## Facts

- The New Mexico Legislature created the State of New Mexico Municipal Boundary Commission (Commission) as an independent body authorized to hear annexation petitions filed by municipalities and by landowners seeking annexation.
- For a landowner-initiated petition, NMSA 1978, § 3-7-15(A) required the Commission, after a public hearing, to determine whether (1) the territory is contiguous to the municipality and (2) the territory “may be provided with municipal services” by the municipality; if both were satisfied, § 3-7-15(B) directed the Commission to approve the annexation.
- West Tijeras Canyon Ltd. Co. (West Tijeras) owned approximately 165 acres in Bernalillo County that was contiguous to the City of Albuquerque (City) and sought annexation primarily to obtain City water and sewer service (as county land, development would rely on wells and septic systems).
- West Tijeras first sought annexation through the Albuquerque City Council, but the City Council denied the request.
- West Tijeras then filed a landowner-initiated annexation petition with the Commission under § 3-7-15.
- At the Commission hearing, the City opposed annexation, asserting that annexation would strain City services and conflict with planning policies, including the county comprehensive plan’s approach to rural areas and the City’s infill policy favoring development where infrastructure already existed.
- The Commission interpreted § 3-7-15(A)(2)’s phrase “may be provided with municipal services” to ask only whether the City was capable of providing services, not whether the City intended to provide them consistent with its planning and service priorities.
- The Commission voted to approve annexation over the City’s objection.
- The City, along with other petitioners (including the Acequia Madre De Carnue Community Ditch Association and the Board of Trustees of the Canon De Carnue Land Grant), sought certiorari review in district court; the district court reversed the Commission’s annexation order.
- The Commission and West Tijeras appealed the district court’s reversal to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

## Issues

1. Under NMSA 1978, § 3-7-15(A)(2), when deciding whether territory “may be provided with municipal services,” must the Commission consider and give substantial deference to the municipality’s opposition and service-planning policies, rather than treating the inquiry as capability-only?

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision reversing the Commission’s annexation order.
- The court held that the Commission applied an incorrect interpretation of § 3-7-15(A)(2) by treating “may be provided with municipal services” as a pure capacity inquiry and by failing to give substantial deference to the City’s stated opposition and planning-based service judgments.

## Legal Principles

- In a landowner-initiated annexation under § 3-7-15(A), the Commission must determine not only contiguity but also whether the territory “may be provided with municipal services” within the meaning of the statute.
- “May be provided with municipal services” requires more than a showing that a city could physically or financially extend services; the Commission must account for the municipality’s service-delivery choices as expressed through its policies and planning decisions.
- When a municipality objects on service and planning grounds, the Commission must consider that opposition and give it substantial deference in applying § 3-7-15(A)(2).
- Courts will correct an agency decision that rests on a legal error in statutory interpretation, including an interpretation that improperly minimizes the role of municipal planning in the statutory service criterion.

## Conclusion

The Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s reversal because the Commission misread § 3-7-15(A)(2) by focusing only on Albuquerque’s ability to provide services and not giving substantial deference to the City’s planning-based opposition when deciding whether the property “may be provided with municipal services.”


City of Albuquerque v. State of New Mexico Municipal Boundary Commission, 131 N.M. 665 (2002)