For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms or words used herein shall be interpreted or defined as follows: Words used in the present tense include the future tense. The singular includes the plural.
A. 
"Person" includes a firm, association, organization, partnership, trust company, or corporation as well as an individual.
B. 
"Design Review Board" shall mean a seven-member board created by Chapter 200, Cultural Historic Preservation, of the Las Vegas City Code and as specifically outlined in § 200-4, Composition of Design Review Board.
[Amended 2-26-1987 by Ord. No. 75-33]
C. 
"Used" or "occupied" include the words "intended, designed or arranged to be used or occupied."
D. 
"Lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
E. 
The term "shall" is mandatory; and the term "may" is permissive.
F. 
"City" shall mean the City of Las Vegas.
G. 
"Council" shall mean the City Council of the City of Las Vegas.
H. 
"Commission" shall mean the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Las Vegas.
I. 
"Board" shall mean the Board of Adjustment as provided for in Article V of this chapter.
J. 
"Director" shall mean the Director of the Community Development Department.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
K. 
The Zoning Officer shall be responsible for administering this chapter.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
L. 
The Zoning Inspector shall be responsible for inspections and issuance of the City development building permits.[3]
[3]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
A. 
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ABUTTING
Touching along a common border.
ACCESS
A means of vehicular approach or entry to or exit from property.
ACCESSORY USE OR STRUCTURE
A use or structure incidental to the principal use of a building or land.
ACRE
Forty-three thousand five hundred sixty square feet.
ALLEY
A public or private way, at the rear or side of property, permanently reserved as a means of secondary access to abutting property.
ALTERATION
Any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls, beams, girders, joists, foundations, pilings, or retaining walls.
APARTMENT HOUSE
A building or portion thereof designed pursuant to the terms of this chapter.
APPEAL
A means for obtaining review of a decision pursuant to the terms of this chapter.
AUTOMOBILE OFF-SITE SALES
Vehicle sales at a location away from the dealer's licensed established place of business as per State of New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division records.
[Added 2-18-2004 by Ord. No. 04-05]
BASEMENT
A story in any building having less than 1/2 its average height above grade.
BLOCK
A contiguous set of lots bounded and enclosed by streets.
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
A Board established to hear and decide appeals, variances, special and/or conditional use permits.
[Amended 3-19-2003 by Ord. No. 03-03]
BUFFER
An area of land with landscaping placed thereon to eliminate or minimize conflicts between land uses abutting the landscaping area.
BUILDING
Any structure built and maintained for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind.
BUILDING, HEIGHT OF
The vertical distance from the grade to the highest point of a flat roof, the jack line of a mansard roof, or the average height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip, and gambrel roofs.
BUILDING, MAIN
The building occupied by the primary use.
CARPORT
A permanently roofed accessory structure open on three sides and attached to the side of a dwelling, and established for the convenient loading and unloading of passengers from an automobile.
CELLAR
A story having 1/2 or more of its average height below grade.
CHILD-CARE CENTER
A facility that provides care, services, and supervision for less than 24 hours a day to any number of children. A child-care center is a nonresidential setting and meets the applicable state and local building and safety codes.
[Added 3-19-2003 by Ord. No. 03-03]
CLINIC
A place for group medical services not involving overnight housing of patients.
COMMUNITY ADULT RESIDENCES (STATE-LICENSED or STATE-OPERATED)
Residences for the mentally ill or developmentally disabled serving 10 or fewer persons is considered a residential use of property for purposes of zoning and may be a permitted use in all districts in which residential uses are permitted generally, including particularly residential zones for single-family dwellings, includes all other disabilities cited in the Fair Housing Act. NMSA 1978, § 3-21-1C.
[Added 3-19-2003 by Ord. No. 03-03]
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
A City of Las Vegas Department as designated under Article III Section 7 of the City's Charter, which includes the divisions but not limited to Planning and Zoning, Code Enforcement, Licensing, Building Permits and Economic Development.
[Added 3-19-2003 by Ord. No. 03-03]
CRAFT DISTILLERY
A business where spirituous liquors are manufactured or produced on premises and is duly licensed through the State of New Mexico and are subject to the provisions of the Craft Distillery Act, NMSA 1978, § 60-6A-21 to 60-6A-28.
[Added 10-19-2011 by Ord. No. 11-17]
DEVELOPMENT REVIEW TEAM (DRT)
An interagency established pursuant to the City of Las Vegas Master Plan to review development projects within the City of Las Vegas and extraterritorial zoning, platting and planning jurisdiction.
