(A) Intent; purpose.

(1) It is the intent of this section to create a Central Business District (CBD) to provide a mixed land use environment consisting of concentrated retail, commercial, government, recreational and entertainment, residential and office uses that are intended to serve as a destination and service the needs of the regional trade area. The CBD is intended to be used to establish the City of Rio Rancho’s first downtown.

(2) The downtown is modeled as a “lifestyle center” providing a “main street” environment with open-air shopping, planned and developed as a unit and intended to serve consumer demands for the citizens of the city, as well as the region, with the primary offering consisting of a mix of specialty retailers, restaurants, entertainment and theater facilities and civic uses (i.e., City Hall).

(3) The CBD shall utilize the City Centre Master Plan and accompanying regulating design standards to provide guidance pertaining to the landscaping, architecture, parking, pedestrian, multimodal transportation, and specific design features of the downtown area of the city. It is the purpose of this section to:

(a) Encourage a greater intensity of development in order to attract the people and commerce necessary to create a vibrant and diverse urban center.

(b) Encourage primary retail-oriented land uses in combination with civic recreational and entertainment uses. Ancillary uses would include service, residential, office and mixed uses.

(c) Encourage a mixed use density creating walkable, multilevel, live-work-play neighborhoods intended to stimulate and engage pedestrian-level detail such that the CBD user experiences the core of exciting urban living.

(d) Encourage planning, design and detailing that reflect the needs of pedestrians, establish multimodal circulation opportunities, and create memorable civic spaces.

(e) To encourage uses such as theaters and restaurants, which provide “life” to the CBD. These types of businesses help attract people to the area and can provide more efficient use of shared parking facilities.

(f) To create small blocks within which commercial uses can be sited as groupings of shops attractive to on-street parking and pedestrian use.

(g) Parking accommodations are primarily made with on-street, diagonal and parallel parking, parking structures, and underground parking facilities that have attractive street facades and/or ground-floor commercial/retail.

(h) Retail buildings shall orient their entrances together along a sidewalk network in an open-air setting, complemented by landscaping, street furniture and urban furnishing amenities.

(i) Pedestrian amenities such as gathering places for sitting/eating outdoors shall be encouraged.

(B) Permissive uses.

(1) Auditoriums, bowling alleys, billiards, dance hall, theaters, skating rinks, indoor entertainment;

(2) Bakeries, pastry and confectioneries for retail sales;

(3) Banks and other financial institutions;

(4) Bicycle shops (sales and repair);

(5) Coffee shop, cafe, newsstand;

(6) Commercial recreation uses;

(7) Department stores;

(8) Fire stations, police stations and other public buildings;

(9) Hotel/motel;

(10) Laboratories, research, and experimental stations;

(11) Libraries, museums, cultural institutions;

(12) Light manufacturing;

(13) Medical supplies and services, drug prescription supplies, and dental/medical lab;

(14) Newspaper offices;

(15) Office and corporate headquarters;

(16) Offices and office buildings;

(17) Park and ride facilities, parking lots, garages;

(18) Personal services – beauty and barber shops, fitness centers, laundry/dry cleaning, tailor and dressmaking, shoe repair, tanning and manicure salons;

(19) Photographic studios;

(20) Public utilities/electric facilities;

(21) Radio and television studios;

(22) Restaurants, bars, lounges, coffee/tea rooms, delicatessens, patio/al fresco dining facilities;

(23) Residential uses as secondary use or above the first floor; provided, that density shall not exceed 50 dwelling units per acre;

(24) Sales, display room/building for wholesaler, distributor, etc.;

(25) Stores for the sale of retail goods, products, services;

(26) Travel bureaus.

(C) Conditional uses (requiring permit and site plan).

(1) Automotive dealers, motorcycle dealers;

(2) Drive-in, drive-through window restaurants, convenience stores.

(Ord. 18-20; Am. Ord. 22-12; Am. Ord. 22-20)