City Updates Development Review Process

Dec. 29, 2022

The City of Albuquerque’s Planning Department has completed its transition away from the Development Review Board (DRB) process to using a Development Hearing Officer (DHO).  The new process will facilitate planned development and is outlined in an amendment to the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) effective December 25, 2022.  

Subdivisions or plats previously reviewed by the DRB will now be reviewed by the Development Hearing Officer in quasi-judicial hearings. Requests for Proposals went out to the community, and the team of attorney David S. Campbell and engineer Ronald R. Bohannan was selected after receiving the highest score from the selection committee. The City Council approved the selections during their public meeting on December 5, 2022.

The DHO will conduct hearings to approve or deny land subdivision; establishment or vacation of rights-of-way; establishment or vacation of public and private easements; and to waive certain transportation standards in the IDO and Development Process Manual (DPM) when justification criteria are met.

DHO hearings will be held remotely twice a month beginning at 9 a.m. (unless noted otherwise on a DHO agenda) on Zoom. DHO hearings will continue to meet remotely. DHO may conduct in-person or hybrid hearings in the future.

Site plans that were previously reviewed by the DRB will still be reviewed by the same experienced staff at the Planning Department, but they are now known as the staff Development Facilitation Team (DFT). These site plans will be reviewed administratively and not in a public meeting.

The DRB will continue to meet for the first part of 2023 to finish any cases that were filed prior to the effective date of the December 25, 2022, IDO amendment.

For more information about the DHO and to view the hearing calendar please visit our website. More information about Site Plans Administrative-DFT can be found here.