Should We Worry about PSB Agenda Item 15?

Item 15 on tomorrow's Public Service Board agenda reads:

"Discussion and action on direction received from the El Paso City Council, made on March 18 2014, for the City Manager to coordinate with the Public Service Board to determine the feasibility of selling property in 100 acres parcels or less, for property located in the Northwest Regulating Planned area." 

Anytime anything comes up about the Northwest Master Plan, some in the environmental/conservation voice concerns. They should. The questions are always the same: Will the arroyos be preserved? Will bridges be used and not culverts? Will smart code be followed? All as agreed upon following a successful petition to preserve the land.

City Council asked for a study to determine the cost of the development if divided among smaller developers versus the cost should just one developer do the entire planned area. URS was contracted to do the study.

The URS study found that one developer is the best way to go. City Planning recommends this finding and my sources tell me that the PSB will do so also.

EPWU/PSB General Attorney, Lupe Culler, said that the item will not circumvent the Master Plan.

Unanimous Reaffirmation

Photo by proud grandfather, Tommy Young

Thanks to Rep. Ann Lilly an item was placed on today's City Council agenda reaffirming the Northwest Master Plan and its use of SmartCode development. Sticking to that comprehensive plan and a SmartCode regulating plan for development means that a Conservation Easement, at least for now, just isn't necessary. Thanks to efforts between the EPWU and City Planning, under the direction of Matthew McElroy, an additional adjustment to how an "adjustment" can be made on the code further tightens the fact that SmartCode will be the way to go. Council voted unanimously to approve.

One thing that has become clear to me over the past two weeks of dealing with this issue is this: so many people above and beyond the original petitioners are invested in seeing that the legal, binding agreement which includes the NW Master Plan gets realized. It's not just petitioners. It's City staff and EPWU officials and Council representatives and, at the top, Mayor Leeser. We are all invested. So, once again a positive note has been struck through the collaborative efforts of petitioners, the Mayor, City Council, City and EPWU staff. Reaching this kind of collaborative understanding over the past two weeks has been draining in many ways. Nevertheless, we did it - collaboratively. 

Certainly those of us responsible for the original petition will keep a watchful eye and certainly re-doing the old petition or doing a new one calling for an easement isn't off the table. But who likes to scratch until he itches? The number of people invested in the success of the NW Master Plan, our mutual collaboration, and today's Council vote means that there isn't an itch.

Of those petitioners who met together over a week ago to respond to "threats" of removing SmartCode, I spoke personally with several last week, two more yesterday, and several more prior to the meeting. (Personal conversations not emails.) I mentioned before the Mayor's reassurances in a meeting. Some of us worked with EPWU and City persons. All of us plus I'm sure several more persons in separate meetings, collaboratively together, made sure that the City would get on record a reaffirmation of the NW Master Plan. That unanimous reaffirmation came today - collaboratively. 

Council Ready to Jetison Smart Code in Northwest Master Plan?

Click image to enlarge.

City Council may have taken the first steps toward re-zoning the NW Master Plan by going from smart code to conventional code. It is just one more way in which the El Paso sprawlers are on a land grab and arroyos and natural open spaces be damned.

Last week I announced a contest to identify a place in a picture. The prize: a $20 gift certificate to Amigos, 2000 Montana Avenue. (If there is better Mexican/Tex-Mex food in El Paso, I haven't found it.) The scenery in the picture no longer exists. That is why I asked for a place. The picture above is what you see today. It is on the west side of Mesa just past the new light at Montecillo and across the street from Montecillo. So much for El Paso protecting arroyos. One wonders how safe the deal with the City is regarding the NW Master Plan.

When our petition certified, a deal was struck with the City to redo the NW Master Plan as smart growth development. Land was transferred to the Franklin Mountains State Park. Arroyos will not only be preserved but roadways across them must be bridged. 

Yesterday City Council voted unanimously to reassess whether land in the NW Master Plan, NE Master Plan and Painted Dunes can be sold off in increments of less than 100 acres (I guess never mind a Memorandum of Understanding with the PSB); and whether or not to reconsider smart code. (Emma Acosta and Carl Robinson spearheaded the affront on smart code.) After the Council meeting, City Manager Joyce Wilson offered assurances that "Council did not take any action to undo the updated master plan for NW area, and that we were clear that it was a settlement that should not be tampered with." In an email to me she went on to say that "the focus is really the NE master plan and the two [NW and NE] are just getting comingled.  I have made it clear that your group bargained in good faith and expects the agreement to be honored."

However, in spite of her assurances, one must realize that Wilson's time with the City is about up and that she doesn't vote on zoning. Council didn't take any action on the NW plan but that doesn't mean that they won't. Moreover, this Council has already demonstrated that it favors sprawlers when it comes to discussions about growth, smart code, Plan El Paso, impact fees and land sales. The Mayor's office has kept all members of the conservation community out of discussions on land sales, impact fees and even considerations about the new City Manager. One can expect a City Manager who will be in line with those who want to sell and develop all the land that they can, believing that will be best for taxpayers in spite of the realization that our property taxes keep going up and up and up. Their building feeds their pockets, not ours.

