Sandoval County, NM Environmental Rules: Defensible Space (2026)

4) governs the Jemez Valley Community District (CD-JV), which covers the unincorporated communities of Cañon, Gilman, and South Jemez Springs and, by agreement, can extend into the incorporated Town of San Ysidro. Subsection E sets Design Standards for both residential and non-residential structures in the district, opening with a tree-preservation mandate that buildings be sited so existing trees survive to the maximum extent possible. 4)(E)(1) then carves out the fire-safety exception: that preservation rule does not stop an owner from clearing trees around a building for defensible space against wildfire, and trees may also be cleared to open scenic views, though the ordinance still asks that clearing preserve the natural ridge line-of-sight seen from public roads.

The same design-standards block also regulates outdoor lighting, parking surfaces, and residential drainage plans, so a defensible-space clearing project sited near a driveway or parking area may trigger those companion requirements too. 5)(C)(5), which applies the same defensible-space exception to new non-residential development and expansions inside the La Cueva Design Overlay Zone, confirming that wherever the county has adopted a tree-preservation design standard, it has paired it with the same fire-protection exception rather than leaving owners unable to create a cleared perimeter around a structure.