City Council Chooses Scenario 1

Click to enlarge.

Today El Paso City Council chose the first of three Dover Kohl proposals for developing the NW, preserving the Transmountain view shed, and reaching a compromise between the old 2005 PSB master plan and the petitioners request for preserving nearly 800 acres in perpetuity. Representative Niland made the motion and Representative Noe seconded it. The motion also carried four Open Space Advisory Board caveats:

1. A conservation easement be used to preserve open space
2. Bridges not box culverts be used to cross arroyos
3. More pocket parks considered and not large neighborhood or regional parks
4. Encroachment into arroyos be minimized to the extent possible by lining with linear parks and that arroyos not be lined with concrete.

A fifth caveat added by OSAB at its special meeting last week (that Paseo del Norte not be connected to Transmountain provided that the Fire Department can provide safe access to the neighborhood without that connection) was not included.


A no-build option was the favorite of most of the people at Council from the environmental community. Scenario 2 was seen as an acceptable compromise by many of them and was the preferred option by Representatives Lilly, Byrd and Ortega. In fact, Ann Lilly courageously championed 2 or a hybrid of 1 and 2 for this land which is in her district. In the end by a vote of 5 to 3, the motion for 1 with the caveats passed.


Many leaving Council today were unhappy. Struck by that reaction I told a KFOX reporter that I believed that the petition will probably go forward. No-build or at best Scenario 2 were the only real options.  The Board of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition will meet tomorrow evening and, no doubt, decide whether to go forward with a petition to put the matter before voters in a referendum. 


As a member of the environmental/conservation community, the author of the petition and co-Chairman of OSAB, here are my initial reactions:


I too would be very happy that all land is preserved or just a bit developed with nothing developed north of Transmountain. For many reasons (preserving the beauty, encouraging eco-tourism and recreation, preserving more natural space and habitat, gaining the benefits (services) of natural open space, sustaining our water future - the most important and more soon on that), no-build or Scenario 2 made the most sense to me. 


However, I also think that we petitioners should declare victory and go home as they say. All 3 plans preserve the view shed. The motion called for a conservation easement. Smart growth prevailed. We wouldn't have even gotten to where we did today without the petition. Besides, development above Transmountain and the extension of Paseo del Norte may never in fact occur. Future action can curtail it.


Which means, of course, we can't really go home. Vigilance is always, always necessary. First, there is a need to be sure that all of the i's are dotted and all of the t's crossed on today's decision. Second, animal corridors must be secured as well as safe access to the State Park. As Dr. Bonart rightly pointed out today, an access road  above Transmountain as clandestinely (and we found that out today) planned by the PSB in concert with TxDOT cannot be a reality for 15 years! In less than 2, people will have to cross freeway type traffic to enter or exit the park! Another access must be found and there are alternatives. Finally, we must stay vigilant about development north. 


There were many other positives about today and about the process which led to today. City Planning Director, Matthew McElroy, said to me after the meeting that the debate today was among 3 smart growth plans. A year ago the debate would have been about conventional development. Conservatives such as Carl Robinson voted for a smart growth plan. Representative Lilly really stepped up to the plate and the environmental community should not only thank her but reconsider (as I did months ago) our stance on this past election. Ann is just a fine, fine lady.


The entire process has made Council members realize that they must re-evalutate their relationship with the PSB and that probably the City and not the PSB should do land planning. Without going into detail, the EPWU leadership and the PSB (which has no accountability to the public) has lost a great amount of capital with this one. Eyes are opened. Things won't be the same. A non-accountable PSB is not good nor is it good that the zeitgeist of that Board is typified by the pompous arrogance of Dr. Schoephoerster's stance that those with a difference of opinion from his own should be disenfranchised. It was this arrogance that Lilly mentioned at Council today. (My Quaker forebears could not serve in Parliament because they were non-conformists; women once could not vote; people of color were enslaved.)


Representative Byrd is right. People just don't want to build there and it is the voice of the people that should count. This is an issue that won't go away. Nobody could state today any advantage for building north of Transmountain. Many pointed out the disadvantages - higher taxes and rates for additional City services and infrastructure maintenance . . . scarcity of water and the threat that only a few will control supply of water in the future - a particularly nasty threat without a PSB that is either accountable or has a clue. So, vigilance means watching any attempts at future development north of Transmountain in the future. A plan and a scenario are just that - a plan and a scenario. It will be good to declare all the land inexpedient so the City has total say about a Conservation Easement and not the EPWU/PSB.


