Las Cruces, NM

A Las Cruces accessory dwelling unit cannot be rented out on the open market. Land Development Code Section 38-33A(c) requires ADUs to be created solely to house family members, and…

A detached backyard shed in Las Cruces skips a building permit only if it is a one-story accessory structure of 120 square feet or less, under New Mexico's statewide permit-exception…

Owning an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in Las Cruces comes with a residency string attached: under Land Development Code Section 38-33A(a), the owner of record must actually live in…

Las Cruces allows one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per single-family lot in the EE, RE, REM and R-1 zoning districts under Land Development Code Section 38-33A. The unit must share a…

New Mexico has adopted Appendix Q of the International Residential Code, allowing tiny houses on permanent foundations under 400 square feet to meet relaxed loft, ceiling, and stair…

Las Cruces bans pet stores outright from selling dogs or cats. Sec. 7-16(f) forbids any pet store from selling, bartering, auctioning or otherwise transferring ownership of a dog or…

Las Cruces allows veterinary facilities by right only in the EE (equestrian estate) and REM (residential estate mobile) districts and in the heavier C-3, M-T, M-1/M-2 and M-3…

Las Cruces will not let anyone keep a bird of prey without proof the federal government and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish have already licensed the bird. Sec. 7-32(2)…

Las Cruces does not require every pet to be sterilized outright. Sec. 7-11A-1 makes spay or neuter mandatory only once an owner has been cited twice in 364 days for a restraint…

Every companion animal three months or older in Las Cruces must carry a registered identification microchip under Sec. 7-11, and the current registration on file stands as legal proof…

Las Cruces allows backyard poultry and small livestock with a special animal permit: lots under half an acre may keep up to six total small livestock animals, including chickens and…

Las Cruces bans keeping wild and exotic animals that are dangerous by nature, including big cats, bears, wolves and hybrids, primates, venomous snakes, and alligators. Domestic ferrets…

Las Cruces prohibits feeding animals running at large, so leaving food out for stray or free-roaming animals is barred. Feeding wild game like deer or coyotes is governed by state…

Las Cruces requires dogs under humane physical restraint at all times off the owner's property, with a leash no longer than eight feet. Off-leash is allowed only in designated city dog…

Las Cruces lets any residence keep up to three companion animals four months or older with no permit. Keeping between four and seven triggers the multi-animal site permit under Sec…

Las Cruces has no breed ban. Dangerous-dog rules are behavior-based: a municipal judge may declare a dog dangerous or potentially dangerous after it injures or menaces a person or…

Las Cruces manages free-roaming cats through a formal trap-neuter-return program instead of at-large citations. Sec. 7-32A lets registered community cat caregivers feed and care for a…

Doña Ana County requires a special permit before anyone keeps an outdoor rehabilitation aviary, and the County will not issue one without proof of a federal license plus a New Mexico…

New Mexico Statutes Chapter 76, Article 9 governs beekeeping statewide, requiring commercial apiary registration with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. Importation of honey…

Las Cruces bars leaving any abandoned, wrecked, or inoperable vehicle on public or private property more than 72 hours under Sec. 18-37. It is a public nuisance the city can tow and…

Las Cruces limits curb loading zones to three minutes for passenger pick-up and 30 minutes for freight, and any business that wants its own zone must pay the city $25.00 per 22-foot…

Las Cruces bans parking on nonresidential streets for more than 30 minutes between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., with a narrow exception for physicians on emergency calls. Sec. 27-12-6-6.5…

Las Cruces bars parking a semi-tractor or semi-trailer, connected or not, on any residential street except while actively loading or unloading, and separately makes it unlawful to…

Parking an RV on a Las Cruces residential street requires a free permit within 8 hours, capped at 6 consecutive days and 18 days per 90-day period. Unhitched boat trailers on public…

Las Cruces bars parking in 18 specific street locations, from blocking a driveway to sitting within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, and requires every curbside vehicle to park facing the…

Las Cruces reserves posted EV charging spaces for active charging only. Sec. 27-12-6-6.1(A)(18), added in 2024, makes parking in an EV charging space unlawful unless the vehicle is…

City ordinance bars stopping, standing or parking any vehicle in front of a public or private driveway, on a sidewalk, in an intersection, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant or in an…

