LIMIT RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN FENCES

HB0166

HOUSE BILL 166

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Linda Serrato
and
Alan T. Martinez

AN ACT

RELATING TO PROPERTY; ENACTING A NEW SECTION OF THE NMSA 1978
TO LIMIT COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN BATTERY-CHARGED FENCES WITH ALARM SYSTEMS LOCATED OUTSIDE OF AREAS
ZONED EXCLUSIVELY FOR RESIDENTIAL USE; AMENDING A SECTION OF
THE NMSA 1978 REGARDING COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL ZONING; PROVIDING
DEFINITIONS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
Section 3-21-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1965,
Chapter 300, Section 14-20-1, as amended) is amended to read:

"3-21-1. ZONING--AUTHORITY OF COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY--
EXCEPTIONS
.--

A.
Except as provided in Section 3-21-1.1 NMSA
1978
, for the purpose of promoting health, safety, morals or
the general welfare, a county or municipality is a zoning
authority and may regulate and restrict within its jurisdiction
the:

(1) height, number of stories and size of
buildings and other structures;

(2) percentage of a lot that may be occupied;

(3) size of yards, courts and other open
space;

(4) density of population; and

(5) location and use of buildings, structures
and land for trade, industry, residence or other purposes.

B. The county or municipal zoning authority may:

(1) divide the territory under its
jurisdiction into districts of such number, shape, area and
form as is necessary to carry out the purposes of Sections
3-21-1 through 3-21-14 NMSA 1978; and

(2) regulate or restrict the erection,
construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair or use of
buildings, structures or land in each district. All such
regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of
buildings within each district, but regulation in one district
may differ from regulation in another district.

C. All state-licensed or state-operated community
residences for persons with a mental or developmental
disability and serving ten or fewer persons may be considered a
residential use of property for purposes of zoning and may be
permitted use in all districts in which residential uses are
permitted generally, including particularly residential zones
for single-family dwellings.

D. A board of county commissioners of the county in
which the greatest amount of the territory of the petitioning
village, community, neighborhood or district lies may declare
by ordinance that a village, community, neighborhood or
district is a "traditional historic community" upon petition by
twenty-five percent or more of the qualified electors of the
territory within the village, community, neighborhood or
district requesting the designation. The number of qualified
electors shall be based on county records as of the date of the
last general election.

E. Any village, community, neighborhood or district
that is declared a traditional historic community shall be
excluded from the extraterritorial zone and extraterritorial
zoning authority of any municipality whose extraterritorial
zoning authority extends to include all or a portion of the
traditional historic community and shall be subject to the
zoning jurisdiction of the county in which the greatest portion
of the traditional historic community lies.

F. Zoning authorities, including zoning authorities
of home rule municipalities, shall accommodate
multigenerational housing by creating a mechanism to allow up
to two kitchens within a single-family zoning district, such as
conditional use permits.

G. For the purpose of this section,
"multigenerational" means any number of persons related by
blood, common ancestry, marriage, guardianship or adoption."

SECTION 2.
A new Section 3-21-1.1 NMSA 1978 is enacted to
read:

"3-21-1.1. [
NEW MATERIAL
] BATTERY-CHARGED FENCES--ALARM
SYSTEMS--LIMITS ON RESTRICTION--DEFINITIONS.--

A. As used in this section:

(1) "alarm system" means any electrical,
mechanical or electronic device or sensor, including any
integrated components, used to prevent, detect or alert law
enforcement or occupants of burglary, theft or intrusion; and

(2) "battery-charged fence" means a fence,
including any integrated components, that has an energizer
driven by a battery and that interfaces with a connected alarm
system in a manner that enables the fence to cause the alarm
system to transmit a signal intended to notify the business
that monitors the alarm system or the business that has a
battery-charged fence or alarm system installed on the premises

in response to an intrusion.

B. Except in an area zoned exclusively for
residential use, county and municipal zoning authorities,
including zoning authorities for home rule municipalities,
shall not through zoning or through the adoption of an
ordinance or resolution:

(1) prohibit the installation or use of a
battery-charged fence;

(2) impose installation or operational
requirements for battery-charged fences or alarm systems
inconsistent with international electrotechnical commission
standards as most recently published or inconsistent with this
section; or

(3) require a permit for the installation or
use of a battery-charged fence that is additional to an alarm
permit issued by the local government.

C. For purposes of this section, a battery-charged
fence shall:

(1) use a battery that is not more than twelve
volts of direct current;

(2) produce an electric charge on contact that
does not exceed energizer characteristics set for electric
fence energizers by the international electrotechnical
commission standards as most recently published;

(3) be enclosed on the outside only by a non-electric perimeter fence or wall that is not less than five
feet in height;

(4) be ten feet in height, or two feet higher
than the height of the non-electric perimeter fence or wall,
whichever is higher; and

(5) be marked with conspicuous warning signs
that are located on the fence at not more than thirty-foot
intervals and that read: "WARNING: ELECTRIC FENCE"."

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