Stop Mountain Development in Northeast El Paso

From our friends at Franklin Mountains Wilderness Society:

ATTEND City Council! 
An outpouring of attendance at City Council can spur their action.
!!  Attend  !!
What:  City Council Meeting, Call to the Public
Date:   Tuesday, 19 Apr 2016
Time:  8 am
Location:  City Hall, 300 N. Campbell. MAP
Sign up to speak during Call to the Public HERE.  
Sign up to speak on “Save Our Sierras” (SOS) even if you change your mind later.  That way your opinion counts.  

Why:  City Council must commit to, and initiate negotiations with willing land owners in order to preserve privately owned land around our mountains.  The owners of this land have stated their willingness to sell or trade.
Background:  Land owners plan to develop over 600 acres in Northeast El Paso between Hondo Pass and McKelligon Canyon, including the Sierra del Puerte development.

Recent Events:

On 5 Apr, SOS and Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition (FMWC) members asked City Council to stop the Sierra del Puerte development on our mountainside in Northeast El Paso.  City Council heard us.  Now we need to follow through.  Our message is simple: “Only City Council has the power to protect our mountains.” and “What has the City done on negotiating with the land owners?”   You can view the entire 5 Apr meeting HERE under City Council Meetings for that date.

On 9 Apr, the El Paso History Radio Show interviewed land owners Sherry Mowles and Dan Knapp about their plans for developing and the history of their land.  You can listen to the entire interview HERE.  

On 24 Mar City Planning Commission approved all exceptions to the Planned Mountain Development subdivision code that the developer requested.  The reason the developer needed exceptions was because of “severe topographical conditions.”  Members of Save Our Sierras spoke in opposition and you can view the entire meeting HERE under City Planning Commission for that date.

!!  Attend  !!
!! Sign up to Speak!!

Our Mountains need your presence and your voice.

Save Our Sierras!

Save the Sierras

Here's another Derek Spear video produced yesterday and uploaded to his YouTube page, Adventure Drone. About this video, Derek writes: "Flight over the eastern slopes of the Franklin Mountains. The site is currently being studied for a planned development called Sierra del Puerte. Save Our Sierras was formed as a committee of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition in an effort to preserve the area in its natural state."

The Knapp family has been trying to sell the property to the City for several years now. My understanding is that they want a very reasonable price. The land including arroyos is beautiful. I have hiked there and I can tell you that there is a spot which always makes me stop and keep silent. It is a place where I have experienced the numinous as Rudolf Otto named it in his book The Idea of the Holy: mysterium tremendum et fascinans. 

This land is powerful and beautiful. We have already developed too much of our mountainsides. The family that owns it wants to preserve it also. The City needs to step up and care.

An Open Letter to All Those Who Attended OSAB Yesterday

"We the People" begin to gather for yesterday's Open Space Advisory Board meeting.

To all of you great people who attended the Open Space Board meeting yesterday and spoke out during the call to the public:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: "Leadership for real change must begin with We the People. We cannot afford to be complacent and disorganized any longer." I wrote that in a blog post apologizing to the Knapps and saying that they have every right to develop their land and have no choice but to do so since they have found no accommodation with the city after six years of trying. The land has value and it is taxable.

On the other hand, I hope that they don't develop. They like you and me value our mountainsides. It's not them. It's the city and the politics of the city. Money for open space is drained for pork barrel projects, the park ponds. Money evaporates because of bureaucratic failures. Money protects the monied interests and not the interests of the public. Who pays for it? You and me. Just look at your ridiculous property taxes. If you are a business person, just look at all the waste caused by onerous city rules and regulations. If our city politicians had the will to do what is right and not what is in the interest of their big contributors, we could do more with improving our infrastructure, preserving our natural treasures of mountains, desert and wetlands, and restoring our historic buildings. 

People spoke out.

Each of you yesterday took a giant leap for that leadership for real change. "We the People" came to OSAB yesterday.

As a member of that board and as someone who wants to see real change in this city, I was elated by your presence. You were not there in vain. Although the issue of the Sierra del Puente development was not on the agenda, it has been an item of discussion before. You came to discuss your real concerns during the call to the public which was perfectly appropriate. Since Sierra del Puente and the Stoney Hill property are open spaces with clear stormwater functions, you came to the right place. Also, just the fact that you came - nearly a 100 of you - has already sent a message to city government. You spoke truth loudly to power.

Mayor Cook and Chris Cummings were right. The next step is to call your representatives. Rep. Carl Robinson was there and said that he was already working with the Mayor on the issue. State Rep. Joe Moody urged board members to discuss the issue with the representatives who appointed them. I sure plan to speak with Claudia Ordaz, a great public servant.

Your points were good ones: the concern about flooding, overcrowding of already overcrowded schools, protection of the viewshed and access to the State Park, protection of wildlife including endangered or protected wildlife and protecting your homes from damage caused by preparing that rough landscape for development.

You made your points. You were in the right place. You will take the next steps. Work with the Knapps. Work with your Neighborhood Associations. Work with Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition. Work with the City. After yesterday, you have their ears. Be ceaseless and enthusiastic. 

elpasonaturally is with you. Make this your podium too.

For those of you who draw inspiration from books of scripture, here's the beginning of the 121st Psalm:

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, 
the Maker of heaven and earth."

Lift up your eyes to the mountains. There is inspiration and motivation right there.


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Save Our Sierras

[A new group has formed: Save Our Sierras. It consists of neighbors below the proposed Sierra del Puente and Stoney Hills developments. Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition is sending out a call to action in their newest e-letter. Below is a list of actions and how you can help.]