I can tell you that my phone has not stopped ringing off the wall since Council voted yesterday. It's not just that yesterday was alarming (and it could be just by itself). It's a whole string of things.

The 2013 Petition (posted on another page) never really caught fire. Most of the signatures are over 180 days old and, so, invalid. Now there is a huge ground swell to do a new petition. People unexcited about the 2013 petition are suddenly excited. The energy is there. 

What Council, the Mayor, the sprawlers, the Chamber must understand is this. We don't want to preserve land just because it's pretty. The biggest issue is water and a sustainable future for El Paso. Is there a discussion going on at City Hall about water? Hell no and, in fact, the build-it-one-way-only-ers pretty much killed the EPWU smart home idea. The other issue is healthy living. Allergies, asthma, respiratory illnesses have gone up because of development. Moreover, El Paso also suffers from an epidemic of diabetes and obesity. Studies throughout the country for many years now show that you can't grow your way to prosperity. All we are really doing is taking away the future for our grandchildren and their grandchildren. We are heading toward extinction.

So, with a vote to reconsider smart code in spite of assurances from a lame duck Manager, those who care about the future of water and the health of each and every El Pasoan are rightly alarmed and have begun to meet and mobilize.

Finally, a number of you had good guesses about the place for the picture in the contest. Only Judy Ackerman got it right. She emailed: "[It] is the place where the new theater is going in, across Mesa from the Montecillo.  That’s how it used to look.  Now it looks like sh--!"

Memo to Judy: I love Amigos. Remember your friends.

  

Council Passes Scenic Corridor Ordinances

Unanimously, City Council this morning passed three ordinances which, in effect, establish the new NW Master Plan, the smart code re-zoning necessary, and the preservation of 55% of the open space by transferring 658 acres to the State Park and protecting key arroyos with smart code.  It was a major victory for environmentalists and conservationists and a win-win for all including the development community.  In addition, City Planners have begun to add the critical tool known as green infrastructure/low impact development to their planning.

Following presentations by Planner Carlos Gallinar and former City and now EPWU attorney, Lupe Cuellar, I had these words:


"Mr. Mayor and members of the Council

for the record, I am Jim Tolbert, the citizen who authored the petition to preserve land in the scenic corridor along Transmountain in northwest El Paso.  That petition was sponsored by the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition. Along with others I coordinated and spearheaded a successful drive to collect enough signatures to bring the issue to your attention.

"When we began the task of preserving land in its natural state, I had no idea that our work would have such positive, far-reaching results.  Rather than insisting on one way or another, we chose to work together, to find accommodation, compromise and consensus. As citizens, City Planners, attorneys, employees and agents of the PSB/EPWU, State Park officials, environmentalists, conservationists, recreationalists and consultants we were constant in our effort to stay true to the spirit and conditions of the petition while maintaining the integrity of our various value systems and institutions.  We not only worked through our distrust of one another, but, there came a time, when it became apparent that all shared the same goal of making El Paso an even better place to live.

"Now we on the verge of preserving 658 acres of natural open space by transferring that land to the State Park.  We will protect precious arroyos through the use of smart codes as we more intelligently design a place to live that is livable, workable, walkable and in better harmony with the natural environment. The re-doing of the NW Master Plan, the utilization of smart codes, the new knowledge of a great tool called green infrastructure/low impact development will improve community and recreation and foster the value of natural open space.  It will make us a more productive, healthier and it will be a boost to our commerce.

"It has been said that following environmental principles is contrary to business.  That to be “green” is to be anti-business.  100 years ago if you favored separating residences from factories with new-fangled zoning rules, you were labeled anti-business. As we know now zoning fostered better business and living standards.  Back in the 60’s and 70’s if you favored cleaning our air and waterways, you were labeled anti-business.  However, improving the quality of our air and waterways has led to more productive communities and healthier and happier work and living spaces.  Today, one favoring modern development practices and green infrastructure/low impact development is often labeled “anti-business”.  The truth is that being green is not the antithesis of commerce – but the partner. Our care for the environment, our natural world and our eco-systems of which we as humans are just a small part, will only lead to better lives for us all.

"There are so many to thank for this day: those who worked so hard on the petition drive; the Dover Kohl team; all the citizens who participated in the charrettes: the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition particularly Scott Cutler, Judy Ackerman, Pat White, Joyce Ford, Jane Fowler and Richard Teschner; City Staff particularly Matthew McElroy, Carlos Gallinar, Elizabeth Gibson, David Coronado and Lupe Cuellar. State Park officials: Deirdre Hisler and Dr. Cesar Mendez.  For the PSB/EPWU – Dr. Rick Bonart, Ed Escudero and Katherine Brennand and especially Pat Adauto and Risher Gilbert and ultimately John Balliew and Mr. Ed Archuleta. Thanks also to Charlie Wakeem and the Open Space Advisory Board for its hard work.  And I thank you on City Council for your patience and for allowing this work to be done deliberately and well even if it took more than a year; and I thank you, Mayor Cook, for your leadership and wisdom, and our city attorneys headed by Sylvia Firth. 