New Mexico regulates every nonconsensual tow through 18.3.12 NMAC, a rule the New Mexico Department of Transportation reissued effective July 1, 2024. A towing service may not touch a…

Las Cruces sets no fixed decibel limit or clock-based quiet hours. Its noise ordinance (Sec. 19-121) bans any loud or unusual noise audible 30 or more feet from the source, day or…

Las Cruces treats a barking or howling animal as a nuisance once the noise runs more than ten minutes and reaches beyond the property line. Sec. 7-18(f) requires either a neighbor…

Las Cruces caps off-highway vehicle noise at 96 decibels, measured under SAE standard J-1287, and bars selling any ATV, UTV or off-highway motorcycle that exceeds that level except for…

Construction, repair or demolition work on buildings, roadways, utilities or infrastructure that disturbs the comfort or repose of others is barred outside 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. under…

Sec. 19-130 bans defective mufflers and exhaust devices that let a vehicle's engine make loud, disturbing noise, and Sec. 19-132 separately caps car stereo volume at whatever is…

Amplified music and sound equipment that would otherwise break Las Cruces's noise limits needs a temporary permit from the police chief. Section 19-134 lets an event run amplified…

Land uses near an airport other than Las Cruces International face specific limits under Land Development Code Section 38-54: nothing within 20,000 feet of an active runway may violate…

Doña Ana County bars running leaf blowers, power mowers, rototillers and similar outdoor power equipment at nighttime if the noise exceeds the Code § 261-11 decibel table on…

A Las Cruces short-term rental that generates noise or disturbance, inside or outside the unit, violates both the city's general noise chapter and the Short-Term Rental Ordinance…

Las Cruces builds an escalating strike system into short-term rental enforcement: a health-or-safety finding can cost a registration at the first offense, a pattern of negligence can…

Las Cruces caps overnight occupancy at any registered short-term rental to two guests per bed plus two more per unit, with children under two excluded from the count. Registered units…

Las Cruces requires every short-term rental to provide off-street parking on-site through a garage, carport or driveway space. If that isn't possible, the operator must tell guests…

Las Cruces requires every short-term rental operator to carry at least $500,000 in property and liability insurance before the city will register the unit. Proof of adequate insurance…

Every Las Cruces short-term rental must carry a business registration certificate from the Community Development Department before it takes its first guest, obtained under the…

Las Cruces charges short-term rental operators a $35 annual registration fee plus a separate one-time $50 fee to register with Visit Las Cruces, on top of every applicable local, state…

Doña Ana County does not require an on-site host, but every short-term rental owner must name an owner, operator or agent reachable by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week to handle…

Burning solid waste anywhere in Las Cruces is banned outright by Code of Ordinances Sec. 25-8 unless the city, Doña Ana County, the state, or the federal government has specifically…

Las Cruces limits residential propane installations to 2,000 gallons of aggregate water capacity under fire code Section 11-30. The cap applies citywide in accordance with the zoning…

Las Cruces treats weeds and rank vegetation as a nuisance under Chapter 18. Codes Enforcement can order clearing; if you don't comply, the city abates it and liens the cost against…

Short-term rentals in Las Cruces must have working smoke detectors and posted evacuation maps at every exit, with batteries replaced at least once a year, plus a serviced fire…

Las Cruces bans aerial devices and ground audible fireworks outright under Section 11-147(c) and confines lawful fireworks sales to short seasonal windows: June 20 through July 6, plus…

Doña Ana County exempts recreational fires from the Fire Code's open-burning notification system: unlike a brush pile, a backyard fire pit doesn't require calling Mesilla Valley…

New Mexico's State Forestry Division administers wildfire prevention statewide on non-federal lands, designates fire-prone zones, and may impose emergency restrictions overriding…

Las Cruces requires an approved building permit before constructing any fence, wall, retaining wall or slope-protection structure taller than six feet under Land Development Code Sec…

Las Cruces caps residential front-yard fences and walls at four feet and rear/side yards at eight feet under Land Development Code Sec. 38-60(C); nonresidential front yards allow six…

Las Cruces treats any wall retaining more than 24 inches of grade differential as a regulated retaining wall: it needs a licensed engineer's design, a construction permit, and a 1.5…

