Welcome
Las Comunidades del Valle de los Ranchos
“A Traditional Historic Community”
Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Association represents the residents of La Cordillera, Los Cordovas, Llano Quemado, Ranchos de Taos, and Talpa — the communities of the Ranchos Valley. We work to protect the rural character, acequia heritage, and cultural traditions of our valley, and to ensure our communities remain under Taos County jurisdiction, free from annexation.
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of designating the unincorporated neighborhoods of La Cordillera, Los Cordovas, Llano Quemado, Ranchos de Taos, and Talpa, collectively as “Las Comunidades del Valle de los Ranchos Traditional Historic Community” is to:
· Protect the character and heritage of Las Comunidades del Valle de los Ranchos by ensuring the right to determine our future as residents of Taos County, free from extraterritorial jurisdiction and annexation by the Town of Taos;
· Honor and preserve the interwoven values of the rural heart, history, cultural traditions, and architecture of Las Comunidades del Valle de los Ranchos;
· Acknowledge and support the acequia system engineered and constructed within the watershed of the Rio Chiquito and Rio Grande del Rancho—dating from the 18th century—and to recognize the acequias as a unique historical, cultural, and natural resource within Taos County, New Mexico, and the United States.
Read about Our Traditional Historic Community
Follow us here with updated information on the Unified Development Code.
The Unified Development Code (UDC) is a proposed land use regulatorory document slated to replace the current Taos County Development Code by the end of 2026. Currently, no planned public comment sessions have been scheduled to date.
The UDC as proposed would move us from a discretionary system where officials who would be the planners, planning commission, county commission, to make independent decisions based on their own judgment or assessment without community input to a conventional zoning system where uses are predetermined by the code to be permitted, conditional, or prohibited. This would eliminate the need for public hearings and public comment for special use permit applications.
For a traditional historic community whose protective tools have historically been dependent on the discretionary system, the consultants are trying to dismantle. The question is not whether the proposed UDC will affect Las Comunidades, but what will replace the protections the current system provides. Those protections being our ability to make public comment and influence the decisions of what is happening in our neighborhood rather than it being predetermined by a set of zones that have permitted, conditional, or not permitted uses.
The Ranchos Neighborhood Association has presented two “Teach-Ins” to discuss the current state of the new code and help educate the public on how the new code will affect them. We will be providing updated information on the UDC as we get it. Mark this page to get updates.
You can find a current copy of the UDC here: Proposed Unified Development Code 4_26
Handout from the session: “What the New Taos County Development Code Means for You”
