This portal is created by the Appeal Coalition for the matter in front of the Bernalillo County Board of County Commissioners.
This portal provides click-access to every document and exhibit filed in support of the appeal — County Commission case No. ZCOA2026-0013 (Zoning County Appeal), appealing the Board of Adjustment (BOA) decision in ZBA2026-0001 / BA2026-0001, which upheld Zoning Administrator (ZA) permit ZA2026-0024. Reviewers and Commissioners can view, search, zoom, and download each document.
Community interest statement: The Appeal Coalition was formed to address genuine land-use concerns — not opposition to Islam, Muslim people, or any faith community. Anti-Islam or anti-Muslim beliefs were never a reason for creating, joining, or pursuing this appeal, and they are not the Coalition’s beliefs.
We recognize that some people/groups unknown to us may be in support of the appeal for reasons we do not share. We cannot know every person’s private motive unless it is disclosed. However, anyone whose purpose includes religious hostility does not speak for, represent, or are to participate in this official Appeal Coalition.
The Coalition’s position has always been limited to the administrative record and the applicable standards for this proposal’s scale, traffic, access, safety, compatibility, and process. “Neighborhood character” refers to physical land-use conditions — not the culture, heritage, ethnicity, or identity of any group. We support equal application of those standards to comparable religious and nonreligious assembly uses.
Note: The County's official record number for this appeal to the Commission is ZCOA2026-0013 (Zoning County Appeal; per the July 20, 2026 filing receipt, Record ID ZCOA2026-0013, Receipt #1378826); the underlying Board of Adjustment (BOA) docket is ZBA2026-0001 (Zoning Board of Adjustment; underlying case BA2026-0001 / ZA2026-0024).
Every filing document and exhibit assembled in one PDF, in packet order: Cover & Table of Contents → Appeal Application → Appeal Brief → Moratorium Letter → Exhibits 1–26
The appeal challenges the County Planning Commission (CPC)’s July 1, 2026 Notice of Decision (NOD) that upheld the Zoning Administrator (ZA)’s approval of the conditional use permit (CUP) for the Islamic Center at 9600 2nd Street NW. However, the arguments in this appeal are not limited to the words on the Notice of Decision (NOD) alone.
The appeal draws from the full record — including the certified hearing transcript, hearing testimony, the application, the approved site plan, staff statements, traffic materials, emails between the County and the Appeal Coalition, County rules and procedures, evidence in the County record, and all exhibits filed with the Board of County Commissioners (BCC). Together, these show whether specific Notice of Decision (NOD) findings and conditions were met at the Zoning Administrator (ZA) level and the County Planning Commission (CPC) / Board of Adjustment (BOA) level, whether the Notice of Decision (NOD) itself contains errors, and whether those findings were erroneous, an abuse of discretion, or unsupported by evidence.
In plain terms: the Commission’s decision is being challenged not just on what the Notice of Decision (NOD) says, but on whether the evidence in the record actually supports what the Commission decided.
Official County reference document explaining how land use appeals to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) work — including who can appeal, appeal criteria, filing procedures, the 20% Rule, hearing time limits, and rules on new evidence. Covers Ordinance 2016-32 and the BCC Rules of Procedure for Quasi-Judicial Hearings.
A merged chart showing every Notice of Decision (NOD) finding and condition the appeal challenges as unsupported by the record — what the Commission found, what the record actually shows, the verdict, and where to read the full argument in the filed Appeal Brief. Covers both the Zoning Administrator (ZA)’s April 14, 2026 Notice of Decision (NOD) and the County Planning Commission (CPC)’s July 1, 2026 Notice of Decision (NOD).
An unofficial reader’s guide summarizing the filed appeal materials, original Conditional-Use Permit (CUP) application materials, and certified July 1 County Planning Commission (CPC) hearing transcript — showing each finding and condition for the Zoning Administrator (ZA)’s April 14, 2026 Notice of Decision (NOD) and the County Planning Commission (CPC)’s July 1, 2026 Notice of Decision (NOD) side by side, with status indicators showing which ones the record supports and which it does not.
A comprehensive guide organizing every issue into the same eight headings: question & answer, official County record, filed brief position, why it matters at the Conditional-Use Permit (CUP) stage, documented evidence gap, why it’s appealable, why approval was premature, and what the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) must decide. Includes Commissioner Withers’ questions from the certified July 1 hearing transcript.
