Some Food for Thought

PSB Board Member Katherine Brennand shows her support for conservation of Castner Range.

The PSB Strategic Meeting schedule has been changed. Below is the “current” schedule. Note the change for tomorrow:

Thursday, September 8, 2011 – TecH2O Center

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast

10:00 a.m. Strategic Planning Meeting #1

Friday, September 9, 2011 – TecH2O Center

7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast

8:00 a.m. Strategic Planning Meeting #2

Not much information regarding the agenda. However, there may be a number of items that they should look at including:

• Sustainability of water and long range implications especially noting that water rights are being bought up from farms in Hudspeth County (Dell City); assume 2 million (or even less) people in El Paso in coming decades X 130 gallons per day per person – what’s the plan?
• What about real cost of water? Selling land and development really doesn’t pay for it.
• What plans are there to conserve other natural resources including land? What are their plans for the NW Master Plan? Why are a few acres in the Scenic Corridor so sacred to them?
• What about information sharing with PSB members themselves. Reportedly, that’s been a real problem – keeping Board members in the dark (not to mention the public). Did El Paso Times or the Inc. report let you know about the strategic planning sessions in a very visible story at least in one of the main sections?

Just food for thought. Remember, public comment is appropriate.

Now here’s some food for thought regarding the petition and the Scenic Corridor:

• Since petitioners are not willing to compromise on land and all want the removal of Paseo del Norte, how can a second petition for an election be prevented if Council does nothing on the 20^th or tries to extend or votes the proposal down?
• As stated before, Paseo could be an interchange to no where. El Paso has an interchange to no where. Here are the coordinates: 31.809394,-106.539134. Check out the Google maps link. TxDOT built it. The Army Corps put in a dam. End of story.
• The “box” of 792 acres really gives a buffer to development encroachment. Shrinking it anymore gives permission for encroachment.
• All of us need to advocate for immediate open space conservation of all Natural Open Space and arroyos already promised in the original Westside (Northwest) Master Plan . City Council and the PSB have already voted to change all acreage in the NW Master Plan to Urban Reserve District until smart code is implemented. The problem with a zoning designation is that it can always be changed to residential or commercial or industrial or whatever. 792 acres (the Scenic Corridor) and all the other areas previously promised to be preserved should be preserved under a conservation easement. The remaining acres should be rezoned using smart code ASAP.