"Today in El Paso there are those who would divide us. There are those who want our city to be “us against them”, “my group against your group”.  But look what we accomplished together: a new vision that is pro-commerce as well as green.  We overcame our mistrust of each other and we happily discovered that we were working side by side and shoulder to shoulder.  To those who would divide who see only negatives let us respond together that we can be visionary and innovative.  We can grasp for our future.  Let us all remember that El Pasoans work best when we work together."

Scenic Corridor Petition Reaches Conclusion with Land Transfer

Tomorrow, 3 items on the City Council agenda (5A, B and C), if passed, will in essence finish the work begun with the Scenic Corridor petition. The actual language of the petition cannot come before Council until April.  If tomorrow's ordinances are passed, then the petition item for April will be deleted as a matter of procedure.

The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, which sponsored the petition I wrote and the petition drive that I spearheaded, sent out this notice:

"On Tuesday, 5 March, City Council will decide whether to transfer 658 acres of City owned land for inclusion in the Franklin Mountains State Park (FMSP).  Please plan to attend and contact Mayor Cook and all City Council members to express your support for our State Park.  Contact information is at the City website.

"Transferring 658 acres of City land to the FMSP (owned/managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department [TPWD]) unquestionably benefits our park and preserves some of the Transmountain Scenic Corridor.  Many El Pasoans demonstrated their support for conservation of this City-owned land when they signed the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition (FMWC) petition, first circulated in August 2010.  Please encourage City officials to approve this transfer.

"The land transfer is agenda item 5C.  You can read the agenda and the detailed attachment on the city website:

http://www.elpasotexas.gov/muni_clerk/city_council.asp

You may sign-up to speak on any agenda item by contacting the City Clerk at  cityclerk@elpasotexas.gov."

The notice does not include the fact that, along with the preservation of 658 acres of land, additional land making up the arroyos will be preserved by smart code re-zoning in 5B. In addition, the entire process means that a vastly better Northwest Master Plan has been created using smart code. City Development will be adding GI/LID features - a new tool in their tool box because of the petitioners efforts. 

I plan to say a few words to Council following the presentation by City Planner Carlos Gallinar.

It Starts Tomorrow!

Click to enlarge image.

Canutillo Independent School District
7965 Artcraft Road


Canutillo High School
6675 South Desert Boulevard

2 More Opportunities for Open Space Advocates

The City of El Paso through its Planning and Development Department and Dover Kohl Partners  invite you to the Northwest Masterplan Charrette which will be held January 23^rd - January 27^th. The charrette will allow residents and stakeholders to be involved in the formulation of a new master plan for 1,850 acres of land along Transmountain Rd west of the Franklin Mountains State Park and east of the El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline. 

As part of the planning effort, they have scheduled two stakeholder meetings to discuss 1) open space issues and 2) hike and bike trail issues. These stakeholder meetings will be held on January 23^rd at the design studio located at the Canutillo ISD Administrative Offices (7965Artcraft Road).

Meeting #1 (Open Space Issues):  3 pm – 5 pm

Meeting #2 (Hike and Bike Trail Issues):  5 pm – 7 pm

If you are unable to attend these meetings, the design studio will be open January 23^rd – January 27^th from 9 am to 7 pm. Please stop by to provide additional input on the plan and to see how the plan is progressing. In addition, the following public meetings have been scheduled to update residents on the planning effort.

1. Hands-On Session:

Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 5 pm to 9 pm

Canutillo High School Auditorium

6675 S. Desert Boulevard

2. Northwest Masterplan Work in Progress:

Saturday, January 28, 2012, 9 am to 12 pm

Canutillo High School Auditorium

6675 S. Desert Boulevard

Hopefully you are able to attend these events. If you are able to attend the stakeholder meetings, please confirm your attendance so that they can make sure to have enough seats for everyone. Contact Fred Lopez, AICP, CNU-A with the Planning and Economic Development Department of the City of El Paso, 915-541-4322.

Charrette Schedule Set for Scenic Corridor

Click to enlarge image. Which view do you want?

It's time to commit to attending critical planning sessions to save the Scenic Transmountain Corridor. This is what our petition is all about. 

Representative Susie Byrd sent out this notice:

"Help protect the Transmountain Scenic Corridor by participating in planning the 1,800 acres of land owned by the City of El Paso that is adjacent to the Texas State Park and straddles Transmountain Road. This is a great opportunity to weigh in on how and where we want development leading up into the Texas State Park. Preserving the Scenic Corridor and caring for the land and ecosystems depend on our participation.

Please commit to being at the hands-on session. Please personally interact with the Dover Kohl and City staff teams at the design studio.

See you there!"

