Paul Andrus - Community Development Director
The Community Development Department is made up of four divisions: Planning, Building Safety, Housing and Administration, with each having a vital role in the Department's mission to ensure well planned development and high quality construction practices in order to promote economic vitality and achieve the highest possible quality of life for the residents of Los Alamos.
The Department’s main goal is to provide consistent, timely, and solution-oriented land use planning, building permitting and inspection processes and housing policy and program development with the highest level of customer service in mind. Although many of the primary functions of the Community Development Department are essentially regulatory in nature, staff work with our customer base in a proactive manner, encouraging homeowners, businesses, developers, design professionals, and contractors to engage with them on their projects as early in the process as needed in an effort to provide the necessary education and technical expertise that will help to expedite the review process and ultimately result in a better overall experience for the customer and outcomes for the Community.
Original Building Permit Records are Now Being Offered to Residential Property Owners
Original residential permit applications kept on file by the County can now be turned over to the current property owners -- rather than be destroyed after their record retention period is reached -- in compliance with the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act. Permits since 2008 have not yet met their 10 year retention requirement and are not yet eligible for disposition.
Building permits from the 1960's up to 2007 may now be requested by completing and turning in the request form for Building Permit Records Offered to Homeowners to Community Development. Click here to download this request form as a PDF file.
Residential building permits are filed by street address, so you do not need to know the year of the permit nor the permit number to request available documents on file for your address. Alternatively, email the completed form to cdd@lacnm.us.
Please be aware that not all addresses within Los Alamos County have permits available. Some homes were built for the Atomic Energy Commission prior to the incorporation of Los Alamos County. Apartments and certain townhomes are permitted under commercial building codes and are not part of this program.
Homes classified as manufactured housing or modular construction are permitted by the State, rather than the County, though it is possible there are permits on file for foundation only, fences, or the placement or small structures accessory to the dwelling.