side lot line that abuts a street to the side façade of the primary building.Street Tree: A tree that meets the provisions of Part 6-6-2 of ROA 1994 (Street Trees).Street-facing Faade: Any façade that faces or is within 30 feet of a public right-of-way. A building may have more than one street-facing façade.Structure: Anything constructed or erected above ground level that requires location on the ground or attached to something having a location on the ground but not including a tent, vehicle, vegetation, or public utility pole or line.Structure Height: The vertical distance above grade of the highest point on a structure that is not a building, but not including decorative or incidental features that do not extend more than 10 percent of the length of any side of the structure or occupy more than 10 percent of the ground coverage of the structure.Structured Parking Bonus: A building height bonus that provides an additional 12 feet of building height, unless specified otherwise in this IDO, for a development that includes structured, podium, or subterranean parking on the same premises. Building height bonuses are in exchange for a certain type of development that has a civic benefit.Stub Street: A non-permanent dead-end street intended to be extended in conjunction with development on adjacent lots or sites.Subdivide: To divide or re-divide land into 2 or more parts by whatever means to facilitate the present or future conveyance or other transfer of incidents of ownership or use.Subdivider: Any person who, by reason of his/her power, authority, and/or interest with respect to a specific parcel of land, effects, brings about, causes, or proposes the subdivision of that parcel.Subdivision: 1. The process of subdividing land into 2 or more lots or parcels for purposes of sale or development.
2. The parcel of land subdivided.Substantial Change: As defined and regulated by federal law pertaining to Wireless Telecommunicatios Facilities (WTFs).Tandem Parking: Off-street parking area where 2 or more parking spaces arranged one behind or above the other.Tap Room: An establishment associated with a local brewery, winery, or distillery operating under an approved Small Brewer’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-26.1 NMSA 1978, an approved Winegrower’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978, or an approved Craft Distiller’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-6.1 NMSA 1978 where beer, wine, or spirits are available for consumption on-site. Any production of alcohol as regulated by State law under one of these licenses is considered artisan manufacturing. Any sale of alcohol for off-premises consumption as regulated by State law under these licenses is not considered liquor retail.Tap Room or Tasting Room: An establishment associated with a local brewery, winery, or distillery operating under an approved Small Brewer’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-26.1 NMSA 1978, an approved Winegrower’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978, or an approved Craft Distiller’s License as governed by Section 60-6A-6.1 NMSA 1978 where beer, wine, or spirits are available for consumption on-site. Any production of alcohol as regulated by State law under one of these licenses is considered artisan manufacturing. Any sale of alcohol for off-premises consumption as regulated by State law under these licenses is not considered liquor retail.Tattoo Parlor: A facility where permanent marks, scars, or designs are made on the skin by a process of pricking and ingraining an indelible pigment or by raising scars; or in which other bodily decorations, such as piercing, are provided.Taxidermy: An establishment where the preparing, stuffing, and mounting of the skins of dead animals takes place.Temporary Dwelling: A portable dwelling, not attached to a permanent foundation, for use during temporary events or construction periods.Temporary Sign: Temporary Sign A public display of letters, words, numerals, figures, statues, devices, emblems, pictures, etc. for a specified period of time.Theater: A facility with fixed seats for the viewing of movies or live presentations of musicians or other performing artists.Through Lane: A continuous travel lane, excluding any turn lanes or ramps that provide access to or exit from travel lanes. Distance to a through lane is measured to the closest striped edge.Through Lot: A lot having frontage on 2 separate parallel or approximately parallel dedicated public streets.Toe of Slope: The point where the irrigation facility bank meets natural grade.Townhouse: A group of 3 or more dwelling units divided from each other by vertical common walls, each having a separate entrance leading directly to the outdoors at ground level. For the purposes of this IDO, this use is considered a type of low-density residential development, whether the townhouses are platted on separate lots or not.Tract: A portion of land identified on a plat, often for a purpose other than development of a building, such as for drainage, transportation, open space, or as a remainder parcel that will not be sold as a lot.Trailer: A vehicle without motive power, designed so that it can be drawn by a motor vehicle, to be used for the carrying of persons or property or as a human habitation. A structure that meets the requirements of Articles 14-1 and 14-3 of ROA 1994 (Uniform Administrative Code and Uniform Housing Code) in all ways, including foundation, is not a trailer, whether or not it was once a vehicle.Transit