Albuquerque’s zoning code, the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) is updated every other year. City Council’s Land Use Planning and Zoning (LUPZ) Committee will consider updates January 28, 2026 and send them to full council.
The update has already gone through the Environmental Planning Commission (EPC). The starting point for LUPZ is the Post-EPC Redline Exhibit which is the entire IDO with changes the EPC is recommending in red. See this at https://abq-zone.com/2025-update-post-epc-redline-exhibit
Proposals occur throughout the document. Some that have interested community members include:
Page 49 of 712, 2-3(B)(1) adding additional uses in the R-1 Single Family Zone District; namely duplexes and triplexes.
Section 4, Legislative Zoning Conversions: Convert R-1 to R-T, R-T to MX-T, and R-ML to MX-L in Major Transit Corridors Areas and Activity Centers. These areas are pictured at https://abq-zone.com/2025-update-proposed-legislative-zoning-conversions
CABQ has not provided direct notice to property owners, it will likely cause property taxes to rise, it will result in many properties losing Neighborhood Edge protection, and it will raise maximum height in most cases.
A change to 4-3(B)(8)(e) made earlier this year says the R-ML use is prohibited in the R-1 and R-T zone districts except in or within ¼ mile of Main Street or Premium Transit areas north of Central Ave. and east of the Rio Grande. EPC recommended changing that to either north of Central Ave. or east of the Rio Grande. That means R-ML apartment cubes can be built on R-1 properties in the entire city east of the Rio Grande.
Page 261 of 712, 4-3(F)(6)(a), In a residential zone district, an accessory dwelling unit may be added as attached or detached from a building…..
Page 262 of 712, 4-3(F)(6)(d), The maximum building height of an accessory dwelling unit is limited to…18 ft or as tall as the primary structure, whichever is greater and an accessory dwelling unit or an accessory dwelling unit constructed over a detached garage is limited by the maximum building height of the zone district. (In R-L, 26 ft.) and….4-3(F)(6)(h) For a detached accessory dwelling unit, a minimum 5-ft side or rear setback is required.
Page 271 of 712, 4-3(G)(9), would ease some requirements for safe outdoor spaces.
Page 324 of 712, Table 5-1-1 Minimum Off-street parking Requirements, various changes are proposed.
Table 4-2-1 Allowable Uses and Use-Specific Standards; The update proposes allowing General Retail, Small in residential zone districts including R-1; on corner lots abutting at least 1 collector or arterial street this would be permissive. On corner lots abutting at least 2 local streets this would require a conditional use permit. The use could not exceed 5,000 sq ft.
Table 4-2-1 Allowable Uses and Use-Specific Standards; The update proposes allowing Grocery Store in residential zone districts including R-1. On corner lots abutting at least 1 collector or arterial street this would be permissive. Otherwise, it is prohibited. The use could not exceed 5,000 sq ft.
Your association is seeking community input on these and any other proposed changes in an effort to develop a statement of position to the LUPZ. You are invited to submit your ideas to theboard@nobhill-nm.com
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Leading up to this point, CABQ’s Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) looked at about 150 proposals. They can be seen in rough form at 2025 Update: EPC Spreadsheet of Proposed Changes | Interactive Integrated Development Ordinance. We advised the community of several that stand out for impact on Nob Hill’s neighborhoods. “M” means they come from the mayor, “C” means council, and others are from the planning department. The EPC used this list to develop the redline above.
Proposal M-1, C-5, and others: Loosen some requirements for safe outdoor spaces.
Proposal M-2; Make bodegas permissive in R-1, R-T and R-ML citywide. In R-1 only on corner lots.
C-2; Make Duplexes permissive in R-1 citywide. Duplex: 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 is completely separated from the other by an unpierced wall dividing the units side-to-side or back-to-front or by an unpierced ceiling and floor.
C-3; Make Townhouses permissive in R-1 city-wide. Townhouse: A building or multiple buildings with 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.
C-4; Casitas (ADU’s), which are already permissive in R-1 ciy-wide, can be detached or attached to the primary structure.
C-7; Make bodegas permissive on corner lots in R-1, R-T, and R-ML.
C-10; Remove requirement for off-site (probably mean off-street) parking space for an accessory dwelling unit (currently one space).
C-8; Make overnight shelters with 10 or fewer beds permissive within the MX-M, MX-H, and several non-residential zone districts.
C-12; Reduce the number of required parking spaces for most uses in Table 50-5-1 by 20% with some exceptions.
16; Make Family home day care an accessory use for a dwelling unit…Conditional use approval by Zoning Hearing Examiner no longer needed.
26; Prohibit Nicotine Retail on a lot within 1,000 ft in any direction of any other primary nicotine retail use.
29; Allow accessory dwelling units up to 18 ft high or as high as primary structure, whichever is higher. ADU over a garage can be up to 26 ft. high.
30; Prohibit single family home in MX-T. Existing homes could continue to be used as single family but could not build additions. If not used for single family for 2 years the use would no longer be allowed.
36; Reduce parking requirement for multi-family dwelling units.97; Limit the number of dwelling units allowed in a multi-family dwelling with a rear or side lot line that abuts an R-1 lot to 6 dwelling units.
ZC-3; Zoning conversions in Major Transit Areas. This would affect many lots, including R-1, R-T, and R-ML lots within 660 ft of Lomas, Girard, and Central which are in major transit areas. Those areas are in these green balloons.
a. Convert R-1 (26 ft. max height) to R-T (26 ft. max height)
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b. Convert R-T (26 ft. max height) to MX-T (30 ft. max height). (This could impact qualifying for a residential mortgage for a lot currently zoned R-T.)
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c. Convert R-ML (38 ft max height) to MX-L (38 ft max height but in Urban Center, UC-Main Street, MS-Premium Transit, PT: 55 ft. max height plus up to 12 ft. structured parking bonus and 12 ft. workforce housing bonus). This would introduce commercial uses including elementary, middle, and high school, restaurant, car wash, light vehicle repair, cannabis cultivation and retail, general retail small, grocery, into a residential area.) Find allowable uses in each zone district starting on page 185 of 674 at https://abq-zone.com/integrated-development-ordinance-ido
