Las Cruces, NM Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

The Land Development Code's wind erosion article defines a vacant lot at Sec. 32-302(d) as a subdivided or unsubdivided parcel of land which contains no buildings or structures of a temporary or permanent nature, excluding perimeter walls or fences. Two provisions in Sec. 32-302(i) then govern how that bare land must be maintained. First, the general activity standard bars removing groundcover from any property and then leaving it vacant or undeveloped unless readily available control measures have been placed to prevent generation of windblown dust or soil.

Second, Sec. 32-302(i)(3), titled Vacant land, Weed management, narrows how weeds on those lots may be cleared: eradication is limited to the removal of weeds only by mowing or individual hand digging, adjacent natural vegetation must be left alone, clearing the entire property outright is prohibited, and all mature trees and major shrubs must be protected from damage to continue their role in the prevention of soil erosion. The scheme exists because bare, fully cleared vacant land in the Mesilla Valley generates fugitive dust and windblown particulate matter that the city's comprehensive plan and the Doña Ana County natural events action plan are both designed to control, so the ordinance trades a clean-cut lot for one that keeps enough natural cover to hold soil down.

Community Development Department staff or code enforcement officers who find a violation must give written notice and a compliance deadline under Sec. 32-302(l)(1) before further enforcement follows.