A common wall or fence straddling a Las Cruces property line cannot be structurally altered without the written consent of every adjacent owner who shares it, under Land Development…

City Code Sec. 19-2 bans electric and barbed-wire fences on any lot fronting a street, alley, avenue or irrigation ditch. Barbed wire is allowed only on industrial or…

Building a residential swimming pool in Las Cruces requires a building permit under Land Development Code Division 13, Sec. 30-556 through Sec. 30-565. The Community Development…

Every pool, spa or hot tub in Las Cruces must sit inside a fence or wall at least four feet high, with self-closing, self-latching gates, under Land Development Code Sec. 38-60(F)(2)…

Las Cruces limits outdoor watering by address: even addresses water Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday; odd addresses Wednesday, Friday, Sunday; never Monday. From April 1 to September 30, no…

When the city removes a street tree over sidewalk root damage, it offers the abutting owner replacement trees, minimum 24-inch box and 2.25-inch caliper. New commercial development…

Las Cruces requires property owners to trim trees over any street or sidewalk to at least eight feet of clearance. Residents may not cut, trim, or remove city trees in public grounds.

Las Cruces landscaping rules don't dictate a style: Sec. 32-266(b) recommends indigenous or drought-tolerant plants, and owners can count undisturbed native vegetation toward the…

Las Cruces treats weeds and rank vegetation as a public nuisance on any public or private property, naming eight specific plants including Russian thistle, ragweed and puncture vine…

Within the Downtown and Main Street zoning districts, Las Cruces bans artificial turf and artificial plants outright: every required landscaped yard must use live plant material or…

Doña Ana County treats rainwater harvesting as a voluntary water-conservation best practice, not a mandate. Subdivision design guidelines at § 350-606B(4) recommend passive systems…

A Las Cruces home occupation gets one sign only: one square foot, non-illuminated, mounted flush against the house. No freestanding signs, no lighting, and no other outside evidence of…

A Las Cruces home occupation must keep customer traffic minimal. Sales and services are by appointment only, with no more than one customer vehicle at the dwelling at a time and no…

Las Cruces treats in-home child care as a home occupation. Babysitting up to six children needs a home occupation business registration. Caring for five to six children is a family…

Any business run from a Las Cruces home needs a home occupation business registration from Community Development, in any residential zoning district. The business must stay incidental…

New Mexico's Homemade Food Act (NMSA 25-12-1 to 25-12-5) lets home producers sell low-risk, shelf-stable foods directly to consumers without a permit or state registration. Products…

Rooftop and ground-mount solar PV in Las Cruces needs both a building permit and an electrical permit from Development Services. Systems 10 kW or smaller meeting the city checklist are…

New Mexico's Solar Rights Act protects solar in Las Cruces: HOAs and the city cannot effectively prohibit solar collectors, and any covenant recorded after July 1, 1978 that blocks…

A Las Cruces day care building always needs an architect's or engineer's seal on its construction drawings, even a small one. Land Development Code Section 30-274(a)(6)b.4 strips the…

No building or structure in Las Cruces may be erected, altered, moved or demolished without a building permit issued by the Community Development Department under Land Development Code…

Las Cruces adopts the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code as its energy and green building standard for new construction and additions. The Community Development Department…

Installing, altering, repairing, replacing or remodeling any mechanical or plumbing system in Las Cruces without a separate permit is prohibited under Land Development Code Section…

A Las Cruces building permit walks through a fixed inspection sequence under Land Development Code Section 30-235: foundation, frame, insulation, lath and final. Inspection requests…

No electrical system in Las Cruces may be installed, altered, repaired, replaced or remodeled without a separate electrical permit under Land Development Code Section 30-173. Owners…

The city and its authorized agents hold the exclusive right to collect residential and commercial waste in Las Cruces under Code of Ordinances Sec. 25-36, and it is unlawful for anyone…

Business dumpster enclosures in Las Cruces must meet city specifications under Sec. 38-61 of the Municipal Code, with size and location approved by the utilities department and the…

Curbside recycling in Las Cruces runs through a partnership between the city and the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA). Participation is optional, but every residential…

