Latest Press

Plan El Paso Comprehensive Plan Unanimously Approved

Copies of the Plan Available Online

Plan El Paso was unanimously approved by the El Paso City Council in March of 2012. To download the plan for free, click HERE. To view Zoning Maps, click HERE. To order a hardcopy of the plan from the on-line publisher click on the buttons below which say, “Lulu Buy Now” The City of El Paso welcomes comments. Send comments to Carlos Gallinar, Comprehensive Plan Manager

Community Input Received for El Paso Comprehensive Plan: Visit The Virtual Town Hall Results

The Plan El Paso Virtual Town Hall was used to gather ideas from citizens for use in the Comprehensive Plan. From February to May the site had roughly 35,000 views and facilitated an in-depth conversation on the topics of Transportation and Public Facilities; Community Health and Sustainability; Land Use and Economic Development; Housing and Neighborhoods; and Implementation. Thank you to all who participated, your recommendations will become a part of the plan.

 To download a PDF of the complete results of the Virtual Town Hall, click HERE.

City of El Paso Allows Homes to Face Major Streets

The City Council approved an ordinance that allows homes to face arterial roads. Additionally, stone walls are no longer required along the perimeter of new subdivisions. Other recently adopted ordinances will make arterial roadways more pedestrian-friendly with increased planting strips, on-street parking, and narrower travel lanes. City neighborhoods will present a new, more welcoming image while providing a safer pedestrian environment by allowing the natural surveillance of “eyes-on-the-street.” This change to City policy was recommended during the Plan El Paso charrettes led by Dover, Kohl & Partners.

 

El Paso Approves SmartCode Rezoning

The 450-acre former ASARCO site was rezoned to SmartCode transect zones at the City Council meeting on Tuesday. This was the first rezoning to SmartCode in the City since the adoption of the optional form-based code. Several more sites are expected to follow. The approval lays the regulatory groundwork for the east portion of the former ASARCO tract to become a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with a trail system along preserved arroyos.  The west portion of the site is planned as a multi-use commercial and office regional center with areas for clean light-industrial uses, and destinations such as an amusement park or racetrack. Both sites are scheduled for environmental remediation prior to the addition of uses. SmartCode requires streets that are safe and comfortable for pedestrians, ample public spaces, walkable block sizes, urban format buildings, and a mix of housing types and uses. The rezoning is a major implementation action step in the Connecting El Paso Plan which was approved in January.

El Paso Approves SmartCode Rezoning

The 450-acre former ASARCO site was rezoned to SmartCode transect zones at the City Council meeting on Tuesday. This was the first rezoning to SmartCode in the City since the adoption of the optional form-based code. Several more sites are expected to follow. The approval lays the regulatory groundwork for the east portion of the former ASARCO tract to become a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with a trail system along preserved arroyos. The west portion of the site is planned as a multi-use commercial and office regional center with areas for clean light-industrial uses, and destinations such as an amusement park or racetrack. Both sites are scheduled for environmental remediation prior to the addition of uses. SmartCode requires streets that are safe and comfortable for pedestrians, ample public spaces, walkable block sizes, urban format buildings, and a mix of housing types and uses. The rezoning is a major implementation action step in the Connecting El Paso Plan which was approved in January.

 

Accessory Dwelling Units Now Allowed in El Paso

The City of El Paso approved an ordinance allowing accessory dwelling units on all single-family residential lots in the City as recommended during the Plan El Paso planning process. Accessory dwellings like garage apartments or “grannie flats” add affordable housing inconspicuously into single-family areas. “For Smart Growth or New Urbanism to work, accessory dwelling units are an essential element,” said Mathew McElroy, Deputy Director of Planning and Economic Development. The ordinance allows rental apartments to help homeowners pay the mortgage of the main house and the relaxation of side and rear setbacks to accommodate ADUs on even small lots. Susie Byrd, City Council Representative for District 2, said, “The way we currently meet affordable housing needs is with large garden apartments and apartment complexes at the periphery of the city… this is very expensive in terms of infrastructure and transportation costs to the City and the resident…I think this is a much better model.”

 

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