Rio Arriba County and City of Española Affordable Housing Plan

Sites Southwest collaborated with Rio Arriba County and the City of Española to update their 2015 Affordable Housing Plan. The intent of the plan is to better understand current and future housing needs and guide new housing development. The updated plan outlines strategies to increase the availability of all types of housing within Española city limits and in rural communities of Rio Arriba County. The City and County own properties that could be used to support affordable housing. As a top priority, these publicly owned properties could be donated or sold below market value to encourage development, especially projects eligible for Low Income Housing Tax Credits. The City and County would be responsible for marketing these properties to potential developers. Given the challenges of attracting developers and navigating New Mexico's housing programs, the plan recommends either hiring a new staff member or providing specialized training for existing staff. This would build internal capacity to work with developers, non-profits, and organizations like Housing New Mexico, ensuring the City and County are ready to take advantage of housing opportunities as they arise. A third priority is to make short-term updates to land development ordinances in both jurisdictions to align with state regulations on mobile and manufactured homes. The goal is to encourage the gradual replacement of aging mobile homes, improving the quality of housing and neighborhoods over time. In the long term, the City and County need to fully modernize their outdated land use ordinances to meet current standards.