[Added 3-19-2003 by Ord. No. 03-03]
DOMESTIC WINERY
A business where wines are manufactured or produced on premises and is duly licensed through the State of New Mexico, and are subject to the provisions of the Domestic Winery Act, NMSA 1978, § 60-6A-21 to 60-6A-28.
[Added 10-19-2011 by Ord. No. 11-17]
DUPLEX
Building designed and/or used exclusively for the occupancy of two families living independently of each other.
DWELLING
A building used entirely for residential purposes.
DWELLING, MULTIFAMILY
One or more, one- , two- , three- or four-story multifamily structures containing three or more dwelling units.
[Amended 3-19-2003 by Ord. No. 03-03]
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY
A detached structure, including prefabricated structures, designed for and used by one family only for living purposes, but excluding trailers.
FAMILY
An individual or two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption or a group of not more than five persons, excluding servants, who are not related by blood, marriage, or adoption, living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling.
FAMILY CHILD-CARE HOME
A private dwelling that provides care, services and supervision for a period of less than 24 hours of any day for at least five but not more than 12 nonresidential children. The licensee will be the primary caregiver in the home. The home shall be required to be licensed under the Child Care Licensing and Certification Bureau of the Prevention and Intervention Division of the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department and the City of Las Vegas.
[Added 3-19-2003 by Ord. No. 03-03]
FINISHED GROUND LEVEL
The height of the midpoint of the line formed by the intersection of a wall and the ground when all finish grading is completed.
FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION CLUB
A group of people formally organized for a common interest, usually cultural, religious or entertainment, with regular meetings, rituals and formal written membership requirements.
[Added 3-19-2003 by Ord. No. 03-03]
GARAGE, PRIVATE
An accessory building housing one or more vehicles owned and used by occupants of the main building.
GRADE
The lowest point of elevation of the finished surface of the ground, paving or sidewalk within the area between the building and the property.
[Added 5-19-2004 by Ord. No. 04-09]
GROSS DENSITY
Includes all the area within the boundaries of the particular area, excluding nothing.
[Added 3-19-2003 by Ord. No. 03-03]
HARD SURFACE
Any compacted or rolled, smooth surface allowing resistance to penetration of moisture which may include but not be limited to gravel, engineered fill, asphalt and concrete.
HEIGHT
The vertical distance of a structure measured from the average elevation of the finished grade surrounding the structure to the highest point of the structure.
[Added 5-19-2004 by Ord. No. 04-09]
HOME OCCUPATION
Any occupation or business activity that results in a product or service and that is conducted for gainful employment in a dwelling unit by a person residing in that dwelling unit. A home occupation is customarily incidental to the residential use of the dwelling unit. Cannabis consumption area or commercial cannabis activity, or any portion thereof, which requires a license pursuant to the New Mexico Cannabis Regulation Act ("CRA"), shall not be a home occupation. The words in this Chapter 450 related to cannabis shall have the meanings of the words as expressly defined in NMSA 1978, § 26- 2G2, unless expressly defined herein.
[Amended 12-8-2021 by Ord. No. 21-18; 10-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-08]
HOTEL
A building designed for or occupied as the more or less temporary abiding place of individuals who are lodged with or without meals in which there are six or more guest rooms, but not including institutions in which humans are housed or detained under legal restraints.
LOT
[Amended 2-26-1987 by Ord. No. 75-33]
(1) 
A parcel of land abutting on one or more public streets with a separate and distinct number or other designation shown on a plat or record of survey recorded in the office of the County Clerk; or
(2) 
A parcel of real property shown on the records of the County Assessor as held under separate ownership from adjacent property prior to the effective date of this chapter.
LOT, CORNER
A lot situated at the intersection of two or more streets.
LOT DEPTH
The horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines measured in the main direction of the side lot lines.
LOT FRONTAGE
The front of a lot shall be construed to be that portion of a lot nearest the street.
LOT, REVERSED CORNER
A corner lot, the side street line of which is substantially a continuation of the front line of the lot upon which it rears.
LOT, THROUGH
A lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
LOT WIDTH
The horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured at right angles to the lot depth at the building lines.
MANUFACTURED HOUSING
A manufactured or modular home that is a single-family dwelling with a heated area of at least 36 feet by 24 feet and at least 864 square feet, constructed in a factory to the standards of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. § 5401 et seq.) and UBC, as amended to the date of the unit's construction, installed consistent with the Manufactured Housing Act (Chapter 60, Article 14, NMSA 1978) and with the regulations made pursuant thereto relating to ground level installation. This type of housing is allowed in any residential zone in which site-built single-family housing is permitted.
