Sandoval County, NM Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Sandoval County's Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance makes 'Home occupations' a permissive use in the RRA (Rural Residential/Agricultural) District, item 5 on the list of uses the district allows outright without Zoning Commission review or a public hearing (§ 9(1)). Because the RRA District automatically covers any territory that later comes under the county's zoning jurisdiction until it is reclassified, that by-right treatment reaches most of unincorporated Sandoval County (§ 3(B)). To qualify, the business must fit the ordinance's definition: a business activity performed on the premises of a residence by one or more resident family members, kept secondary and subordinate to the home's residential use, with no more than one non-resident employee on site, no traffic beyond what's customary for a single-family residence, no business equipment visible from outside the lot lines, no noise beyond what a residence normally produces, and no more than one non-illuminated sign of four square feet or less (§ 6(B)(37)).

A use that doesn't meet all five conditions, such as a business with two employees or an illuminated sign, falls outside the home-occupation exemption entirely and is not otherwise listed as permissive or conditional in the RRA District, so it is prohibited there under § 4 unless approved through a conditional-use or zone-map process.