New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 18 - TRANSPORTATION AND HIGHWAYS
Chapter 21 - TRAFFIC CONTROL SIGNAGE
Part 5 - OUTDOOR ADVERTISING REQUIREMENTS
Section 18.21.5.28 - LOCAL ZONING AUTHORITIES

Local political subdivisions shall have authority under their own zoning laws to create zoned commercial or industrial areas, and the valid action of such local political subdivision in this regard will be accepted for the purposes of these rules. The department will not issue permits for the erection of new signs in areas where county and municipal zoning ordinances are in effect and which require a permit to be issued for such signs by the county or municipal authority, unless the applicant has received a local permit for the sign from the governmental authority promulgating such ordinances, and a photocopy of the approved local permit application or a letter granting approval is attached to the department's sign permit application. If the department determines that the local zoning does not amount to or come within a comprehensive zoning plan, or that it is created primarily to permit outdoor advertising devices, a permit for the erection of the outdoor advertising device shall be denied. In determining whether a zoning action is created primarily to permit outdoor advertising devices, the department may consider various factors, such as, but not limited to, the expressed reasons for the zoning change; the zoning for the surrounding area; the actual land uses nearby; the existence of plans for commercial or industrial development; the availability of utilities (such as water, electricity and sewage) in the newly zoned area; and the existence of access roads or dedicated access to the newly zoned area.