Sandoval County, NM Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Sandoval County treats adult bookstores, adult theaters, and adult live entertainment establishments as a Special Use District (SU) under Section 10 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, meaning the use cannot open in an ordinarily zoned area without the County Board of Commissioners approving a Zone Map Amendment for that specific site. Section 10(D)(9) then adds a hard locational bar: none of these adult uses may be located within 1,000 feet of a public or private school, a church, or any residential district, with the distance measured from the building that would house the adult use to the closest point of the residential district, the school parcel, or the church parcel.

Because most of unincorporated Sandoval County is zoned Rural Residential/Agricultural, this buffer effectively confines adult businesses to isolated commercial or industrial pockets far from any subdivision. An applicant must follow the Section 19 amendment procedure, submit a site development plan showing lot boundaries, building and parking layout, and identify the type, use and size of structures on adjacent property within 500 feet of the proposed SU boundary. The County Board may only grant the SU designation if it finds the use compatible with the surrounding area, that it preserves the area's integrity and property values, that it will not become detrimental to public health, safety, or welfare, and that it does not conflict with the County Comprehensive Plan. If the adult use is permanently discontinued, the SU designation can be cancelled and the land reverts to the underlying zone district.