I'm counting blessings.


I'm also thinking about the rest of the City owned land north of Transmountain. 

OSAB Recommends Plan to Preserve Scenic Corridor

In its latest report on the NW Master Plan and Scenic Transmountain Corridor, Dover Kohl and Partners suggested three scenarios for development. In an earlier draft proposal, a no-build option became a de facto fourth scenario after El Pasoans gave input at a January charrette.  (See the Dover Kohl report embedded on an elpasonaturally post.  The scenarios are shown on pages 24 and 25. A map of the 2005 master plan is on page 5.) OSAB yesterday voted nearly unanimously to recommend to City Council the no-build option; and, of the 3 scenarios suggested by Dover Kohl, to recommend Scenario #2 since OSAB members wanted to respond to Council’s request to find a resolution between the differences of the old 2005 NW Master Plan and the area prescribed for preservation in the successful petition.

A packed crowd attended the OSAB meeting and a number of citizens voiced their desire to keep the land preserved. In my last e-letter, Plan El Paso Passes, I reported that, sadly, Richard Schoephoerster, a member of the PSB and the Dean of Engineering at UTEP, had marginalized the group of citizens who participated at the charrette because they were, in his words, “against construction”. In a post today, I point out that this group is not anti-construction per se, but has, for the past ten years, called for preserving the unique scenic beauty of the Transmountain corridor as it abuts the state park. It is dismaying that someone who sits on a public board should have a dismissive attitude toward those with opposing views. Moreover, I am shocked that a Dean of Engineering should have so little regard for facts and details as he revealed when he declared a dirty vacant lot in the middle of development to be natural open space.  You can watch a video clip of his declaring that those who want to preserve open space in northwest El Paso as a group with a conflict of interest.

To see the great value of natural open space, watch this excellent promotional video for El Paso.

Upon adopting Plan El Paso, kudos for the City began coming in. Do watch ABC-7’s Maria Garcia interview of Representative Steve Ortega. Past Council Representative and candidate for U.S. Congress, Beto O’Rourke, played a large role in bringing smart growth to El Paso. But the real unsung hero is Representative Susie Byrd.  She has been a true visionary on El Paso's City Council on Smart Growth and sustainable development. As the Representative of a great deal of El Paso’s traditional core, she understands the qualities that go into building complete neighborhoods and how suburban sprawl is a poor substitute. She also understands that as a city, the traditional core cannot continue to lose over 1,000 residents per year.  It is this mix of design understanding and the transition facing the core that makes her such a gifted advocate.

Much of the City's progress on building better places can be traced to Byrd’s insistence on better design. She pushed for the adoption of the Smart Code, a new Rapid Transit System, incentives for smart growth, smart code planning for PSB land and land sales, the ITE manual for Walkable Urban Thoroughfares, and a bold new urban comprehensive plan (Plan El Paso) already being called the best smart growth plan in America. The end result will a more sustainable, economically competitive city with a quality of life that rivals any other place in the Southwest.  Thank you, Susie Byrd!

City Council will take up the NW Master Plan and Scenic Corridor on Tuesday (March 20^th). It is Item #10B on the Agenda.

The new Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition newsletter is available online with information about the upcoming Poppy Fest, Party for the Planet at the Zoo, the calendar of events at the Museum of Archaeology and an appeal by the Sierra Club of El Paso as it does legal battle with the behemoth, TxDOT.

Two events this Sunday afternoon:

Awakening the Dreamer, a program about “the acceptability of a sustainable and just world” takes place March 18, from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. at All Saints Catholic Church Parish Hall, 1415 N. Dakota. (Map)  The presenter Kathleen Erickson is a long-term border activist, founder of the Women's Intercultural Center in Anthony. She now works on a national level, but is back on the border this week, leading a delegation of university students. 

