ADU rules in Hobbs

Hobbs has never adopted a zoning ordinance, so there are no residential districts, use tables, density caps, or one-dwelling-per-lot rules that could bar a detached casita. The Planning Department's standing zoning certification says the city 'has no current regulations which govern zoning districts and/or land uses, use of buildings, or use of vacant land' and that 'the current land usage or proposed land usage is considered a use by right.' A site-built or modular backyard unit therefore needs a city building permit plus planning sign-off on setbacks, addressing, and floodplain, not any use approval. The one code-level exception is Chapter 18.04: an occupied mobile home, manufactured housing unit, recreational vehicle, or travel trailer may not sit on a lot that already holds another housing unit, so a trailer-style ADU is prohibited even though a stick-built one is not. In practice the binding constraint in most Hobbs subdivisions is the private restrictive covenants, which the city repeatedly tells applicants to check and does not itself enforce.

The same absence of zoning governs attached and internal units: an addition, a garage conversion, or an interior second unit is reviewed as construction, not as a change of use. The Residential Construction Guide treats an addition as a plan-review item (show the addition and all existing rooms, doors, and windows, and distances to property lines and existing structures), with no use or density test anywhere in the checklist. Nothing in the Hobbs code limits kitchens per dwelling; a full search of every code title turned up no definition of 'accessory dwelling unit,' 'casita,' 'guest house,' or 'second dwelling.' New Mexico's one statewide casita-adjacent provision, NMSA 1978 Section 3-21-1(F) as amended by Laws 2026, Chapter 62 (SB 96, effective 7-1-2026), requires zoning authorities to allow up to two kitchens within a single-family zoning district; Hobbs has no zoning districts at all, so the duty has nothing to attach to and two kitchens are simply unregulated here.

Because Hobbs has no zoning ordinance, nothing caps an accessory unit's square footage, its size relative to the main house, or the number of units on a lot. What does bind is the Major Thoroughfare Plan's yard table, which sets minimum front and side setbacks by street classification and carries its own 'Detached Accessory Bldg.' row: on a Minor Residential or Residential Collector street a detached accessory building must sit 21 feet from the front property line with no side yard minimum, rising to 25 feet on a Minor Collector, 35 feet on a Minor Arterial or Major Collector, and 40 feet front / 30 feet side on a Major Arterial. Table 2 applies larger centerline-measured setbacks to unplatted land. New subdivision lots must be at least 35 feet wide for a detached structure and 25 feet for an attached one. A one-story detached accessory structure of 120 square feet or less needs no building permit at all, though separate plumbing, electrical, and mechanical permits still apply.

No owner-occupancy condition exists at application or on an ongoing basis. Hobbs has no zoning ordinance to carry one, and a section-by-section read of the code titles that touch buildings and land (Title 15 Buildings and Construction, Title 16 Subdivisions, Title 18 Planning and Development) found no residency, family-relationship, or primary-residence test attached to any dwelling. New Mexico has no statewide ADU statute that would impose or forbid one either. The only occupancy-flavored rule anywhere nearby is the Chapter 18.04 bar on an occupied mobile home or RV sharing a lot with another housing unit, which turns on the unit type rather than on who lives there. Private subdivision covenants can and sometimes do impose owner-occupancy or rental limits, and those are enforced by neighbors, not the city.

There is no per-dwelling-unit parking ratio in Hobbs, because the ratio would normally live in a zoning ordinance the city does not have. The Major Thoroughfare Plan sets one site-level minimum for all residential development: a driveway at least 25 feet long measured from the sidewalk perpendicular to the garage or house, and either a 20-foot-wide driveway or two 10-by-20-foot improved parking areas wholly inside the lot and outside the envelope of any structure, carports excluded. The code's only numeric parking table, HMC 15.20.030, applies by its own terms to new commercial construction only. Adding a casita therefore does not by itself trigger an additional required space, though the driveway and improved-area standard must still be met on the lot as built.

Review is administrative from start to finish. HMC 15.04.030(A) makes it unlawful to erect, enlarge, alter, convert, or change the occupancy use of any building inside the city limits or the extraterritorial zone without first obtaining a permit and paying the fee, and Hobbs runs its own certified building department, so the permit comes from the city's Building Safety and Permitting Department rather than from the state Construction Industries Division. The Residential Construction Guide sets the sequence: obtain planning approvals and signatures first, from the Planning and Engineering Department, covering setback rules, addressing, and floodplain management, then apply for the building permit. Nothing in that chain is a discretionary use hearing. The only hearing an ADU project would hit is a Major Thoroughfare Plan setback variance before the Planning Board, needed if the unit cannot meet the yard table; that minor-variance process requires a sketch plan, a copy of the subdivision's restrictive covenants, and signatures from owners of record within 150 feet.

Hobbs has no short-term-rental ordinance, no rental registration scheme, and no primary-residence or separate-sale rule; searches of every code title and of the city's council record turned up no such regulation, and 'casita' returns nothing at all in the city's meeting archive. Renting an accessory unit long-term is unregulated locally. Short stays are reached only through the Lodgers' Tax chapter: HMC 3.08.040 imposes an occupancy tax of five percent of gross taxable rent, HMC 3.08.050(A) bars any vendor from engaging in the business of providing lodging without first obtaining a license from the City Clerk, and the chapter's definition of 'taxable premises' expressly reaches a guest house, mobile home, cabin, or 'other premises used for lodging.' HMC 3.08.060(A) exempts a guest who has been a permanent resident for at least 30 consecutive days or who signed a written agreement for at least 30 consecutive days, so a month-plus tenancy falls outside the tax. A separate $25 annual business registration under HMC 5.04.030 applies on top of the vendor license.