Dumping litter, trash, or debris on any street, alley, right-of-way, arroyo, or private land without the owner's consent is a petty misdemeanor in Las Cruces carrying a flat $300 fine…

Every residential property in Las Cruces must use the city's curbside service, cannot hire a third-party hauler, and gets a city-owned container that can only hold solid waste, under…

Residential carts in Las Cruces must stay on private property except on collection day, and even then can only go out the evening before, no later than 6:00 a.m., and must come back in…

Grass clippings, weeds, and leaves must go out in clear plastic bags for the city's Green Grappler service under Code of Ordinances Sec. 25-40, while cactus trimmings and branches…

Las Cruces residents can set oversized items too big for their trash cart at the curb for the regular Grappler service on their designated pickup day under Code of Ordinances Sec…

Households that opt out of Las Cruces curbside recycling still pay the program fee and get no container, and SCSWA will pull a container after repeated contamination notices. Putting…

City Code Sec. 19-6 bans possessing or using drug paraphernalia, but expressly exempts hypodermic syringes and needles held for the New Mexico Harm Reduction Act, Department of Health…

Letting solid waste sit on your Las Cruces property so it smells or breeds flies, mosquitoes, insects, or rodents is unlawful under Code of Ordinances Sec. 25-5 whenever the utilities…

Mobile food vendors operating in unincorporated Doña Ana County must obtain a State of New Mexico Food Handler's Card and follow every applicable fire, zoning, and occupational tax…

Las Cruces runs photo enforcement for red-light and speed violations under its Safe Traffic Operations Program (STOP), Sec. 27-7, a civil (not criminal) nuisance-abatement program. The…

Cyclists in Las Cruces have the same rights and duties as vehicle drivers under Sec. 27-12-8-2, must ride as far right as practicable, and can leave the right edge for…

Las Cruces treats massage therapy as a home occupation under Land Development Code Section 38-52(C)(2), letting a state-licensed massage therapist see one client station at a residence…

Las Cruces will not register auto repair, motorcycle repair, lawn mower repair or other large-item repair work as a home occupation under Land Development Code Section 38-52(C)(5). A…

Every pawnbroker in Las Cruces must hold a $100 annual business license, post a $5,000 surety bond with the city, and report each transaction to police through LeadsOnline daily…

Secondhand dealers in Las Cruces must report every item bought or traded to police through LeadsOnline and hold merchandise 15 days before reselling it, under the same Pawnbrokers and…

Las Cruces has no separate tattoo parlor license in its municipal code; the only local rule targets the customer's age. Section 19-333 makes it unlawful to tattoo anyone under 18, paid…

Wrecker companies that want police-requested tows in Las Cruces must register with the police department, pass inspection, and stay on a weekly rotating towing list. Arrival is capped…

Adult bookstores, adult video stores and adult amusement establishments can only locate in Las Cruces' M1/M2 and M-3 industrial zones under Land Development Code Section 38-54, and…

Las Cruces requires retail tobacco stores opened after June 29, 2019 to sit in a standalone building and bans self-service tobacco displays citywide under Section 12-143. Retailers…

Las Cruces splits every business into two tax classes: a general $35-a-year registration for any permanent location, or a specific license for the trades listed in Sec. 16-170, from…

Las Cruces allows political signs up to 32 square feet each. Under Land Development Code Sec. 36-86, signs may go up no sooner than 90 days before an election and must come down within…

Billboards along Interstate 10 and Interstate 25 in Las Cruces get a bigger allowance than billboards on ordinary streets: up to 400 square feet and 40 feet tall on the interstates…

Las Cruces caps garage and yard sale signs at 3 square feet. Under Land Development Code Sec. 36-84, off-premises directional signs are allowed only during the sale, and both the…

Las Cruces exempts holiday and festival decorations from the sign code's permit requirement, but Section 36-41 gives them a hard deadline: any display must come down within five days…

Las Cruces treats window signs as attached signage under Chapter 36 of the code, counted the same as wall and awning signs against a property's overall sign allowance. Permanent window…

Downtown Las Cruces bans moving, flashing, or animated signs outright, a category the code says includes searchlights, streamers, and spinners, which rules out digital billboards and…

