Development Code Overhaul (Ordinance No. 02-371)
Los Alamos County
Summary
The county is updating the administrative procedures of its Development Code — who notices meetings, who posts signs, how long decisions take, and how appeals work. These procedural rules affect how fast any development in town moves and how much it costs.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 2
- Last 30 days
- 0
Last discussed Jul 28, 2026.
Impact analysis
Folding sketch plat review into preliminary plat review should save applicants and the county time and money on subdivisions.
Developers and residents seeking permits get a clearer, faster, more predictable process.
Developers lose the ability to appeal a county-required impact report, which one commenter noted could cost $100,000 or more.
Mentions & discussions (2)
County Council - Regular Session — July 28, 2026
The council adopted a batch of fixes to the development code's procedures — longer public notice (15 days), mandatory neighborhood meetings, clearer quasi-judicial hearing rules, and consolidation of the subdivision sketch plat process — intended to make the code clearer for applicants and residents.
Planning and Zoning Commission — June 24, 2026
The county is updating the administrative procedures of its Development Code — who notices meetings, who posts signs, how long decisions take, and how appeals work. These procedural rules affect how fast any development in town moves and how much it costs.
Related development
Development Code Amendment ZCA-2026-0019 (Ordinance No. 02-371)
Applicants will now run their own early neighborhood meetings and post their own notice signs; notice periods stretch one extra day; subdivision sketch plats are folded into preliminary plat review; and decision deadlines are set at 60 days instead of being removed entirely.
Case No. ZCA-2026-0019 — Ordinance No. 02-371 Development Code amendments
Makes development permitting clearer and fairer for applicants and neighbors — longer notice, mandatory neighborhood meetings, and streamlined platting.
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