In 1979 the Town and County created the Extra Territorial Zone or ETZ. The ETZ was administered by the Town of Taos and Governed by the Extra Territorial Zone Commission which was appointed by the Mayor. The ETZ was an effort to manage growth of the greater Taos area.

The creation of the ETZ had unintended consequences: Confusion in the building process and in the provision of services. There was some concern that residents of the ETZ were not being fairly represented by elected officials.

In 2006, the Town Council and the Taos County Commission unanimously decided to rescind the Extra-Territorial Zoning District and the joint Commission that regulated the area. Due to concerns regarding future provision of Town services and in the interest of clarifying law enforcement and emergency response jurisdictions the Town Council commissioned a feasibility study to determine which areas were most suitable for annexation.  The study determined that it was feasible to pursue annexation for nine areas of Taos County (please see the associated maps for these locations).  These areas are either surrounded by or adjacent to the Town’s boundaries. In January 2007, after a substantial public process during which many of the affected neighborhoods expressed that they were not supportive of annexation, the Town Council determined that the Town would not initiate any further annexation due to the lack of public support, the costs associated with providing additional services to newly annexed properties, and the lag in providing services to certain areas already within the current municipal boundary.  The full 2007 Annexation Study, including an outline of recommendations, is available for review.

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