Northwest Masterplan Planning Sessions:

1. Hands-On Session:

Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 5PM to 9PM,

Canutillo HS Auditorium;

6675 S. Desert Boulevard, 79932

2. Northwest Masterplan Work in Progress:

Saturday, January 28, 2012, 9AM to Noon,

Canutillo HS Auditorium;

6675 S. Desert Boulevard, 79932

3. Design Studio: (Open to the Public)

Monday, January 23 to Friday, January 27, 2012

Canutillo Independent School District--Board Room

7965 Artcraft Road, 79932

Hours of Design Studio:

Monday-Friday, 9AM to 7PM 

Scott Cutler, the President of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, emailed supporters and said, "These public meetings (charrettes) will be an important opportunity, perhaps one of the only opportunities, to make sure that the scenic qualities of the west side corridor of Loop 375 are preserved. The stronger the participation by those favoring protecting this valuable scenic asset the greater the likelihood it will become part of the new master plan. [Emphasis mine.] Please make an effort to attend one or all of these meetings and let them know what you would like to happen."

Petition Update Concerns Many

People are keeping an eye on what is happening with the petition and with preserving the Scenic Corridor in perpetuity. Yesterday was the first meeting of City Council beyond sixty days from the September 20^th meeting when an update was promised. Board members of Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, Judy Ackerman and Raul Amaya, spoke to the issue during the Call to the Public. City Planning Staff will give an update next Tuesday, December 6. They will report that Dover Kohl will begin work on the Northwest Master Plan that includes the Scenic Corridor and that they should begin in late January following their completion of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Public charrettes will be scheduled around that time. Petition organizers are meeting with attorneys regarding any question about any deadline by law to proceed to a petition for a ballot referendum if necessary. The crux of the matter is trust. When all is said and done, people want to see the Scenic Corridor preserved forever.

The real question is whether SmartCode can guarantee preservation. Currently the City is sponsoring a three day workshop about SmartCode. There are about 118 people in attendance – many from the City and one that I know about from PSB. 19% of the attendees are developers. The workshop is being conducted by the Placemakers, a collection of professionals (“planners, designers, architects, an attorney, an MBA, a journalist and a marketing communications veteran”) who are city planners who promote the principles of New Urbanism – the design of walkable, diverse, compact communities.

I’ll report more about the workshop tomorrow at elpasonaturally. I was able to hear keynoter, Jeff Speck, yesterday at the workshop and at his public lecture last evening. What I heard about neighborhoods, community, walkability, health, and more is exciting and promising. It’s good news that they are here and that the City is adopting SmartCode.

You can follow Placemaker Hazel Borys on Twitter and pick-up some of the key concepts of the workshop or go to http://tweetchat.com/room/smartcode and follow the conversation about the workshop.

Of course, a huge cloud over preservation is just what TxDOT plans to do. Elpasonaturally has learned that they are already making changes that will preclude much of the landscaping with trees as previously promised to the public. It also appears that the intersection at proposed Paseo del Norte will eat up quite a bit of the corridor which will give excuse to some to go ahead with plans to plow through the natural landscape of the Scenic Corridor. These machinations may precipitate a need to proceed to a ballot.

Although he did not touch on specific highway projects such as Transmountain, Jeff Speck in his lecture last evening did give some hard evidence how such road projects have caused greater congestion and are a greater harm to the public health, safety and welfare. Adopting SmartCode and allowing TxDOT to continue these behemoth projects in El Paso are contradictions.

The time has come and gone for applications for an upcoming vacancy on the Public Service Board. I decided to apply and you can read my cover letter submitted with my resume.

Since the last e-letter promoting buying locally for the holidays, many more suggestions have been emailed to me. Check out the right hand column at elpasonaturally for new ideas for shopping including Hyundai Sun Bowl tickets, the Unitarian Universalist Community of El Paso annual Christmas bazaar, the upcoming gem and mineral show, and the Happy Hawaiian Holidaze Open Hut Arts & Crafts Fair at the Hal Marcus Gallery.

Finally, give yourself a real holiday treat this weekend on either Friday or Saturday evening. Go to Keystone Heritage Park and enjoy Luminarias by the Lake. Details here.

Begin the Process!

By a unanimous vote today, City Council gave the City Manager a green light to sign an agreement with Dover Kohl which includes updating the NW Master Plan to Smart Growth/SmartCode plan and providing a plan for the permanent preservation of the Scenic Corridor view shed. Preserving open space as called for by petition now includes preserving that open space in the context of a much better plan for Northwest El Paso.

Here is the full text of the Dover Kohl proposal:

DKPNWScope092811

Two sections were amended and all parties agreed to the amendments:

Page 4, Task 3.1

FROM THIS:

The two preferred development scenarios will be presented to the PSB and City Staff. Once DKP receives comments from the City and a selection of the one final development scenario, then the one final development scenario will be revised and resubmitted.

TO THIS:

The two preferred development scenarios will be presented to the PSB and City Staff. Once DKP receives comments from the City and a selection of the one final development scenario, then the one final development scenario will be revised and resubmitted. The final version will be submitted for approval by the PSB Board before consideration by the Mayor City Council.

AND

On Page 5, Under Item II

FROM THIS:

6.) Open Space Plan: for land to be preserved as open space to include the option(s) of a conservation easement, land trust strategy, zoning, or other mechanism for the T1 land along Transmountain Road. A conceptual plan for conservation shall be designed for the property

TO THIS:

6.) Open Space Plan: Consultant will prepare an Open Space Plan for land to be preserved IN PERPETUITY as open space along the Trans Mountain corridor. The Plan will include the option(s) of a conservation easement, land trust strategy, or other mechanism for the T1 land along Transmountain Road. A conceptual plan for conservation shall be designed for the property.

