By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
Rio Rancho families looking for child care options will have two more choices soon, after the Governing Body unanimously approved site plans for a new La Esperanza preschool near City Center and a daycare facility near Southern Boulevard and Golf Course Road.
La Esperanza expansion clears final vote
The board signed off on a 15,992-square-foot La Esperanza preschool on 2.77 acres off Arena Drive NE, built to serve 84 infants and toddlers and 80 preschoolers. The site plan includes 47 total parking spaces, including four drop-off spots, and a stormwater detention pond on the property’s east side.
District 2 Councilor Jeremy Lenentine backed the project before the vote.
“I got a full tour of their facility and worked with their staff on a couple different events. Incredible facility, great staff, very good with the kids, well run, and you know, I think they do an excellent job. So I want to say that from the get-go, I’m excited about this project,” Lenentine said.
Applicant Ruth Porta, whose family has run preschools in Washington and Colorado, told the board the Rio Rancho project would let them serve a growing community, according to meeting audio.
Second daycare also gets green light
The Governing Body separately approved a site plan for a daycare on a special-use lot near Southern Boulevard and Golf Course Road, at a property the board had earlier rezoned for possible multi-family use. The property owner has since dropped that plan in favor of a daycare use, according to city staff.
State law smooths the path
Both projects benefit from New Mexico Senate Bill 96, the Regulated Child Care Zoning Requirements Act, signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in March and effective July 1. The law makes licensed child care centers a permitted use by right in any commercial, mixed-use or multifamily residential zone statewide, removing local zoning as a barrier — a point city staff cited directly in the La Esperanza staff report.
The La Esperanza approval is valid for three years, during which the developer must pull a building permit and start construction. Both projects still face building permit review, inspections and traffic impact analysis before crews break ground.