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Tuesday, June 7, 2011

15 Percent!

Beginning in 120 days 15 percent of property areas in new and redevelopments must be landscaped according to an ordinance passed today at City Council. Currently the percentage is just 7.5%.

Planning and Development has worked hard for several months now to put together this new landscape ordinance which puts El Paso on the same par as other comparable southwestern cities such as Tucson and Albuquerque. The plan had been vetted through a number of meetings with all stakeholders. As a member of both the Open Space Advisory Board and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board as well as the Chairman of the Tree Sub-Committee of PRAB, I had been part of two teams of people who recommended that the landscapable area be set at 15% with trees on the parkway at spaces of 30 feet and more trees in a parking lot.

Of course, the El Paso CCC (Chamber of Commerce Cheapskates) opposed the increase in landscapabe area. City of El Paso staff struck a compromise of 9% with them. However, in their presentation to City Council given by Matthew McElroy, staff showed a matrix that revealed the current 7.5%, the compromise of 9% and the OSAB and PRAC (including Tree Sub-Committee) recommendations of 15%. McElroy made it clear that the 15% would simply put us on par with other southwest cities.

CCC (Chamber of Commerce Cheapskates) moaned that businesses would suffer burdensome costs and developers would pass the expenses onto businesses, etc., etc. One CCCer argued that the ordinance would discourage infill and promote sprawl as if CCCers ever opposed sprawl. (Their championship of development in NW El Paso along the TxDOT super highway "Transmountain" and the future new Mesa Avenue to be known as Paseo del Norte has sprawl written all over it.)

Here's what the CCCers don't get: investments in the quality of life of the community attracts new people and better jobs to the City. In turn, these new people and better jobs means bigger markets for their goods and services which, in the long run, means more profit for themselves and greater wealth for the community and its citizens. Invest a little now for more later. Instead, they can only see today's bottom line profit and a need to compete for the paltry few dollars in a community where wealth is not expanding in and to every household.

Fortunately today the City Council by a vote of 6 to 2 saw it differently. It was retiring Council representative, Beto O'Rourke, who made the motion to accept the 15% as recommended by OSAB and PRAB - a percentage made abundantly clear by Mr. McElroy's presentation. "We can aspire to be mediocre or to take steps to be a great City," O'Rourke said as he made his motion. Only Eddie Holguin and Carl Clueless Robinson voted against it.

McElroy's leadership in this whole matter is shared with City Attorney Lupe Cuellar, City Planner Fred Lopez, Planner Shamori Whitt and many others including citizen volunteers who tirelessly serve on boards and committees. Today El Paso won. Perhaps many who currently pay for memberships in the CCC will spend their money more wisely or vote to have Chamber leaders who have the vision of an O'Rourke, an Ortega, a Fred Lopez, Matt McElroy or Charlie Wakeem. For the sake of the commonwealth of the City and the greater profitability of its businesses, let us hope so.

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