Re-zoning Will Not Jeopardize the Transmountain Project

A long time open space advocate, Dr. Bonart is an avid mountain biker and climber.

Dr. Rick Bonart is the lone voice of reason on the Public Service Board. He takes his fiduciary responsibility seriously. Yet, his insistence on reviewing contracts and seeing other documents has been thwarted by EPWU's top brass - most especially Ed Archuleta. It seems enough for the other board members to hear what Archuleta believes and then bob their heads and go along. In this manner, they conduct no real oversight over the business of the El Paso Water Utilities.

Dr. Bonart is the owner of the Belvidere Animal Clinic. His PSB bio may be viewed here. He is an avid mountain biker and rock climber.

The op-ed piece below was published by both the El Paso Times and the El Paso, Inc. this weekend.

I’ll say it again; I’m old but I’m not “old school”. Unfortunately the Westside Master Plan is both. I oppose the current version of the Westside Master Plan because it’s out dated. The Plan is not Smart Growth. The storm water system was designed before the floods of 2006 and for safety must be redesigned. Economic projections were calculated during the housing bubble, which has burst. We don’t need to scrap the whole thing, but we do need to renovate.

I’m the Citizen Advocate on the PSB. I take my position very seriously. I do the research and make decisions based on the facts. I’m uniquely qualified to comment having participated in the first PSB master planning process and the proposed expansion of Transmountain Road beginning in 2002.

Over the years the PSB has done an excellent job of water management. Conservation programs have reduced consumption to 1968 levels. The Hueco Bolson is actually refilling. Our rates are comparable to other southwestern cities. However as land managers, the PSB hasn’t done so well. We’ve developed two master plans, neither has sold. The Northeast Master Plan is currently being revised to Smart Growth, and so should the Westside Master Plan.

Contrary to popular belief, the PSB does not own land. However, there are some very good reasons for the PSB to manage land, such as protecting the water supply and preventing leapfrog development.

Any responsible discussion about preserving open space in the Westside Master Plan must consider the financial consequences. Land sales do not significantly affect El Paso water rates. The yearly gross income for the PSB/EPWU is about 175 million. Land sales accounted for only 0.2% of revenues. Prior to May 2010 and before impact fees, infrastructure costs associated with land sales, probably resulted in a net loss to rate payers.

While private developers expect to realize profits on retail sales. The PSB is a wholesaler, who unlike private developers remains fiscally responsible for maintaining infrastructure in perpetuity. Development simply doesn’t pay for itself, and that’s one reason your taxes continue to increase even as our city grows.

The proposed 80 million dollar expansion of Transmountain Road, which passes through the Westside Master Plan, has focused the spotlight on these issues. Zoning changes in the Westside Master Plan will not affect the Transmountain Road project. The PSB has already provided TxDOT with all necessary rights of way and even voted to increase that amount to match additional private developers’ contributions.

The real danger to these projects is poor planning by TxDOT. They have failed to produce the required environmental studies. The proposed Plexxar overpass is our “bridge to nowhere” and possibly illegal. The entrance to Tom Mays needs to be reconsidered.

I’m not some tree hugger against all development. I want higher paying jobs to come to El Paso. However, to compete successfully with other cities and attract those types of employers, we need to offer amenities including more open space, parks, additional outdoor recreational opportunities, and scenic beauty. Quality jobs increase the bottom line much more than land sales.

As your advocate on the Board, here’s what I think we need to do. Don’t be confused by the rhetoric or bullied by scare tactics. Contact your city representative and support Council’s effort to save more Open Space and update the Westside Master Plan. Participate in the upcoming public comment period for the Transmountain expansion. Petition TxDOT, ask them to modify their project into the best possible design. Transmountain Road and the Westside Master Plan will impact your family’s quality of life for decades to come. We deserve better.

Cook Opposes Natural Open Space

"Warmest regards" from John Cook. Click to enlarge.

After my October 21^st e-letter, I received more positive responses than I have ever before. “That’s awesome!” “Your newsletters on this issue are brilliant.” “You rock.” “Here! Here! Great work!” These were just a few of the very positive and encouraging messages that I got. I did get one negative response however:

“Jim:

Thanks for including me on your e-mail so I can follow how you continue to insult me and other members of the Public Service Board.

So now you've become an expert on land valuations too? Figures don't lie, Jim, but in your case liars figure.

Warmest regards,

John F. Cook
Mayor of El Paso, Texas

To say that message is beneath the office and dignity of the Mayor of the great City of El Paso just about goes without saying. Warmest regards?

Elpasonaturally has learned that Mayor John Cook has changed his position on the rezoning of land along Trans Mountain. As a member of the Public Service Board, he voted with the PSB resolution not to rezone land in the Northwest Master Plan to natural open space – a resolution which urges him to veto any attempt at rezoning by Council. The resolution was adopted at last Friday’s PSB strategic planning meeting. The vote for the resolution opposing re-zoning was 6-1. Only Dr. Richard Bonart opposed it.