Development Next to Mountainside Neighborhood

Are you ready for a swath of new houses between your home and our Franklin Mountains?  The heirs to Dick Knapp are working on development plans for the hundreds of acres they own between McKelligon Canyon and Hondo Pass.  You may have seen bulldozers and graders “improving” roads so that surveyors will have access.  Land owners are carefully abiding by all regulations and are within their rights.

However, development of our pristine mountain sides is NOT inevitable.  Creation of our Franklin Mountains State Park (FMSP) in 1979 and preservation of Kern View Estates II in April of this year demonstrate that citizen action can result in critical land conservation.

To protect our mountains, all neighbors must organize and take action to inform City officials of their desire that the land at the eastern edge of the Franklin Mountains State Park remain in its natural state. 

Please attend the next Open Space Advisory Board meeting and bring your friends and neighbors.  Anyone can speak during “Call to the Public.”  The agenda should include items related to this development.

Wednesday, August 5th, 2015, 3:00 P.M.

City 3 Building, 801 Texas Avenue

Basement, Thorman Conference Room

Other options to TAKE ACTION:

1.      Join the Mountainside Neighborhood Association.

2.      Join the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition at FranklinMountains.org.

3.      Stay informed with blogs such as ElPasoNaturally.com.

4.      Attend meetings such as City Council and Open Space Advisory Board.

5.      Make your voice heard!

YOU can help save our sierras!

To sign the petition and for more information contact judy Ackerman, jpackerman53@gmail.com, 915-755-7371.

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Questions Raised about Knapp Dozers

Area above Stoney Hill Drive

Alarms went off today including an investigation by the El Paso City Police. The Knapp family has taken up an old habit: bulldozing the mountain. The Save Our Sierra Group of local homeowners quickly spread the word that roads were being plowed.

There are some issues. Grading more than 20% of one's land may require a permit. Grading within the Mountain Development District does need a permit. Making sure that the dozing happens only on private land and not State land is imperative. 

I called Elizabeth Gibson in permits and asked her to check on permitting for the dozing. When she learns more, she will get back with me.

Also above Stoney Hill Drive

The bulldozer operators insisted that they were only plowing existing roads. Yet an eye-witness who hiked the area just two days ago says otherwise. 

A development plan for a portion of this area passed the CPC a few months ago. However, there is no final plan approved for building. Apparently in the meantime, the Knapps have no problem tearing up the ecosystem of the mountain area. 

If they had wanted to sell their land to the City, this isn't the way to go about it. To say the least, folks are up in arms.

Above Gunnison Drive

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City Purchases Mesa View Estates

From El Paso Development News

This morning City Council voted unanimously to purchase the land from Piedmont Group, LLC known as Mesa View Estates II. Community leader, Ellen Esposito, announced the purchase with this message:

"Today, the City of El Paso City Council approved the purchase of 15.57 acres known as Kern View Estates II, owned by Piedmont Group LLC.  The purchase and preservation of this critical open space resulted from the collaborative efforts of El Paso city staff and Piedmont Group LLC. The support and guidance of Representative Ann Lilly were invaluable. 

"Please extend your thanks to the City Representatives and Mayor Leeser for approving this purchase.  And thank YOU for your interest in protecting  the Franklin Mountains of El Paso."

El Paso Development News did a story about it the other day and has received two negative (and, quite frankly, ignorant) responses from one unidentified person who seems spitefully envious of the people in Kern Place and Mesa Hills. The fact of the matter is that the citizens of El Paso voted to have $5 Million of the Quality of Life Bonds go to open space. Another $5 Million was set aside for parks. They are two different items. The land on the western slope of Crazy Cat provides an access to the State Park other than the Palisades or the North Stanton and Kenyon Joyce trailheads. The development presented both traffic and stormwater challenges. 

Land on the mountain sides should be preserved. QofL open space funds are now about $4.5 Million. Could it be that some of that money can be used to purchase from the Knapp family the mountainside portion of Sierra del Puente?

Sierra del Puente Protest Begins

The backlash against plans to develop Sierra del Puente has begun. A number of people from surrounding Mountain Park and other neighborhoods gathered yesterday to view the area behind their homes where a stack and pack development will most assuredly obscure their view of the mountains. 

Some initial organizing began.

There are some lingering questions the biggest of which is why the Open Space Advisory Board never set this land as a priority and pursued buying it? It had been mentioned by OSAB members on several occasions. Why was there no staff follow through? Will the City be interested as they seem to be in land near Mesa Heights?

Stay tuned on this one, folks.

Will Stack and Pack Development Really Preserve Arroyos?

The image is from El Paso Development News which reports, "The site plan for a new residential development in Northeast El Paso shows streets winding around arroyos and open space. (City of El Paso)

The City Plan Commission (CPC) approved a land study for 175.45 acres above Magnetic and just to the south of Hondo Pass. The planned development is being called Sierra del Puente. This is an area that some on the Open Space Advisory Board had asked on several occasions to be considered for acquisition. 

El Paso Development News has the story.

The land owned by Daniel Knapp and Palo Verde Properties plans to build 319 residential units on 70 acres while preserving 88 acres of arroyos and open space. One land expert commented: "This is a stack and pack in order to squeeze all the units on there – which is what they have to do to get their money out of it.  I sure hope the surrounding neighborhoods object to it.  I hate to see that happen to the mountain."

Maybe but, if they use green infrastructure/low impact development and preserve (not concrete) the arroyos, it may be a worthwhile (albeit expensive) enterprise. I've hiked with Dan Knapp and know that he loves our mountains.

When the CPC reviewed the land study, commissioners asked whether anyone from the public had comments. There were none. One wonders how well the neighborhood was informed about the project.

One also wonders whether years of Charlie Wakeem's mentioning the area at OSAB resulted in any attempts to contact the owners about selling the land. OSAB members often waste their breaths at City Planning.

By the way, El Paso Development News is great. Get on their email list.