Rio Rancho Planning and Zoning Board Meeting Summary - September 22, 2026

The Rio Rancho Planning and Zoning Board met on September 22, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers, in person and virtually. All seven board members were present: Chair Scottie Richardson, Vice Chair Robert Gabaldon, and members Kevin Kofchur, Melissa Fischer-Pedraza, Andrea Hankins, Holly Barela, and R. Wayne Lampson. The board acted on a subdivision variance and preliminary plat, two individual variance requests, two zone map amendments, and heard one public-forum comment.

Consent Calendar

• The consent calendar was empty; no consent vote was taken.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No oral public comments were offered on Items 1, 2, 4, or 5; written comments were listed in agenda materials for several items.
• Item 3: Art Bernstein, a neighbor at 602 San Juan de Rio, asked the board to deny the Venzor garage variance. He said the building was within six feet of his fence line, harmed his property value and peace of mind, that the owners were familiar with the permit process from a prior garage conversion, and that the constructed footprint did not overlap the approved site plan footprint.
• Item 6: Staff noted that written public comments had been received and included in board packets. Oral public comment was not taken because the item was postponed.
• Public Forum: Corinne Rios, a Lomas Encantadas resident, said she could not speak during the public hearing because she was not within 300 feet. She cited a reported $5,000 campaign contribution dated December 15, 2025, from Pierre Ormstoy to District 4 Councilor Paul Reimer. She listed Arrowhead East (479 units), Tampico (118 single-family homes), Sandoval Flats (216 apartments), and the proposed PG Properties development as four nearby projects totaling 868 dwellings within an eight-mile radius, or an estimated 2,604 residents at three people per dwelling. She also questioned the city's sale of parkland for $17,500 (she cited approximately 5.656 acres; the agenda and staff describe the parkland portion as 0.5603 acres) and asked the board to examine the sequence of actions.

Discussion Items

Items 1 and 2 - Melon Ridge Townhome Subdivision Variance and Preliminary Plat

• R&A Estates LLC, through Consensus Planning, requested a subdivision variance to allow a 90-foot street jog instead of the 125-foot minimum required by Code Section 155.41(I), plus a preliminary plat for the 1.14-acre Melon Ridge Townhome Subdivision, creating 12 attached single-family townhome lots and two tracts on R-3 zoned property.
• Staff said the plat approval was contingent on the variance and recommended approval with findings and conditions. Private streets would be 36 feet wide and owned/maintained by the subdivision HOA; a parkland dedication fee would be required. No public comments were offered.

Item 3 - Venzor Detached Garage Setback Variance

• Staff recommended denial. The approved site plan showed a 15-foot rear setback, but the 875-square-foot detached garage at 603 Gral Trevino Drive SE was built nine feet into the rear setback, leaving six feet to the rear property line. A stop-work order was issued after an August 4, 2026 complaint.
• Staff found no evidence supporting the applicants' claim that a six-foot setback was approved by email, and noted the existing garage had been approved for conversion to a bedroom in 2025, undermining the vehicle-access justification. Applicant Stephanie Venzor said inspectors approved the forms before concrete was poured and that the building was 98 percent complete; her husband Jorge said neighbors signed letters and the metal building was not a fire hazard.
• The board's motion to approve failed 1-6, denying the variance.

Item 4 - Oasis Cannabis Daycare Distance Variance

• Staff recommended denial. The proposed retail cannabis establishment at 112 New Mexico Highway 528 NE was about 251.5 feet from a daycare when measured property-line to property-line, below the 300-foot requirement, although about 500 feet door-to-door. Retail cannabis is a permissive use in the M-1 district.
• Applicant Martin Richardson said Oasis Cannabis is New Mexico's largest retail cannabis company, operates 17 locations, expected this to be its 21st location, and planned to employ 25 full-time Rio Rancho employees.
• The board approved the variance 6-1.

Item 5 - Unit 25 Zone Map Amendment (Arroyos, LLC)

• Staff recommended approval. The request would rezone approximately 14.41 acres from TZ Transitional Zoning to R-2 Single-Family Residential for lots in Unit 25, Blocks A and B, west of V and L Road NE. Staff said the lots are about 50 feet wide, matching R-2 minimum lot width but not TZ requirements; the property is not within a planned area, so conditions would prohibit formal subdivision and rear access.
• Applicant representative Jared Liker (identifying as Fair Royals LLC; the agenda names the applicant as Arroyos, LLC) called the request a cleanup of properties that do not meet TZ's 60-foot width standard. The board unanimously recommended approval to the Governing Body.

Item 6 - Lomas Encantadas Mixed-Use Zone Map Amendment (PG Properties, LLC)

• Staff recommended approval. The request would rezone about 1.23 acres of C-1 and 0.5603 acres of PR to SU Special Use for R-6 multifamily and C-1 retail, a combined 1.7895 acres. The applicant proposed 55 apartment units and approximately 1,851 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, with a maximum building height of 36 feet. Staff noted the Governing Body's July 23, 2026 approval of the separate 0.5603-acre parkland sale.
• Applicant representative Angela Parowski of Modulus Architects requested a deferral. An audience member objected that affected residents would not be heard; the chair directed them to return on October 13. Staff said the applicant could submit its presentation for the October 13 agenda packet.
• The board voted unanimously to postpone the public hearing to October 13, 2026.

Key Outcomes

• Items 1 and 2 were approved unanimously (7-0), with Item 2 contingent on approval of Item 1.
• Item 3 was denied because the motion to approve failed 1-6; Chair Richardson voted yes and all other board members voted no.
• Item 4 was approved 6-1 despite staff's recommendation to deny; Commissioner Fischer-Pedraza voted no.
• Item 5 was unanimously recommended for approval to the Governing Body (7-0).
• Item 6 was postponed to October 13, 2026; no substantive vote was taken.
• Public forum was closed after one speaker; staff noted only Corinne Rios had signed up before the 5:45 p.m. deadline.