I suggest that all of you email John Cook and let him know how you feel.

You can try emailing him at mayor@elpasotexas.gov but that probably goes to an assistant and not directly to him and probably never will. Instead email him at johnfcook@sbcglobal.net – the email address from which he wrote me his “dignified” message. Better yet, email one address and copy the other.

Remember that the City Plan Commission will take up the proposal at its November 4^th meeting at 1:30 p.m. Please send your comments now to Maria Acosta -AcostaMD@elpasotexas.gov. If you can, please plan to go to the meeting. Meeting information is here. You can sign up to speak.

If you haven’t, please also sign the petition and gather more signatures. Go to www.franklinmountains.org to download the hard copy of the petition or ask others to sign online at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-el-pasos-franklin-mountains/. There are now 1,025 online responses – and many more hard copy signatures!

Let’s just take a moment to go over what we can expect the “other side” to say about us and what their arguments are:

I had not expected the ad hominem attack of being called a “liar”. Some have however questioned my estimate of the land value and suggested that my estimate was too low. Their statements are certainly reasonable. Even if comparables on the land in question are higher, run the numbers and you still get very little back in the way of public benefit or monetarily as a private rate payer. In fact, it is what you pay as a rate payer month after month that really finances the operations of the El Paso Water Utility. Also, paying down the bond debt can never be done simply by selling land over a period of time. Simply put, bond ratings are not affected by zoning.

But, let’s say that, in the case of the Trans Mountain land in question in the Northwest Master Plan, the rate payer does get something financially significant in return. Two things: First, the City has to increase services to this area and that’s additional tax dollars to support that portion of development that can even run in the red (as seen recently) not to mention all of the additional costs to you as an EPWU rate payer to maintain the infrastructure in the area! Preserving beautiful open space is always much cheaper than developing and accruing ongoing responsibilities for services (you know – fire, police, streets, parks, schools, etc. – all the things you pay for with your tax dollars.)

More to the point is what one of you said in an email to me: any of us would pay much more to preserve this beautiful natural space. Cost of a new water tank and lift station: $6 million. Cost of services: millions of dollars more. Cost of preserving the beautiful Trans Mountain scenic corridor: Priceless.

My comparables may have been low. (Or maybe not. The real value of the land – and we are dealing with averages among commercial and residential properties – is what someone is willing to pay on the day you need to sell.) The beauty of the land along Trans Mountain in the Northwest Master Plan is incomparable!

The PSB will say that the Master Plan preserves arroyos and open space, etc. If that’s a value, then let’s preserve it all. What we get back for sales just doesn’t justify developing any of it. Besides, we have all seen how arroyos get preserved – in concrete! Over a year ago I participated in a cactus rescue for land above Redd Road. We were told not to harvest cacti in one area because the developer was going to keep that natural. What really happened? It all got bulldozed away.

Besides, the Northwest Master Plan wasn’t really derived from a consensus of stakeholders; and, even if it had been, that consensus is now gone and new ways of doing development and preserving natural open space really cry out for revising any plan. That the PSB paid $700,000 for the plan is no reason to pursue a bad plan. (Note that, if all the land is rezoned as Natural Open Space, there will be no need to do another master plan.)

Byrd’s proposal of preserving just 900 acres of the NW Master Plan as NOS is a good compromise. Unfortunately, the PSB is intransigent about giving up one single acre. They want the power to tell us how our land is used – and that power they now cling to.

Expect the PSB to marginalize you and me as misfits and “tree huggers” – not a mainstream of regular folk. I know many of those who have signed the petition and some of those who are on my email lists. Demographics come from all areas of the City, all professions and all political persuasions. Copies of emails written by many of you were included in yesterday’s packet of materials for the regular Open Space Advisory Board meeting. There were emails from PhD’s, business owners, home owners, business administrators, educators, architects, professors, etc. This is hardly a group of misfits.

Expect them to say that they are the only experts and should alone be trusted. What is the adage? Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

A few more of their arguments:

1. It’s unnecessary to rezone any of the land as NOS as their plan preserves open space (as concrete).

2. There will be a $20,000,000 revenue loss (about $1/month/ratepayer over 10 years not accounting for additional costs of infrastructure, maintenance, other taxable services to the tax payer – and this assumes only today’s number of rate payers of 177,000.)

3. Development will go to NM and we will lose $12,000,000/year in taxable revenue (but won’t accrue the higher service costs – besides didn’t NM already preserve all that land north as open space? Also, so what? Where is it written that we must always expand to get more revenue to pay for more services? There are plenty of people who live in New Mexico and work in El Paso. We benefit as they pay sales tax and we don’t pay for additional services.)

4. There will not be water and sewer service for adjacent lands. (Sure there can be – easements for added water tanks and pumping stations can always be worked out without building office buildings, houses, big box stores and more.)

PSB Land Sales Produce Negligible Results

Mr. Archuleta and the PSB continue to contend that their policy of selling land for development is saving the rate payers money. In fact, when associated expenses are considered, math errors corrected, and the “spin” debunked, we can make an apples to apples comparison and show that those savings are negligible.