Las Cruces city parks are open 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Being in a park during closed hours without a permit is a petty misdemeanor. The city manager can set different posted hours for…

Las Cruces has no general nighttime curfew for minors. The municipal code's curfew-for-minors section (Sec. 19-336) is reserved, and New Mexico sets no statewide juvenile curfew…

Crossing a Las Cruces street anywhere other than a marked or unmarked crosswalk means the pedestrian, not the driver, must yield the right-of-way to traffic. Sec. 27-12-6-14.4 also…

Skateboards, roller skates and in-line skates are banned outright on the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces. In every other city park, Section 20-35 confines them to designated areas only, so…

Las Cruces makes it a petty misdemeanor to intentionally possess marijuana anywhere in the city under Code Sec. 19-3, with a mandatory $50 to $100 fine plus up to 15 days in jail for…

Las Cruces outlaws aggressive solicitation everywhere in the city: touching someone without consent, following them, blocking their path, or using threatening language to press for…

Las Cruces Code Sec. 19-94 makes it unlawful to knowingly sponsor, host or actively engage in an "unruly gathering," defined as five or more people creating loud or disturbing noise…

Las Cruces bans drinking or carrying an open alcoholic beverage container inside a motor vehicle on any city street, with narrow exceptions for a sealed container in the trunk, a…

Las Cruces requires a 15-foot smoke-free buffer around entrances, windows and ventilation systems of workplaces and public places under the Clean Indoor Air Act, and bans smoking…

Standing or loitering in the traveled part of a Las Cruces street, on an interstate ramp, or on a narrow median along a road posted 30 mph or faster is unlawful. Section 21-63 targets…

Las Cruces maintains its own sidewalk repair priority list and generally covers repair costs itself under Sec. 26-74, except where the damage traces to a specific property owner's…

Anyone wanting to cross a Las Cruces sidewalk or right-of-way with a driveway for trucks, cars, or other vehicles must get a permit from the public works department first. The…

Property occupants in Las Cruces must keep the sidewalk in front of their premises clear of obstructions at all times under Sec. 26-7, with a limited loading-and-unloading exception…

Las Cruces adopts the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code as its rental habitability standard under Sec. 30-721(A)(13), with a local amendment forcing heat supply from…

Las Cruces has no just-cause eviction law. New Mexico's Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act governs: a landlord may end a month-to-month tenancy with 30 days' written notice and no…

Las Cruces has no rent control. New Mexico's Rent Control Prohibition Act (NMSA 47-8A-1, enacted 1991) bars every city and county from capping rent on privately owned housing…

Anyone renting property in Las Cruces on a short-term basis, defined as three months or less, must get a business registration certificate from the community development department…

For nonpayment of rent, NMSA 47-8-33(D) requires a 3-day written notice to pay or quit before the owner may terminate. A material lease breach affecting health or safety gets a 7-day…

NMSA 47-8-24 requires a New Mexico owner to give 24 hours' written notice before entering, stating the purpose and a reasonable time estimate. No notice is needed in an emergency, for…

NMSA 47-8-15(D) caps a New Mexico late fee at 5 percent of the rent for each rental period in default: cut from 10 percent by a 2025 amendment effective June 20, 2025. Late fees are…

Under NMSA 47-8-37, either party may end a month-to-month residency with at least 30 days' written notice before the periodic rental date, or 7 days for a week-to-week residency. A…

Under the Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, NMSA 47-8-15(F) lets a New Mexico owner raise rent on a month-to-month residency only with written notice given at least 30 days before…

Under New Mexico's Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, a landlord on a lease shorter than one year cannot collect more than one month's rent as a deposit. Annual leases have no fixed…

New Mexico requires 10 years of continuous, good-faith adverse possession under color of title plus continuous payment of all state, county, and municipal taxes before title can be…

Las Cruces restricts how owners of vacant or undeveloped lots can clear vegetation, limiting weed removal to mowing or hand digging, banning full-property clearing, and protecting…

Las Cruces enforces property upkeep through Codes Enforcement under Chapter 18 (Nuisances) of the Municipal Code, fielding about 17,000 calls a year. Weeds, accumulated trash, junk…

A funeral, procession or parade of 200 or more people or 50 or more vehicles cannot use a Las Cruces street without a permit from the chief of police. Sec. 27-12-6-12.20(D) sets the…

