Rio Rancho's Section 154.50 zoning table caps most residential buildings at 32 feet ('No building or structure shall exceed 32 feet in height except as permitted herein'). Higher limits apply to multi-family districts (R-3 multi-family 50 ft; R-6 up to 78 ft or 6 stories). Accessory structures are capped near the primary structure or 24 feet.
Rio Rancho Municipal Code Section 154.50 (Zoning Table/Residential) sets maximum building height by district, with a controlling footnote stating that 'No building or structure shall exceed 32 feet in height except as permitted herein.' Most single-family districts, including E-1, R-1, R-2, R-4, R-5, and detached forms of R-3 and R-6, carry the 32-foot maximum. The exceptions are higher-density districts: R-3 multi-family is capped at 50 feet and R-6 multi-family at 78 feet or six stories. Manufactured-home (M-H) districts are limited to 22 feet. For accessory buildings and structures, Section 154.70(A)(1) provides that they shall not exceed the height of the primary structure or 24 feet, whichever is greater, and carports in side yards are limited to 12 feet in R-2/R-3/R-4 and 13.5 feet in E-1/R-1. Building height is generally measured under the design standards in Section 154.60. Applicants seeking to exceed a district's height limit must pursue a variance through the Planning and Zoning Division. These height limits are Rio Rancho city zoning standards; New Mexico's adopted 2018 building code governs structural and life-safety requirements but does not set municipal height caps, which remain a local zoning matter.
Constructing a building taller than the district maximum (e.g., over 32 feet in a single-family district) without an approved variance violates Section 154.50 and can result in denial of permits or required modification.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Under Chapter 91 (Nuisances; Health and Sanitation), Rio Rancho requires developed property to be kept free of dry vegetation, tumbleweeds, weeds, bushes, an...
See how Rio Rancho's structure height limits rules stack up against other locations.
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