Rio Communities Council moves to tighten development rules; approves one-year moratorium

The Rio Communities City Council has enacted a 365-day moratorium on large developments over 20,000 square feet in commercial, industrial, and manufacturing zones, specifically targeting data centers and other high-resource industries. The decision, following extensive debate, aims to allow the city to develop new zoning regulations, as the current code lacks definitions for data centers.

City Attorney Cori Strife highlighted the difficulty of imposing a moratorium without a clear definition, advising the council to focus on measurable characteristics like building size, power, and water consumption. Councilors, including Matthew Marquez, Michael Melendez, and Tom Nelson, expressed concerns about water use, energy demands, noise, light pollution, and visual impact, drawing comparisons to a Meta data center in Los Lunas that consumes significant power.

Mayor Joshua Ramsell emphasized the need to protect the community's night skies and regulate facility size, cooling methods, and noise. While Councilor Melendez advocated for economic development, stressing the importance of attracting businesses and understanding potential tax revenue, Councilor Nelson affirmed the moratorium's purpose is not to prohibit but to establish a regulatory framework. The council plans to revisit zoning definitions in September, with public input to be gathered through a town hall, aiming for final adoption of new regulations later in the year.