Also on Sunday March 18^th, "El Paso's Hueco Tanks" TV documentary premiere and fundraiser begins at 2 p.m. at  the Scottish Rite Theater, 301 W. Missouri. You will tour Hueco Tanks like never before on TV and see El Paso's oldest and  largest art gallery.  A $3 minimum donation at the door will go to Hueco Tanks Legacy Fund,  Scottish Rite Theater, and the El Paso County Historical Society.   Filmed over 8 years, this 52-minute TV documentary is called "El Paso's Hueco Tanks."  This film takes a new approach to the many groups, such as hikers, Native Americans, rock climbers, the picnic and party set, and the State of Texas, who all claim Hueco Tanks as theirs.  A professional artist looks at the 3,000 rock images, and artist Debra Cool-Flowers draws new conclusions that impress Ph.D. anthropologists who welcome her findings.  For more information, call 533-3603. By the way, the documentary is the work of Newman Park Legacy, Jackson Polk. This film will also be shown for free at the Poppy Fest on March 31, 2012 at the Archaeology Museum at 1:15 p.m.

Finally, you may want to consider getting outdoors for some yard work,  gardening or a romp in the park. Getting dirty may be great for your mental health.

Plan El Paso Passes!

Plan El Paso Passes!

That should have been the bold front page headline for the El Paso Times this morning.  Instead we got “60-mph gusts to make driving difficult today”. This time of year that can be the headline for just about any day. The excellent Chris Roberts story, Council Oks plan for Smart Growth got shoved to an awkward place on the first page of Borderland overshadowed by Moody’s plan to take on Margo – an important race but one that will not have the long-term impact on El Paso as the new Comprehensive Plan. On the Times web site, you have to search for the Roberts story.

Okay – elpasonaturally is not written to criticize the journalism of the El Paso Times. It is worth noting that probably the most significant event for decades to come hardly got the attention that it deserved in the local rag.  Plan El Paso was facilitated by one the best (if not the best) City Planning consulting firms in the country (or even world) – Dover Kohl. The Plan was developed collaboratively with thousands of El Pasoans working with Dover Kohl and expert City Planning staff over a period of nearly two years in a 100 meetings and 20 hands-on sessions. The Chamber of Commerce took part as true El Pasoans – team members to the end. And, although the powers to be at EPWU tried to be the devil in the details, they were largely unsuccessful. At the end of the day, and it was a very long day especially for very dedicated members of City Council, the Plan was approved unanimously.

There are plenty of people to thank but let me tell you my heroes in all of this: First and foremost the Dover Kohl people led by Victor Dover, Jason King and Bill Spikowski and a cast of very smart, very creative professionals. I got to see firsthand their agonies, their angst and their getting to what was for El Paso a true Yes-Yes-Yes. Through all of this  I have come to respect, appreciate and admire deeply our City Planning staff especially Matthew McElroy, Carlos Gallinar and Fred Lopez. What an extraordinary talent it is to be able to stick to your principles while managing to bring people with differing views on board. El Paso is in good hands with this team.  Cortney Niland – Goddess! She just wouldn’t let go of her insistence that the final document tell the truth – the PSB is a land manager and not a trustee. Words are important and those words should help the current Council and City Councils of the future make right decisions when it comes to our City land. Niland also rightly insisted that the developing industry be rewarded more with park credits when they help to preserve hillsides and arroyos.  My heroes also include Rick Bonart and Steve Ortega (and by extension the great Chuck Kooshian) by keeping the Kooshian 2005 Arroyo Inventory in the Plan. Finally, I want to acknowledge Richard Dayoub,  the President and CEO of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce. I know that as a conservationist, environmentalist, “tree hugger”, I don’t always see eye to eye with the development industry of El Paso. But Dayoub saw to it that the Chamber interact in the Plan El Paso process as a team player. His words at the end of the day yesterday were very fair. The Chamber reserves the right in the future to disagree with some of the planning. He explained the toughest thing for the business community: much of the pace of the progress being made today by City Planners is hard for many businesses to follow. Like any good business person, Dayoub wants to see how changes help not hinder the bottom line. That’s fair and, if Plan El Paso is to be a living document for decades, there must be efforts to learn more and more about the advantages of Smart Growth and how to make that work for all El Pasoans. The conversation and collaboration should continue.

Of course there is a much longer list of people to thank including Larry Nance and all of the people on CPC and CPAC, Charlie Wakeem, Chairman of OSAB, City Council members (particularly Ann Lilly who personally participated in the sessions and my Representative Susie Byrd), Joyce Wilson and many more. Plan El Paso Passes! We El Pasoans should really be proud of ourselves.

