Corrales parking ordinance moves closer to decision on street signs

Residents on Corrales’ residential streets next to commercial properties could be the first to notice a change if village leaders adopt a new parking ordinance. The latest draft would let staff post no-parking signs in targeted areas, a move aimed at curbside congestion, emergency access and long-running complaints from neighbors of nearby businesses.

The issue came back to the Village of Corrales Governing Body on June 9 as Resolution 26-15, which would publish Ordinance 26-02, titled “An Ordinance Providing No Parking Areas Along Residential Streets Neighboring Commercial Establishments.” That same agenda also set aside time for the District 4 vacancy under state law and included the village’s 2028-2032 infrastructure capital improvement plan, underscoring how much was packed into a single meeting.

Corrales has been wrestling with the parking fight since at least last fall. Planning and zoning administrator Laurie Stout told councilors in October that residents had been complaining about customers of nearby businesses parking on neighborhood streets, but the Corrales Police Department did not have the statutory authority some people expected to issue parking tickets. That enforcement gap is one reason the village has been trying to write a clearer rule.

The ordinance has already been through several rounds of delay. The mayor’s message said the council discussed the parking update at the Feb. 10 meeting, then postponed adoption again on March 24 after debating enforcement and definitions. The new draft would go further than earlier versions by allowing no-parking signs on residential streets after notice from code enforcement or when public safety concerns warrant it. The signs would have to spell out what happens if drivers ignore them, including tickets and towing.

Village materials say commercial business parking is not allowed along residential streets and that where no-parking signs are posted, violators may be ticketed or towed. New Mexico statute §66-7-350 also authorizes officers to order the removal of illegally stopped vehicles, giving Corrales another legal basis for stronger enforcement if it chooses to use it.

The ordinance now appears to sit at the center of a broader question about how Corrales balances access for businesses with neighborhood quality of life. Planning staff has described the conflict as one between residential and commercial interests, while critics have warned that a tougher ordinance could function like an anti-business measure. For residents on the affected streets, nearby property owners and the businesses trying to make room for customers, the next decision will show whether Corrales is finally solving the problem or simply rewriting it.