Facility: A land use for bus or rail stops, stations, terminals, shelters, transfer points, depots, park and ride lots, and/or related facilities on publicly or privately owned parcels.Transit Shelter: A shelter erected and maintained under the direction and control of ABQ RIDE or other public transportation provider as part of a public transit system for the use of transit patrons.Transit Shelter Sign: A sign located on a City of Albuquerque Transit Department shelter.Transit Station: A designated place where transit vehicles stop for passengers to board or alight from the vehicles. Usually associated with a premium service such as bus rapid transit, transit stations are distinguished from transit stops by having level-boarding platforms and passenger amenities such as ticket vending machines and real-time transit information, as well as common transit stop amenities such as seating and/or shelters.Transit Stop: A designated place where transit vehicles stop for passengers to board or alight from a bus. Boarding and alighting are generally accomplished from the street curb by means of steps or deployable ramps. The level of amenity at a transit stop tends to reflect the level of usage. Stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating and possible electronic passenger information systems; less busy stops may use a simple pole and route sign to mark the location.Transparent Window or Door: A window or door with glazing rated with a Visible Transmittance of 70 percent or greater or a combination of glass and coating or finish to satisfy the equivalent standard. A transparent window or door on the ground floor permits easy viewing into the building from the sidewalk from a minimum distance of 3 feet away from the building. Reflective or mirrored glass is not considered to be transparent. Any portion of a door or window that is covered with a sign or translucent window wrap is not considered to be transparent.Transparent Windows and/or Doors: Windows and/or doors with glazing rated with a Visible Transmittance of 70 percent or greater or a combination of glass and coating or finish to satisfy the equivalent standard. A transparent window or door on the ground floor permits easy viewing into the building from the sidewalk from a minimum distance of 3 feet away from the building. Reflective or mirrored glass is not considered to be transparent. Any portion of a door or window that is covered with a sign or translucent window wrap is not considered to be transparentTwo-family Detached: A residential building containing 2 dwelling units, each of which is designed for or occupied by 1 family only, with kitchens for each. Each unit in a two-family dwelling is completely separated from the other by an unpierced wall dividing the 2 units side-to-side or back-to-front or by an unpierced ceiling and floor extending from exterior wall to exterior wall (over-under), except for a stairwell exterior to 1 of the dwelling units.UC: Urban Center
An area designated as an Urban Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within an Urban Center, the Urban Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Unconcealed: A nonconforming WTF that is not designed as a concealed structure. These include lattice towers with exposed wireless telecommunications antennas and face-mounted wireless telecommunications antennas. New construction of this type of facility is not allowed.University or College: An institution, other than a vocational school, that provides full-time or part-time education beyond high school.Upgrade: The replacement, or addition of wireless telecommunications antenna(s) or equipment, but does not include routine maintenance. As defined and regulated by federal law.Urban Center: An area designated as an Urban Center in the ABC Comp Plan, as amended. For the purposes of this IDO if any portion of a parcel is within an Urban Center, the Urban Center regulations apply to the entire parcel.Urban Residential: A building frontage type in the MX-FB zone district. Residential frontage where windows that front a street are at least twice as tall as they are wide. Residential units may be accessed from street-fronting doors to a lobby or to individual units. May be used in combination with other frontage types.Usable Open Space: Outdoor space to be preserved on-site and managed privately to help ensure livable conditions on each site by providing light and air and meeting visual, psychological, and recreational needs. These areas can be used for a variety of purposes and are not required to be at ground level. Usable open space may include, but is not limited to, lawns; community gardens; decorative and native plantings; open balconies; rooftop decks; plazas; courtyards; covered patios open on at least 2 sides; walkways; landscaped medians, buffers, or setbacks; active and passive recreational areas; fountains; swimming pools; wooded areas; and water courses. Such space shall be available for entry and use by users of the development. Required drainage facilities or land within an easement for overhead utilities that are not landscaped shall not count toward required usable open space. Usable open space does not include public right-of-way, parking lots, off-street parking, driveways, other private vehicular surfaces, or buildings other than swimming pool rooms.Utility, Electric: A facility used or designed to provide electricity services to the city or part of the city that is regulated as a public utility by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and