Image: A rendering of a residential development proposed in Los Alamos in 2023 in the Mari-Mac Shopping Center.

BY STEPHANIE NAKHLEH
Member
Los Alamos Planning & Zoning Commission*

This is the second installment in a monthly series explaining how Los Alamos makes land-use decisions. Each column breaks down the planning process in plain language—the rules, the roles, and where residents can plug in.

Last month, I explained what the Planning and Zoning Commission does—and what it can’t do. (https://losalamosreporter.com/2025/09/11/the-rent-is-too-dang-high-how-things-get-built-or-not-in-los-alamos/) The short version: we apply the rules, but we don’t write them. That distinction matters, because by the time a project reaches us, most of what determines its price—land costs, construction costs, and zoning restrictions—has already been set in motion. When people see a $3,500/mo rent attached to a new development, they understandably want us to fight to make it cheaper. But affordability isn’t decided one project at a time in the hearing room; it’s shaped upstream, by the rules themselves: what’s allowed where, how much of it, and under what conditions.

To understand how those rules connect to housing costs, where P&Z fits in, and where public input can actually change outcomes, you first need to know the types of cases that come before us. This guide walks through the most common case types, explains how our meetings work, and shows what actually happens when someone proposes a new project.

The most common types of cases
Variance: These are requests for an exception to the rules. For example, imagine a homeowner who wants to add a garage, but their lot’s steep slope makes it impossible to meet the standard setback requirements. They then ask P&Z to grant them a variance to the setback requirements. The idea is to balance fairness with consistency—if the property has unique conditions that make strict compliance impossible, a “small” adjustment may be allowed.

Conditional use permit (CUP): Certain uses are permitted in a zone only if they meet special conditions and receive approval after public review. Example: In our code, a “private school” or “country club” is listed as needing a CUP in a single-family residential district: these uses need permission from the commission to operate. Applicants are not required to prove their use will improve the neighborhood, but to ensure it won’t cause undue problems. Commissioners work through criteria like public safety, parking, and traffic impacts to determine whether the proposal is compatible with the neighborhood. The rights of the applicant must be balanced with those of the neighbors. (Note: Los Alamos used to call these “Special Use Permits” or SUPs, so you’ll see that term in older documents.)

Rezoning: These cases involve changing the zoning rules for a piece of land. For example, a developer may propose changing a property zoned for offices to mixed-use, which would allow housing above shops. There are two types: 1. Minor rezoning affects a single property or properties under the same ownership. P&Z holds a hearing and makes the final decision. 2. Major rezoning affects larger areas or multiple separately-owned properties. P&Z holds a hearing and recommends approval or denial to County Council, which makes the final decision.

Subdivisions: As the name indicates, a subdivision divides a piece of land into a set of smaller lots. Subdivisions can range from modest (splitting one lot into three) to major (creating dozens or even hundreds of new lots on a large tract). P&Z reviews subdivision proposals at multiple stages (sketch plat, preliminary plat, and final plat) to ensure that the necessary infrastructure—roads, water, sewer, and utilities—can support the new lots.

Site plan: Most larger projects come to us as site plans. A site plan shows how the proposed development fits on the property—where the buildings, parking, landscaping, lighting, and drainage will go. The Commission’s job is to make sure the project complies with all the applicable standards in the Development Code.

For example, the case below came to the commission in 2023. The applicant requested site- plan approval for a mixed-use development in Mari-Mac, with 322 residential units and 22,000square feet of commercial space in the Downtown Los Alamos (DTLA) zone district. The prefix in the case (SIT) refers to “site plan.” Each case has a code like this, with the type of case and the date.

Even for something that large, the commission review isn’t about whether the project should be built or what the rent will be; it’s about whether the plans meet the county’s adopted standards.

Image: An excerpt from the April 26, 2023 staff report showing a site plan for a development.

Quasi-judicial vs. legislative hearings
Unlike any other public board, P&Z conducts two types of hearings:
Quasi-judicial: As the name hints at, quasi-judicial hearings resemble court hearings. The Commission must decide yes or no based only on the evidence presented and the criteria specified in the code. Witnesses are sworn in, testimony is under oath, and decisions must rest on findings of fact. Your testimony becomes part of a permanent record that can be reviewed if the decision is appealed. Examples of quasi-judicial hearings include variances, conditional use
permits, site plans, subdivisions, and minor rezoning requests.

Legislative: Legislative hearings are policy-making meetings. Examples of legislative hearings include updates to Chapter 16 of the Development Code (https://www.losalamosnm.us/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/departments/community-development/documents/chapter-16_ordinance_no._02-333_.pdf) and amendments to the Comprehensive Plan (https://www.losalamosnm.us/files/sharedassets/public/v/3/departments/community-development/documents/comprehensive-plan-2016.pdf).

In quasi-judicial cases, commissioners act like judges. In legislative cases, they act like policymakers. Most P&Z cases are quasi-judicial.

The anatomy of a P&Z meeting

Most P&Z meetings follow this pattern:

● Call to order and roll call—the chair opens the meeting and confirms a quorum
● Public comment—anyone can speak about general concerns not related to specific cases
● Public hearings—the main event, where staff explain each request, applicants present their case, the public can speak for or against, commissioners ask questions and deliberate, then make a decision
● Other business—reports from staff or commissioners, updates on upcoming code changes
● Adjournment—meeting ends

What this means for you
If you’re a resident, you can show up and speak—your input becomes part of the record. If you’re an applicant, be ready to show how your project meets the decision criteria. If you’re a commissioner, your role shifts: sometimes you’re a fact-finder (quasi-judicial), other times a policymaker (legislative).

Planning and zoning commissions function similarly across the country. These processes are intended to balance private property rights with the public good, so that the community remains safe, functional, and livable, balancing current desires against future needs. Whether and how well they do so is a much broader and deeper question.

So…how does all this relate to affordability?
Housing costs are influenced by several factors, including interest rates, construction costs, labor shortages, federal mortgage rules, and demand from nearby employers. Most of these factors are beyond local control. Land-use regulations and zoning processes are, however, one lever within the town’s power that can affect housing costs. Moreover, ample empirical evidence (see, for example, this 2025 analysis on New Mexico’s housing from Pew https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2025/01/21/restrictive-regulations-fuel-new-mexicos-housing-shortage) suggests that the land-use policy choices made by a community have a significant impact on housing costs.

The County’s land-use goals and the legislative processes that govern the approval or denial of a project proposal are codified in the Development Code and the Comprehensive Plan. Like all policy documents, these capture a set of political preferences. There can be, and often is, real disagreement and conflict over land-use preferences and how they should be captured in these documents. I have my personal views, as does every commissioner, every member of staff, and every resident.

However, what I want to emphasize here—and this is important—is that the Commission doesn’t set the community’s rules and policy choices, and certainly can’t change them on the fly.

Our job is to apply the Development Code and Comprehensive Plan as they currently exist. That means meeting by meeting, we don’t actually have much direct control over costs—except in the sense of supply: the commission can approve or deny projects.

So if rents are too dang high, the question isn’t “what did P&Z decide on Wednesday night?” It’s “what rules has our community chosen to live under?” Do our codes allow enough homes, in enough forms, to meet the demand? How do those rules balance growth with a natural desire to keep things the same? What are the consequences of growth vs. maintaining the status quo?

County Council, with community input, wrestles with these tradeoffs through the Development Code and Comprehensive Plan. P&Z makes decisions within that framework. If the community wants different results, it’s the rules themselves that need to change.

*Note – While this column is written in my capacity as a planning commissioner, I do not speak for the commission.