In his most recent presentation to City Council, Mr. Archuleta estimated the cost of Representative Byrd’s plan to set aside 868 acres for a scenic corridor on Trans Mountain at $28 million. That works out to over $32,000 per acre! This number is quite an exaggeration when you realize that land at the Palisades was purchased for $12,250/acre and at Resler and Thunder Canyons for $20-21,000/acre. Hunt backed out of a deal in the Northeast because the price of $26,000/acre was deemed to be too high.

A price based on a sales of a comparable place is $17,500/acre and not Mr. Archuleta’s $32,000/acre. When you realize that only 415 of the 868 acres are developable anyway, the math really begins to change.

PSB’s costs associated with providing infrastructure are about $7,500 per acre. The real cost of Representative Byrd’s plan is $17,500/acre less of costs of $7,500 X 415 acres comes out to be $4.2 million – not $28 million.

Now consider that there are currently 177,000 rate payers and on average 3,000 new rate payers are added each year. Take that $4.2 million over a 10 year amortization period (number of rate payers equals 207,000) and you get a one-time savings by all rate payers of 17 cents per month!

17 cents!

One last little detail: When Mr. Archuleta totaled land use in the 868 acres to get $28,000,000, he estimated 66 acres of drainage/trails at 10,000/acre or $6,600,000 according to the total in his presentation. Do the math. $10,000/acre X 66 = $660,000 not $6 million dollars. That $28,000,000 shrinks to less than $23,000,000.

Archuleta knows this, and so does his top brass. When will members of the Public Service Board stop being “yes” people and begin exercising some proper oversight?

As for us rate payers: Ask yourself, when did you ever see your water bill go down? If we are saving all these millions of dollars, when do we see an actual reduction in the bill?

Would you pay 17 cents per month to save the scenic corridor of Trans Mountain? Are you going to keep sacrificing your children’s and grand children’s quality of life because Mr. Archuleta says you can’t afford 17 cents a month.

PSB’s land policy seems arbitrarily determined and designed to benefit a select few. So why do we do it? It may very well be that this is one way that Mr. Archuleta maintains power. He says what we buy and sell. He dictates what land can be preserved and what land must be bulldozed. The reason for the policy seems to be one big power trip. For that egoism, we could lose the natural beauty of the Trans Mountain Corridor!

We actually should rezone all of the NW Master Plan as Natural Open Space. Short of that is the Byrd plan which also includes eliminating one additional overpass (Paseo del Norte) which would seem to be pretty easy to do without losing $80,000,000 for a highway project. We should question how another intersection (Plexxar) which was never a part of the Master Thoroughfare Plan even got to be included in the TxDOT freeway plan; and we should, at the very least, insist on a new Northwest Master Plan failing rezoning all of that land as NOS.

Zoning Has Nothing to Do with Bond Ratings

Back on February 9, 2010, the City Council effectively nixed a proposal from Open Space to down zone some PSB land. The proposal had already won the approval of the Legislative Review Committee. No sooner had the LRC said "yes", EPWU top brass and City of El Paso staff went to work to defeat it in regular Council. The motion was finally made to delete the item so that no action was ever taken on it.

I remember that City Council meeting well. There had also been a lengthy debate about the United States drug war and whether Council should recommend that drug legalization be taken up by Congress. It was a long day. The minutes of Council do not reflect what really happened. The item regarding down zoning was moved to just about the very end of the meeting. Many who wished to speak in favor of down zoning had to eventually leave. Ed Archuleta had conveniently disappeared and did not re-appear until the end of the day. The Mayor insisted that he needed to be there for the discussion. The minutes only show the item discussed in the same order as posted in the agenda.

During the discussion about down zoning, EPWU officials argued that down zoning would affect their bond ratings. I sadly recall that they trotted out an older gentleman as an expert (and he probably was) who couldn't quite spit out the words that zoning affects bond rating. They whisked him away and brought another man to the podium who backed Archuleta's contention that, indeed if Council down zones, PSB's bond ratings would go to hell in a hand basket.

I write this only because we will soon face a Council decision on the public land (our land) managed by the PSB that is east of gas line road in the scenic corridor of Trans Mountain - land described in the NW Master Plan. EPWU brass will resist re-zoning to Natural Open Space. I will bet you nothing that they will resort to the same false argument that zoning affects bond ratings.

El Paso Water Utility bonds are rated by Fitch Ratings. In a conversation with one of the directors from the Austin, Texas office, I was told that zoning is not specifically mentioned in their criteria. They consider 4 areas: financing, debt and capital, service area, and legal documents. Over the last many years, zoning was not a major part of any discussion about bond ratings. Another El Pasoan had already learned that there are about 100 parameters Fitch uses to establish bond rating. 20 are objective and 80 are subjective. Zoning was not a parameter. A long-term, expert observer in El Paso told me that "the idea that downzoning PSB land damages their bond rating is crap."

Read the Fitch Rating publication, 2010 Water and Sewer Medians. (You may have to register in order to view this report.)

