Section 3-56-5 - Powers and duties [of regional planning commission] - New Mexico Statutes

3-56-5. Powers and duties [of regional planning commission]

The regional planning commission shall:   

A.     prepare and from time to time revise, amend, extend or add to a plan or plans for the development of the region. The plans shall be based on studies of physical, social, economic and governmental conditions and trends, and shall aim at the coordinated development of the region in order to promote the general health, welfare, convenience and prosperity of its people. The plans shall embody the policy recommendations of the commission and shall include, but not be limited to:   

(1)     a statement of the objectives, standards and principles sought to be expressed in the plan;   

(2)     recommendations for the most desirable pattern and intensity of general land use within the region in the light of the best available information concerning natural environmental factors, the present and prospective economic and demographic bases of the region, and the relation of land use within the region to land use in adjoining regions;   

(3)     recommendations for the general circulation pattern for the region, including land, water and air transportation and communication facilities whether used for movement within the region or to and from adjoining areas;   

(4)     recommendations concerning the need and proposed general location of public and private works and facilities which, by reason of their function, size, extent or for any other cause, are of a regional, as distinguished from purely local, concern;   

(5)     recommendations for the long-range programming and financing of capital projects and facilities; and   

(6)     other appropriate recommendations concerning current and impending problems which may affect the region;   

B.     prepare studies of the region's resources, both natural and human, with respect to existing and emerging problems of industry, commerce, transportation, population, housing, agriculture, public service, local governments and any other matters relevant to regional planning;   

C.     collect, process and analyze at regular intervals social and economic statistics for the region necessary to planning studies and make the results available to the public;   

D.     participate with other government agencies, educational institutions and private organizations in the coordination of regional research activities under Subsections B and C of this section;   

E.     cooperate with, and provide planning assistance to, county, municipal or other local governments, instrumentalities or planning agencies within the region and coordinate regional planning with the planning activities of the state and of the counties, municipalities, special districts or other government units within the regions, as well as neighboring regions, and the programs of federal departments and agencies;   

F.     provide information to officials of departments, agencies and instrumentalities of federal, state and local governments, and to the public at large, in order to foster public awareness and understanding of the objectives of the regional plan and the functions of regional and local planning, and to stimulate public interest and participation in the orderly, integrated development of the region;   

G.     receive and review for compatibility with regional plans all proposed comprehensive land use, circulation and public facilities plans and projects, zoning and subdivision regulations, official maps and building codes of local governments in the geographic area and any amendments or revisions thereof, and make recommendations for their modification where necessary to achieve compatibility;   

H.     review participating local government applications for capital project financial assistance from state and federal governments, and comment upon their consistency with the regional development plan; and review and comment upon state plans for highways and public works within the area to promote coordination of all intergovernmental activities in the region on a continuing basis;   

I.     exercise all other powers necessary and proper for the discharge of its duties; and   

J.     when deemed desirable, exercise its powers jointly or in cooperation with agencies or political subdivisions of this state or any other state, with agencies of the United States, or with Indian reservations, tribes or pueblos, subject to statutory provisions applicable to interjurisdictional agreements.