Socorro Board of Adjustments approves setback variances for 200 Horizon Boulevard

The Board of Adjustments of the City of Socorro approved variances Friday to reduce the front setback at 200 Horizon Boulevard from 55 feet to 50 feet and the rear setback from 25 feet to 10 feet to allow a proposed commercial development.

The decision matters because the variances change the required building envelope for a 28,232-square-foot lot zoned C-2 (general commercial), enabling a developer to place more leasable square footage on the site, according to city planning staff.

Jose Botello, planner with the City of Socorro, told the board the applicant, Horizon Properties LLC, requested relief from municipal code section 46-415 (area requirements) — subsection 3(b) for the front setback and subsection 2 for the rear setback — to accommodate the proposed commercial project. Botello said staff recommended approval, finding the request would serve a public interest, that strict enforcement would create a hardship for the applicant and that the request met the spirit of the code as stated on the application. The site plan submitted with the application shows a single building divided into six tenant units and indicates the proposed 50-foot front setback and 10-foot rear setback.

Commissioners asked technical questions before voting. One commissioner asked whether a ponding area next to the property would have to be fenced; Botello said fencing depends on the depth and that any fence location would be shown on construction documents submitted after approvals. Botello also said the ponding area had been designated by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for a Verizon expansion and indicated that feature is outside the applicant's developable area. The planner told the board a fence would not be considered an inhabitable structure and therefore would not require a variance from the setback standards.

Board members also asked where the property is located; one commissioner said it is along Horizon Boulevard after the railroad tracks and before City Hall. Botello confirmed the property is zoned C-2 and said other nearby parcels would require rezoning for residential uses.

A motion to approve the variance was made by Commissioner David Oropeza and seconded by Commissioner Albert Lagunas. The motion carried. The board did not place additional conditions on the variance in the hearing record. If the project proceeds, Botello said construction documents will show fencing, grading and other details required for building and site permits.

The approval alters only the city setback requirements stated on the variance application and does not itself authorize building permits or final site plan approval; those are separate administrative processes that follow building-plan review and any required permits.