that is included in the Facility Plan for Electric System Transmission and Generation, as amended.Utility, Other Major: A facility sized or designed to serve the entire city, or a wide area of the city, and regulated as a public utility or common carrier by the state or other relevant jurisdiction or agency, including but not limited to major telephone facilities, natural gas facilities, water treatment plants, water pump stations, sewage treatment plants, stormwater drainage facilities, irrigation facilities, or similar public services, but shall not include mass transit or railroad depots or terminals or any similar traffic generating activity, any facility that provides wireless telecommunications services to the public, or any use listed separately in Table 4-2-1. Vacation: The act that rescinds all or part of a recorded subdivision plat including legal dedications and grants of easements.Variance: Exceptions to dimensional standards or variations from the strict, literal application of standards in this IDO or the DPM. Variances from zoning standards are reviewed and decided by the ZHE or EPC, while Variances from technical standards in Section 14-16-5-3 (Access and Connectivity), Section 14-16-5-4 (Subdivision of Land), Section 14-16-5-5 (Parking and Loading), or any standard in the DPM or related to projects in public rights-of-way are decided by the DRB. The allowable use of premises may never be changed via a Variance. Vegetative Screen: A view screen created from evergreen plant material that is at least 75 percent opaque on average across the area to be screened at maturity. Plant material can be trees, ivy, or shrubs, as long as they otherwise meet standards in this IDO.Vehicle: A vehicle that meets the definition in Section 8-1-1-2 of ROA 1994 (Traffic Code).Veterinary Hospital: An establishment of licensed practitioners primarily rendering dentistry, surgical, and medical treatment for animals that may provide overnight accommodations to pets for a limited period before or after medical procedures. Accessory uses include outdoor animal runs and crematory facilities.View Fencing: A wall that is at most 25% opaque to perpendicular view, unless specified otherwise in this IDO, constructed of wood, painted or coated pipe, wrought iron, or smooth wire pasture fence material. View fencing is intended to provide a sense of openness and continuity, visual transparency, and passive surveillance while still providing perimeter security.Vocational School: A public or private institution that provides specialized training and education beyond the high school level, but that does not provide lodging or dwelling units for students or faculty, and that has programs that typically result in the awarding of a certificate. Walkway: A passage or path for walking located on private property, which often connects the sidewalk to a building entrance or connects between different buildings on a site.Wall: A vertical structure of masonry (which includes stone, clay, brick, and poured concrete), wood, plaster, or other material that defines or encloses an area. Where the IDO provides standards about the wall of a building, the term “façade” is used. Otherwise, the IDO provides standards about walls, fences, perimeter walls, courtyard walls, and retaining walls. Unless specified otherwise, this term includes walls, fences, perimeter walls, courtyard walls, and retaining walls. A post that supports a structure other than a wall, such as a sign or a carport, is not considered a wall.Wall Height: For a perimeter wall along the front lot line, wall height shall be measured from the grade on the public side of the wall. For other perimeter walls along other lot lines or for walls between the front lot line and the front façade of the primary building, wall height shall be measured from the grade on the side of the wall that provides the taller wall height. Wall height does not include decorative or incidental features, such as pilasters or fence posts, that are allowed or required by this IDO.Wall Sign: A sign flush to the exterior surface of a building, applied directly on the building or a signboard attached flush to the building, projecting no more than 18 inches from the building surface and not projecting above the roof. However, light sources aimed at the wall sign may extend farther. A sign on a freestanding roofed structure, such as a canopy for a vehicle fueling station, outdoor storage or display, or drive-up facility, is also considered a wall sign.Walled Court: Elevated gardens or terraces that are set back from the frontage line. This type can effectively buffer residential quarters from the sidewalk, while removing the private yard from public encroachment. The court is also suitable for restaurants and cafes as the eye of the sitter is level with that of the standing passerby.Warehouse: A building frontage type in the MX-FB zone district in which up to half of the required windows or doors may be opaque. A warehouse frontage may not have loading docks fronting a street.Warehousing: The use of a building primarily for the holding or storage of goods, including cold storage, and merchandise for onward transportation or for distribution to retailers, but not for sale to the general public, and not including self-storage. Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use.Waste and/or Recycling Transfer Station: A site or facility where materials to be recycled or reprocessed are unloaded after collection and transferred onto transport vehicles, either immediately or following a temporary storage period, aggregation, or sorting. The facility may feature sorting, material crushing apparatus, and the storage of the material until it is transported. Loading and unloading from rail spurs is incidental to this use.Water Harvesting: A water conservation method used to capture, divert, and/or store rainwater for plant irrigation and other uses.Wholesaling and Distribution Center: A facility for the storage of products, supplies, and equipment offered for wholesale distribution, and not for direct sale to the general public.Wind Energy: The use of land for the installation wind energy turbines, wind chargers, windmills, battery banks, and related equipment to generate electrical power from wind or the installation of such equipment or devices on a building.Window Sign: A sign on a window or door, with its message or image discernible from the exterior of the building. Window wraps and glazing with messages or images are considered window signs.Wireless Telecommunications Antenna: A component of a WTF. Any exterior transmitting or receiving device that may be mounted on a tower, building, or structure and used in communications that radiates or captures electromagnetic waves, digital signals, analog signals, radio frequencies (excluding radar signals), or other commercial signals. It includes, but is not limited to, directional antennas (such as panels, microwave dishes, and satellite dishes) and omni-directional antennas (such as whips), but not including non-commercial or broadcasting antennas.Wireless Telecommunications Facility: A facility that transmits and/or receives signals or waves radiated or captured by a wireless telecommunications antenna. It may include: antennas of all kinds including microwave dishes, horns, and other types of equipment for the transmission or reception of such signals, telecommunications tower or similar structures supporting said equipment, equipment buildings or cabinets, parking area, and/or other accessory development. Non-commercial or broadcasting antennas are not considered to be wireless telecommunications facilities.Wireless Telecommunications Services: The provision or offering for rent, sale, or lease, or in exchange for other value received, of the transmittal of voice, data, image, graphic, and video programming information between or among points excluding only cable services.Workforce Housing: Housing meeting the definition of the City's Workforce Housing Opportunity regulations.Workforce Housing Bonus: A building height bonus that provides an additional 12 feet of building height, unless specified otherwise in this IDO, for a development in which at least 30 percent of the dwelling units meet the definition of workforce housing in the City's Workforce Housing Opportunity regulations. Building height bonuses are in exchange for a certain type of development that has a civic benefit.Wrapped Parking: A structure, part of a structure, or a parking lot designed to accommodate vehicle parking spaces that is wrapped on all sides that abut a street by buildings with residential, commercial, or office uses.WTF: Wireless Telecommunications Facility (WTF)
A facility that transmits and/or receives signals or waves radiated or captured by a wireless telecommunications antenna. It may include: antennas of all kinds including microwave dishes, horns, and other types of equipment for the transmission or reception of such signals, telecommunications tower or similar structures supporting said equipment, equipment buildings or cabinets, parking area, and/or other accessory development. Non-commercial or broadcasting antennas are not considered to be wireless telecommunications facilities.Yard Sign: A type of free-standing sign that is relatively small and short, typically supported by 1 or 2 wires or posts, and located in the front or street side yard of a property.ZEO: Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO)
A City Planning Department employee or his/her authorized representative who interprets the provisions of this IDO, reviews applications for decisions related to this IDO, and may make administrative decisions.ZHE: A City employee, or a person or firm on contract with the City, who reviews and decides applications for Conditional Use Approvals, Expansions of Nonconforming Use or Structure, and Variances.Zone Boundary: The boundary of a zone is a lot line unless clearly otherwise shown on the Official Zoning Map, in which case, the boundary of a zone is determined by use of the scale of measurement shown on the Official Zoning Map.Zoning Enforcement Officer: A City Planning Department employee or his/her authorized representative who interprets the provisions of this IDO, reviews applications for decisions related to this IDO, and may make administrative decisions.Zoo: A facility, indoor or outdoor, where animals are kept for viewing by the public, and that may be accredited by the American Zoological Association. Office, retail, and other commercial uses commonly established in such facilities and related parking structures shall be allowed as accessory appurtenances. This use does not include the ABQ BioPark, which is listed as a separate use in this IDO and regulated per the BioPark Master Plan.
Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO)
The Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) was amended by the City Council via several bills, which are all incorporated in the IDO below.
Other Resources
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