[Amended 1-21-1988 by Ord. No. 76-19]
MOTEL
A group of attached or detached buildings containing individual sleeping or dwelling units with garage attached or parking space conveniently located to each unit, all for temporary use by automobile tourists or transients; includes auto courts, motor hotels, motor lodges, and auto camps.
NONCONFORMING BUILDING
A building or portion thereof lawfully existing at the time this chapter became effective and which was designed, erected or structurally altered for a use which does not conform to the district in which it is located, or which does not comply with all the height and area regulations of the district in which it is located.
NONCONFORMING USE
A use of a building or land existing at the time of adoption of this chapter, which does not conform to the regulations for the district in which it is located, as set forth in this chapter.
PARKING SPACE, AUTOMOBILE
Space within a building or public or public parking area for the temporary parking or storage of one automobile consisting of a minimum area of nine feet wide by 20 feet long, exclusive of street, alleys, driveways, aisles, and the area of egress and ingress, and having access at all times to a public street or alley.
PLAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW FEE
A charge to applicants/developers and other users of City services to recover the reasonable cost of providing said services to offset Design Review Team (DRT) administrative staff costs and City expenses.
[Added 4-20-2011 by Ord. No. 11-10]
PREFABRICATED STRUCTURE
Any structure that is manufactured wholly or in part at a location other than the lot where it is currently located, that at no time had provision for being towed by any vehicle incorporated as a permanent part of its structure. A prefabricated structure cannot have been part of any vehicle designed to provide temporary or permanent human habitation, and any prefabricated structure must meet the building codes for the use to which it is put in any zone.
REST HOME; NURSING HOME
A building where lodging and meals, and nursing, dietary, or other personal services are rendered to one or more convalescents, invalids, or aged persons for compensation, but excluding cases of contagious or communicable diseases, surgery, or primary treatment customarily provided in sanatoriums or hospitals.
SETBACK
The minimum distance from the property line where a structure may be built or set, as regulated by zoning statutes.
[Added 4-20-2011 by Ord. No. 11-10]
SIGN
Any device for visual communication that is used for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to the attention of the public.
SMALL BREWERY
A business where beer is manufactured or produced on premises and is duly licensed through the State of New Mexico, and subject to the provisions of the Small Brewery Act NMSA 1978, § 60-6A-21 to 6-6A-28.
[Added 10-19-2011 by Ord. No. 11-17]
STORY
That portion of a building included between the surface of a floor and the ceiling next above it.
STREET
Any public or private way which affords principal means of access to abutting properties.
STRUCTURE
Anything constructed or built, any edifice or building of any kind, or any piece of work artificially built or composed of parts joined together in some definite matter, which required location in the ground or is attached to something having a location on ground.
TRAILER COURT, TRAILER PARK, and MOBILE HOME PARK
Any area or tract of land where space is rented or held for rent to owners or users of auto trailers, trailer coaches, mobile homes, or trailers for human habitation.
TRAILER; MOBILE HOME
A vehicle without motive power designed to be towed by a motor vehicle or to be used for the carrying of persons or property or as a temporary or a permanent human habitation, including trailer coach, trailer home, mobile home, cargo trailer, semitrailer, and house trailer, box car, passenger car, caboose, whether with or without wheels and whether attached to or incorporated in a structure and that part of any self-propelled vehicle which is designed for the purposes of human habitation whether temporary or permanent. A trailer (mobile home) does not include any manufactured or modular home which by definition is considered "manufactured housing" pursuant to Senate Bill 354, 1987 legislative session removed therefrom, whether attached to or incorporated in a structure.
[Amended by 2-26-1987 by Ord. No. 75-33; 1-21-1988 by Ord. No. 76-19]
USE
The purpose for which land or buildings are arranged, designed or intended or for which either is or may be occupied or maintained.
YARD
A required open space unoccupied and unobstructed by any structure from 30 inches above the general ground level of the graded lot upward, provided however that fences and walls may be permitted in any yard subject to the height limitation indicated herein.
YARD, FRONT
A yard extending across the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the front lot line and a line parallel thereto on the lot.
YARD, REAR
A yard contiguous to the rear line of a lot, but not contiguous to a side yard.
YARD, SIDE
A yard between the main building and the side lot line, extending from the front yard to the rear yard, or a yard contiguous to the rear line of a lot and a side yard.
B. 
All other words, terms, and phases used in this chapter shall have the meanings generally ascribed to them or as defined or used in the New Mexico State Statutes related to planning.