Any street fair, festival or community sales event in Las Cruces running more than one day and up to two weeks needs a $150 special event license from the sponsor, filed with the…

Sidewalk cafes and outdoor dining are listed as allowed, by-right commerce uses in all three Downtown transect districts, DT, MS, and GU, under the Downtown Development Code's Table…

Anyone who wants exclusive use of a Las Cruces city park or a park facility, for a wedding, tournament or gathering, must get a permit from the parks and recreation department first…

Las Cruces requires erosion and sediment control on every construction site under Land Development Code Sec. 32-301 and Sec. 32-302, with track-out controls mandatory on any site an…

In FEMA-mapped special flood hazard areas, Las Cruces requires new and substantially improved residential structures to elevate the lowest floor, basement and all electrical or…

Any construction, fill, or substantial improvement in a Las Cruces special flood hazard area needs a development permit from the floodplain administrator before work starts. New and…

Las Cruces bans any discharge into its storm drain system that is not pure stormwater, covering everything from used motor oil to pool backwash and construction sediment. Construction…

Las Cruces has no ordinance written specifically for car alarms; the closest local rule, Sec. 19-123, bans sounding a vehicle horn or signaling device except as a danger warning, in a…

Las Cruces bans car stereos and sound amplifiers that are audible or vibration-detectable 30 feet or more from the vehicle, whether parked on public or private property. City police…

Doña Ana County's Noise Control Ordinance caps nighttime sound from stationary equipment, including generators, at 50 decibels on residential land, 60 on office/commercial, and 70 on…

Doña Ana County bars nighttime operation of any stationary air conditioner, fan or other permanently installed mechanical equipment that exceeds the Code § 261-11 decibel table on…

Las Cruces sets aside its EE Equestrian Estate & Agriculture district specifically for farming and keeping livestock, capping density at one dwelling unit per acre so agricultural…

Doña Ana County's subdivision code requires developers to disclose New Mexico's Right to Farm Act to every lot buyer. Under that law, an agricultural operation that wasn't a nuisance…

Las Cruces limits garage, yard and rummage sales to three per year at a single address, with each sale running no more than four calendar days, under the Land Development Code's…

Most residential zoning districts in Las Cruces cap building height at 35 feet, but the R-4 high-density apartment district allows up to 60 feet, per the Matrix 1 dimensional standards…

Las Cruces zoning sets minimum yard setbacks by district. In the common R-1a medium-density zone: 15-foot front, 20-foot rear, and 5-foot side yards, and no garage or carport within 25…

Along University Avenue, the Land Development Code caps how much of a lot can be covered in pavement, buildings, and other impervious surface: 90 percent in the University Avenue Zone…

Las Cruces designates individual buildings, structures, objects or sites as 'cultural properties' under Land Development Code Sec. 40-9, requiring six eligibility findings including at…

New development and additions worth $100,000 or more in Las Cruces must landscape the adjacent street parkways and medians, not just the building lot. Section 32-281 sets minimum tree…

The Downtown Development Code bars ten specific plant species from any new landscaping in the Downtown, Main Street, and General Urban districts, including saltcedar, Russian olive…

Doña Ana County's landscaping appendix names Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima, in its official 'Plants, Prohibited or Not Recommended' table at § 350-825, flagging it for invasive…

Las Cruces caps illuminated signs and billboards at 150 nits of luminance under outdoor-lighting Sec. 39-13, with internally lit faces built to block upward sky glow. Electronic…

Las Cruces's Outdoor Lighting Ordinance bars light trespass, defined as light falling beyond the property it is meant to illuminate. Fixtures must be shielded and aimed away from…

Las Cruces's Outdoor Lighting Ordinance (Chapter 39) requires new residential fixtures to be fully shielded and directed downward. Commercial lighting is capped by lumen limits and…

Las Cruces mobile vendors cannot peddle between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. and cannot enter private property posted against solicitation. Vendors must not block public roads, rights-of-way, or…

A Las Cruces food truck needs a New Mexico Environment Department food service permit, obtained through Doña Ana County's delegated environmental health program, plus city…

