By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
A vacant lot near Rio Rancho’s City Center is one step closer to becoming La Esperanza Preschool, a 200-child facility, after the Planning and Zoning Board unanimously approved its site plan on July 28.
Planning and Zoning Board Manager Brian Babyak recommended approval of the project, proposed by LEBM2 LLC through agent Autotroph Inc. for the 2.77-acre site at Unit 21, Block 4, Lots 17-20 near Arena Drive NE. Commissioner Andrea Hankins moved to approve; Commissioner R. Wayne Lampson seconded. The board voted 5-0, with Chairman Scottie Richardson recused for the item due to a relationship with the applicant.
Applicant Ruth Porta told the board her family already operates preschools in Washington and Colorado and called the Rio Rancho project a chance to serve a growing community. Agent Alexander Dzura walked the board through the site plan, describing a single access point off Arena Drive, a parking loop for drop-offs, and a building sited toward the back of the lot behind a large playground. Asked by Lampson about enrollment projections, Porta said the facility anticipates 188 children.
The project’s path was smoothed by a new state law. New Mexico Senate Bill 96, the Regulated Child Care Zoning Requirements Act, was signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on March 10, 2026, and took effect July 1. The law standardizes zoning rules statewide to expand child care access by removing local municipal and homeowner association barriers to child care facilities. City staff cited the law in their recommendation, noting it designates licensed child care centers as a permitted use in any commercial, mixed-use or multifamily residential zone.
Next steps:
- Governing Body final vote: Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, 6 p.m., Council Chambers
- Case No. 26-160-00011
- Contact: Michelle Costilla, Municipal Planner III, (505) 896-8362, mcostilla@rrnm.gov