Bernalillo County delays vote on South Coors Boulevard sector plan after debate over heights, density and road safety
February 11, 2026 | Bernalillo County, New Mexico
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Bernalillo County commissioners on Feb. 10 heard staff presentations and public testimony on proposed amendments to the Southwest Area Plan and the South Coors Boulevard Sector Development Plan before voting to continue the item to March 11, 2026.
Senior planner Mino Savoca told the board the package would add three neighborhood activity centers along Coors Boulevard (Coors & Blake, Coors & Arenal, Coors & Sage) and create two new sector zones that would be applied within the plan boundary. He said the intent is to concentrate commercial and mixed uses along the corridor, protect adjacent residential neighborhoods and align the rank-2 Southwest Area Plan with rank-1 centers-and-corridors policy in the county comprehensive plan.
Richard Meadows, the county’s transportation planning manager and applicant on the sector plan, framed the land-use proposal around three transportation goals: safety, sustainability and multimodal mobility. Meadows cited corridor crash data and said the corridor has seen “8 fatalities over the last several years” and “250 or so severe injuries,” and argued that targeted mixed-use development and planned activity centers would reduce vehicle trips and support transit and pedestrian improvements.
During the public hearing, neighborhood groups and residents urged caution. Jerry Noble, president of the Blake Road Neighborhood Association, said the association “strongly oppose[s] this South Coors sector plan recommendation for 4 story buildings and 25 units density at the Blake Road Activity Center,” and asked the commission to retain the Southwest Area Plan’s lower-density standards (9 dwellings per acre; two-story heights) around Blake and nearby neighborhoods. Peter Ashman of the Kanita Bridal Neighborhood Association warned of light pollution and urged dark-sky-compliant fixtures.
Other commenters backed the plan’s goals. Aaron Hill, a transportation planner, said traffic counts show the corridor at roughly half capacity at peak hours and argued activity-center zoning would add housing and jobs, shorten trips, increase transit use and improve safety. Enrico Grotti, a steering-committee member, urged adoption while noting the plan could be amended later to address details.
Commissioners and staff spent much of the discussion addressing two interlocking concerns raised in public comment: building heights and permissible housing densities. Staff explained that the proposed sector plan had changed multifamily housing from a conditional use to a permissive use (allowing direct building-permit pathways) and set higher permissive densities in centers. At the meeting, staff offered draft conditions prepared with Commissioner Frank Baca that would (a) revert higher-density housing in the corridor and activity-center zones back to conditional uses (restoring a public hearing requirement prior to development of multifamily), and (b) cap residential density for those conditional uses at 9 dwellings per acre — the density recommended in the Southwest Area Plan.
On height, staff described a nuanced option read into the record: parcels that currently carry residential zoning would keep a 26-foot height limit if they later opt into the corridor or activity-center zones, while parcels that already have commercial zoning would retain C-1 commercial height allowances (26 feet plus the 45-degree angle plane). Under the plan’s recommended approach, staff had proposed fixed caps (three stories in corridors and four stories in centers) to replace the unbounded angle-plane outcomes in current commercial code; the draft condition discussed at the meeting would instead protect existing commercial property rights while limiting upzoning impacts to residential-origin parcels.
Commissioners said they needed time to review the proposed findings and conditions. Commissioner Frank Baca praised the planning process but emphasized community concerns about density and traffic; Commissioner Olivares requested more time to digest the redline materials and amendments. Commissioner Olivares moved to continue the item to the March 11, 2026 zoning meeting and asked staff to publish the full set of proposed findings and conditions for public review. The motion was seconded and passed by roll call (yes: Olivares, Barbara Baca, Frank Baca, Chair Barboa; Commissioner Benton was excused).
Next steps: staff will publish the proposed findings and conditions, and the commission will revisit the South Coors Boulevard Sector Development Plan and the Southwest Area Plan amendment at the March 11, 2026 zoning meeting in Ken Sanchez Chambers.
Sources: county staff presentations and public testimony during the Feb. 10, 2026 Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners zoning meeting.
Senior planner Mino Savoca told the board the package would add three neighborhood activity centers along Coors Boulevard (Coors & Blake, Coors & Arenal, Coors & Sage) and create two new sector zones that would be applied within the plan boundary. He said the intent is to concentrate commercial and mixed uses along the corridor, protect adjacent residential neighborhoods and align the rank-2 Southwest Area Plan with rank-1 centers-and-corridors policy in the county comprehensive plan.
Richard Meadows, the county’s transportation planning manager and applicant on the sector plan, framed the land-use proposal around three transportation goals: safety, sustainability and multimodal mobility. Meadows cited corridor crash data and said the corridor has seen “8 fatalities over the last several years” and “250 or so severe injuries,” and argued that targeted mixed-use development and planned activity centers would reduce vehicle trips and support transit and pedestrian improvements.
During the public hearing, neighborhood groups and residents urged caution. Jerry Noble, president of the Blake Road Neighborhood Association, said the association “strongly oppose[s] this South Coors sector plan recommendation for 4 story buildings and 25 units density at the Blake Road Activity Center,” and asked the commission to retain the Southwest Area Plan’s lower-density standards (9 dwellings per acre; two-story heights) around Blake and nearby neighborhoods. Peter Ashman of the Kanita Bridal Neighborhood Association warned of light pollution and urged dark-sky-compliant fixtures.
Other commenters backed the plan’s goals. Aaron Hill, a transportation planner, said traffic counts show the corridor at roughly half capacity at peak hours and argued activity-center zoning would add housing and jobs, shorten trips, increase transit use and improve safety. Enrico Grotti, a steering-committee member, urged adoption while noting the plan could be amended later to address details.
Commissioners and staff spent much of the discussion addressing two interlocking concerns raised in public comment: building heights and permissible housing densities. Staff explained that the proposed sector plan had changed multifamily housing from a conditional use to a permissive use (allowing direct building-permit pathways) and set higher permissive densities in centers. At the meeting, staff offered draft conditions prepared with Commissioner Frank Baca that would (a) revert higher-density housing in the corridor and activity-center zones back to conditional uses (restoring a public hearing requirement prior to development of multifamily), and (b) cap residential density for those conditional uses at 9 dwellings per acre — the density recommended in the Southwest Area Plan.
On height, staff described a nuanced option read into the record: parcels that currently carry residential zoning would keep a 26-foot height limit if they later opt into the corridor or activity-center zones, while parcels that already have commercial zoning would retain C-1 commercial height allowances (26 feet plus the 45-degree angle plane). Under the plan’s recommended approach, staff had proposed fixed caps (three stories in corridors and four stories in centers) to replace the unbounded angle-plane outcomes in current commercial code; the draft condition discussed at the meeting would instead protect existing commercial property rights while limiting upzoning impacts to residential-origin parcels.
Commissioners said they needed time to review the proposed findings and conditions. Commissioner Frank Baca praised the planning process but emphasized community concerns about density and traffic; Commissioner Olivares requested more time to digest the redline materials and amendments. Commissioner Olivares moved to continue the item to the March 11, 2026 zoning meeting and asked staff to publish the full set of proposed findings and conditions for public review. The motion was seconded and passed by roll call (yes: Olivares, Barbara Baca, Frank Baca, Chair Barboa; Commissioner Benton was excused).
Next steps: staff will publish the proposed findings and conditions, and the commission will revisit the South Coors Boulevard Sector Development Plan and the Southwest Area Plan amendment at the March 11, 2026 zoning meeting in Ken Sanchez Chambers.
Sources: county staff presentations and public testimony during the Feb. 10, 2026 Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners zoning meeting.
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