The appeal challenges the approval of a high-volume mosque at 9600 2nd Street NW, citing lack of project-specific traffic analysis, procedural violations, and inadequate evidence supporting safety and neighborhood impact findings. Key issues include deferral of traffic studies to permit stage, inconsistent parking and attendance data, and failure to address regional corridor capacity, with requests for remand, comprehensive traffic review, and policy reforms.
View PDF →the Appeal Coalition's supplemental brief in support of the appeal, with the complete exhibit list and citations to the record. See the One-Page Summary card above for a full description of the appeal.
View PDF →The complete filed & stamped “Appeal to County Commission” application — handwritten and signed by the Appeal Coalition, stamped received July 20, 2026 (Bernalillo County Planning Dept.), referencing ZBA2026-0001 / ZA2026-0024. Includes the stamped application form, cover/Table of Contents, typed application narrative, and certification pages.
View PDF →Formal request asking the Board of County Commissioners, deciding this appeal in its quasi-judicial capacity, to recommend that the County adopt a temporary moratorium on large-impact conditional use permits in the North Valley area. Includes the trip-generation analysis demonstrating why interim legislative protection is needed while the County reconciles its road design, traffic analysis, and the conditional use permit (CUP) review processes. A stand-alone legislative moratorium request will be filed separately with the County Clerk for the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in its lawmaking capacity.
View PDF →Petition cover sheet, certification (New Mexico Statutes Annotated (NMSA) § 3-21-6(C)), and signature pages from neighboring property owners within 100 and 500 feet — 25 neighboring-owner signatures invoking the extraordinary-majority (4-of-5 Board of County Commissioners (BCC)) vote. Includes the filed & stamped county "Certification of Opposition for Appeals to County Commission" form (20% Rule Request, stamped received July 20, 2026).
View PDFs →Click to open the full exhibit table with descriptions, status, and view/download links for all 26 exhibits filed in support of this appeal.
Hearing dates for this appeal (County Commission case No. ZCOA2026-0013) are not posted on this portal — they appear on the County's official calendar. The appeal will be heard by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC); related matters may also come before the County Planning Commission and the Zoning Administrator. Community members are encouraged to check the calendar regularly and look for all three — the County Planning Commission, the Board of County Commissioners, and the Zoning Administrator meetings — to find scheduled hearing dates and stay informed.
This link opens the official Agenda Packet for Board of Adjustment case ZBA2026-0001 / BA2026-0001 on the County’s public records portal (iqm2). The Agenda Packet holds all official records on file in this case, including the staff report, site plans, and public comments submitted through the record. This case begins on Agenda Packet PDF page 914.
Community interest statement: The Appeal Coalition was formed to address genuine land-use concerns — not opposition to Islam, Muslim people, or any faith community. Anti-Islam or anti-Muslim beliefs were never a reason for creating, joining, or pursuing this appeal, and they are not the Coalition’s beliefs.
We recognize that some people/groups unknown to us may be in support of the appeal for reasons we do not share. We cannot know every person’s private motive unless it is disclosed. However, anyone whose purpose includes religious hostility does not speak for, represent, or are to participate in this official Appeal Coalition.
The Coalition’s position has always been limited to the administrative record and the applicable standards for this proposal’s scale, traffic, access, safety, compatibility, and process. We support equal application of those standards to comparable religious and nonreligious assembly uses.
“Neighborhood character” refers to physical land-use conditions — not the culture, heritage, ethnicity, or identity of any group. This appeal concerns only whether this project meets neutral County standards for site design, rural-area compatibility, and enforceable conditions.
Community members are urged to send emails and letters (Public Comment) regarding their concerns and real-life stories about high-volume permits being allowed on this corridor and across the regional area before a traffic study and mitigation can be solved to handle the volume. Your input helps show the real-world impact of approving high-intensity uses without first requiring a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) and the infrastructure improvements needed to support them.
Commenters are also encouraged to address concerns of procedural, substantive, and legal error: by the Zoning Administrator, who prematurely approved the conditional-use permit, and by the County Planning Commission, who voted to deny the appeal (thereby upholding the permit) while dismissing valid community safety issues.
Reference case numbers: ZCOA2026-0013 / ZBA2026-0001 / BA2026-0001 / ZA2026-0024 (9600 2nd Street NW)
If the buttons above don’t open your email, copy and paste these addresses: ellopez@bernco.gov (Elvira Lopez) and kpeggau@bernco.gov (Karina Peggau).
Prefer a letter? Send written correspondence to Bernalillo County Planning & Development Services, 415 Silver Ave SW, Suite 200, Albuquerque, NM 87102, referencing the case number above.
Questions about the Appeal Coalition? Contact the coalition leadership team at coalitionleadershipteam@yahoo.com.