In Las Cruces a posted "no peddlers" or "no solicitations" sign is legally binding: peddlers may not enter that property, and any solicitor asked to leave must go or face a petty…

Door-to-door sellers in Las Cruces are peddlers under Chapter 21 and must obtain a city permit before working. The process requires a sworn application, a photo, fingerprinting by the…

Las Cruces charges a 5 percent lodgers' tax on gross taxable rent for hotel, motel and short-term lodging stays. Every vendor renting rooms must hold a city lodgers' tax license from…

The Las Cruces Downtown Development Code, Section 38-43, sets one rulebook for the Downtown (DT), Main Street (MS), and General Urban (GU) transect districts instead of leaving…

In the University District Overlay along University Avenue, Las Cruces lets developers build to 36 dwelling units per acre by right, rising to 54 units per acre in the University…

Las Cruces allows cannabis retailers as a conditional use in the C-1, C-2, and C-3 commercial zones. Each must sit at least 300 feet from a school or daycare, from a single-family…

No cannabis establishment, consumption area, or courier can locate within 300 feet of a residential area, a K-12 school, or a day care in Doña Ana County's unincorporated area, and…

The New Mexico Cannabis Regulation Act allows adults 21 and older to grow up to six mature and six immature cannabis plants per person, capped at 12 mature plants per household…

Flying an unmanned aerial vehicle from Las Cruces International Airport property requires the airport manager's written approval, and event insurance is required for any approved UAV…

Recreational drone operation in New Mexico is governed primarily by FAA Part 107 and 49 USC 44809, with state laws restricting voyeurism, hunting interference, and use over critical…

Doña Ana County's landscaping code requires property owners with an approved landscape plan to fix irrigation leaks under UDC § 350-507L(4). The rule sits inside the county's broader…

Doña Ana County bans turf, regardless of irrigation method, from required landscaping in public right-of-way planters and vehicular use areas of new commercial, industrial…

New Mexico sets a statewide minimum wage but does not preempt local minimum wage ordinances, allowing cities and counties to set higher local minimums than state law.

New Mexico has enacted statewide paid sick leave through the Healthy Workplaces Act and does not preempt cities from adopting additional leave protections beyond state requirements.

New Mexico requires a state-issued concealed handgun license to carry a concealed firearm, with training, background checks, and age requirements administered by the Department of…

New Mexico firearms preemption is constitutional, not statutory. Article II, Section 6 of the state constitution bars any municipality or county from regulating 'in any way' an…

Open carry of firearms is generally legal in New Mexico without a permit for adults, though state law and the constitution restrict carry in specific locations and on certain public…

New Mexico permits adults to carry a loaded firearm in a private vehicle without a permit, treating the vehicle as an extension of the home, though concealed carry on the person still…

New Mexico has no license for a stand-alone commercial casino. The Gaming Control Act confines casino-style gaming machines to two venue classes: horse racetracks running live races…

New Mexico requires any nonprofit that runs bingo, raffles, or pull-tabs for the public to hold a Gaming Control Board license under the Bingo and Raffle Act, NMSA 1978 §§ 60-2F-3 and…

New Mexico has never passed a law legalizing sports betting. Wagering on sporting events is a crime under NMSA 1978 sections 30-19-1 to 30-19-15 and the Gaming Control Act, enforced by…

The New Mexico Homeowner Association Act (NMSA 47-16-1 to 47-16-18) does not create a statutory assessment lien for ordinary HOAs; collection and any lien or foreclosure power must…

New Mexico lets the developer, called the declarant, appoint and remove the whole homeowner association board at the start, but NMSA 1978, Section 47-16-8 forces a handover on a fixed…

NMSA 47-16-18 governs how a New Mexico HOA enforces its 'community documents' (declaration, bylaws, articles and rules). The association must give written notice and an opportunity to…

New Mexico sets no dollar cap on HOA fines, but NMSA 47-16-18 lets an association levy only 'reasonable fines' and only after written notice and an opportunity to dispute. Before a…

New Mexico prohibits the sale of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, and nicotine products to anyone under 21, aligning with federal Tobacco 21 requirements and adding state…

New Mexico has not enacted a statewide ban on flavored tobacco or flavored vape products, leaving local governments authority to impose their own restrictions on flavored products.