So, by law - by law - PSB cannot own land but can only act as an agent of the City and City Council can do whatever they want with land regardless of PSB's recommendations or the recommendations of the CEO of the EPWU . . . and, now it is clear that zoning does not affect bond rating as EPWU brass would have had us believe, then there is no excuse for this City Council not to re-zone everything in the NW Master Plan as Natural Open Space so that future City Council members won't claim that their hands were tied. Now is the time to do the right thing - preserve the scenic, natural Trans Mountain corridor.

A Greater Threat Than Any Quarry

When it appeared that Avispa Quarry would swallow a portion of FEMA 41A, the arroyo long designated as the mountain to river corridor, there was an outcry not just from environmental groups but all those who desire to preserve the natural beauty of the Franklin Mountains. The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition began an information campaign and promoted a petition. The issue was finally resolved and quieted when Stanley Jobe worked with the GLO to grant an easement to the PSB that would preserve the arroyo as it passes through the land that Mr. Jobe had leased for mining. It appears now that the Jobe quarry was a far smaller threat than what is being proposed by TxDOT and quietly promulgated by Ed Archuleta, the President and CEO of the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board.

On Tuesday, the City Council agreed to an $80 million TxDOT plan to convert a portion of Trans Mountain Road into a freeway that would include 4 overpasses. For the El Paso Times story, go here. Also, check out the excellent slide show presentation given to Council by Open Space Advisory Board chairman, Charlie Wakeem. I will refer to certain slides in this post.

Transmountain - Wakeem

As slide 3 shows, the first 1.5 miles of land from I-10 going east on Trans Mountain is privately owned. Those landowners have vested rights and can develop under the ordinances in place when they applied to develop. However the land also had a mountain development area overlay which allowed some concessions for developing this area. These concessions mean that land must be re-vegetated, well landscaped and there must be a hike and bike trail that matches the Pat O'Rourke Trail along Resler. Although TxDOT does not have to follow those conditions, I have learned that Chuck Berry of TxDOT has pledged that he will.

But here is where the real concern is: beyond that first stretch of 1.5 miles is another stretch of 1.7 miles most of which falls east of the gas line road. Mr. Wakeem pointed out that the gas company picked a good place for the road as it navigates flat land for the most part. It is beyond that point that we come to beautiful foothills on PSB land below the Franklin Mountains State Park. Also just beyond the gas line road to the east is Paseo del Norte - a "line" that could become a major thoroughfare with a freeway overpass built where it intersects with Trans Mountain as part of the $80 million project.

Take a look at Charlie's slide 8. It looks east along Trans Mountain and he has identified where gas line road is. Note the lovely hills just beyond that. Now imagine plenty of residential areas and some commercial all lining the Paseo del Norte thoroughfare serviced by a 24 to 28 foot freeway overpass. Say goodbye to the beautiful Franklin Mountains. Now, when people enjoy the view from the Upper Sunset Trail or Mundy's Gap, they will look down on rooftops and concrete and asphalt and interchanges and more. It's all part of the Northwest Master Plan (See slide 4) and the Archuleta plan to make more money for the utility (to buy more water outside of El Paso because it won't be that many more decades when we will have to find more water because we are encouraging unsustainable sprawl and destroying our natural mountainside in the process.)

To prevent the PSB plan from going further, City Council Representative Steve Ortega proposed on Tuesday that the entire PSB area beyond gas line road be rezoned NOS - Natural Open Space. That immediately got the reaction from Ed's buddy, Mayor John Cook, that they would have to run that by the PSB first. Really? What about the Open Space Advisory Board? What about CPC? What about the fact that the decision is really City Council's. Ever hear of the tail wagging the dog?

But here are the real rubs: Nothing has ever been zoned NOS and Ed Archuleta has always opposed a Natural Open Space zoning designation. There is no bigger threat to his plans. I have learned that already some on Council are backing off the idea of rezoning the PSB land NOS. If that is the case, why are OSAB members wasting their time reviewing this matter per their charge to do so under ordinance, when it appears that members of Council will capitulate anyway?

Note that the proposal for a freeway never came before OSAB in the first place even though its enabling ordinance clearly states that it has purview over all MDA cases. In addition, one wonders how well this TxDOT freewau would fit into the overall plan that is being developed by the one of the best consulting firms in the country, Dover Kohl: Plan El Paso. A presentation by Representative Byrd revealed that she understands modern traffic planning. However, others didn't quite seem to get it. But let's keep spending big bucks for excellent consultants and just not do what they suggest. I can hear it now when Dover Kohl comes back with their plan - "Oh had we only known this before the freeway vote!"

I sincerely hope that a line will be drawn in the sand - Gas Line Road and nothing beyond it that is public land can ever be developed which means there is no need for an overpass at Paseo del Norte. Besides, imagine how much traffic will be generated if the Berry/Archuleta scheme goes forward. Also consider that fact that, before the $80 million, there was no need for doing anything at Paseo del Norte. Suddenly under the new plan, something must be done; after all, we have $80 million to spend.

It would be good for the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition to muster its forces again and launch another campaign to save the mountains. After all, a bigger threat than the Avispa quarry is before us now. A threat, by the way, that will soon be duplicated by the powers to be on Castner Range - count on it.