Alongside the Land Development Code (LDC) Update, the City is initiating an update to the General Plan. The General Plan is the primary policy document that reflects residents’ desires regarding Santa Fe’s future. Once adopted, the City will refer to the Plan as a policy guide for big-picture decision-making. As the General Plan update process gets underway, it is an excellent opportunity for Santa Feans to participate, providing their input to shape the collective vision for the City. The General Plan will reflect the diverse thoughts and ideas of all who live, work, or own a business in the City, while establishing an actionable strategy to achieve the community vision.

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The LDC Update focuses on Chapter 14, the purpose of which is to “implement the General Plan, including guiding and accomplishing a coordinated, adjusted and harmonious development of Santa Fe that will best promote health, safety, order, convenience, prosperity and the general welfare as well as efficiency and economy in the process of development , and to ensure that the regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter are in accordance with the general plan.” Specifically, the LDC regulates development in ways that support implementation of the General Plan. That includes requirements for zoning and subdivision, standards for what uses are allowed in what locations and, through development standards, how that development must look (landscaping, number of parking spaces, lighting, and more).

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The LDC Update project, initiated in February 2023, is a multi-year process that will proceed concurrently with the General Plan update. Some changes to the LDC will be made prior to the General Plan being adopted – these are aimed at making the code simpler, more streamlined, and better organized. Later stages of the LDC Update will focus more in the opportunity to align the code regulations in support of accomplishing the Plan’s policy directions. These later stages of the LDC Update will ensure that —moving forward— the city of Santa Fe’s policies and regulations will work hand in hand.