Unfortunately, let’s move to the not so good news starring our old friends at EPWU/PSB and, in doing so, transition to the NW Master Plan and Scenic Transmountain Corridor.  At its special meeting this past Monday night, the PSB voted to recommend only one scenario to City Council – the one in which building takes place on both sides of Transmountain. (I’ll get into the details of this more in the next e-letter.) More egregiously, Ed Archuleta via Risher Gilbert and Pat Adauto is crafting a different “conservation strategy” than the tried and true Conservation Easement. They are calling their yet to be unveiled product a “Restrictive Conservation Covenant”.  Seemingly by announcing this “product” on Monday along with their attempts to set their own definitions for arroyos and their own rules for land management was a very clever attempt to torpedo Plan El Paso’s effectiveness when it comes to EPWU control and any real permanent preservation of natural open space in the Scenic Corridor. Archuleta insisted that arroyos will have to be hybridized and concreted and Gilbert acknowledged that their “Restrictive Conservation Covenant” will allow for “changes” on the land. She used horse riding and horse manure as examples although she should have been forthright enough to say that they are really talking culverts and pipes and tanks. (By the way, necessary utility infrastructure in land preserved by a Conservation Easement can be allowed. It is plain that where Risher Gilbert and Ed Archuleta are going is the arbitrary re-taking of land from its natural state over a period of time.  Witness Blackie Chesher Park – another matter to be given its own attention soon.)

Control has always seemingly been the raison d’être for Archuleta’s policies. Now his style of leadership is being seen increasingly as arbitrary and unreasonable by a growing number of people.

Sadly, PSB member, Richard Schoephoerster, revealed an attitude that is too clearly a part of the fabric of a Board with no accountability to the people of El Paso. When discussing the Scenarios presented by Dover Kohl for development (or no development) in NW El Paso, Schoephoerster, the Dean of Engineering at UTEP, stated that those who participated in the charrette had a conflict of interest. What was the conflict of interest? They happen to have been people who care about our environment. In other words, those with whom Mr. Schoephoerster disagrees have a conflict of interest and, therefore, have opinions and interests that should not be entertained when it comes to setting public policy. (If conflict of interest really concerns Schoephoerster, then he should look no farther than fellow board member, Maria Teran, whose business with the EPWU was a huge ethical lapse.)  Remember that it was Schoephoerster who pronounced the Johnson Basin to be natural open space. (See the video with Schoephoerster.) What several people are beginning to ask is whether the Dean of UTEP’s College of Engineering is a bad representative for UTEP as a member of the PSB. Does UTEP’s culture value those who discount the opinions of others in a free debate? Is it good to have the one who is head of engineering be so unconcerned about the facts and details of a piece of land in question and so quickly accede to the claim of another? Attention to facts and details must be critical to an engineer and future engineers must have this trait above all others.

So we head next to the hearings about the NW Master Plan and the Scenic Transmountain Corridor – issues there because of a successful petition. Just to be very clear – no permanent preservation of the land – no deal. Petitioners will begin to get enough signatures to put the matter to El Pasoans whose votes, if not opinions, PSB members cannot discount as a conflict of interest.

Economic Advantages of New Urbanism

The guiding strategy behind Plan El Paso is New Urbanism. This planning approach is also called Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) for good reason. Some of us remember or have seen and admired in older neighborhoods the homes with porches that face the street and are invitations for sociality and neighborliness. Sidewalks and trees line the streets. Shops, offices, schools and churches are nearby. The streets are connected and do not end in tragic cul-de-sacs that take a motorist forever to find connection to a major thoroughfare. New Urbanism uses designs that ease transportation, encourage walking and biking, give infill and not sprawl priority, value open spaces and parks. By the way, parks are not separated from homes by walls that fence in backyards. New Urbanism, and thus Plan El Paso (the City's Comprehensive Plan Re-Write), means lower transportation costs, placemaking, walkability - i.e., community.  But are there economic advantages?  Is there some gain that financial risk takers (developers) can achieve? Studies show that there are.


For a quick overview take a look at a simple slide show put together by Jason King of Dover Kohl, the consulting firm facilitating El Pasoans re-write of their City's Comprehensive Plan. It's called "Good Planning Is Good Business":

Good Planning is Good Business

Also take a few minutes to read "Dynamics of Master-Planned Communities by Laurie Volkand Todd Zimmerman which is found in the Appendix of Volume 2 of Plan El Paso on page C-2. I embed it here for your convenience:


Portion DRAFT ELP C Econ Dev Reports 010512

Development advantages include lower land cost per unit, lower infrastructure cost per unit, lower first-phase infrastructure cost, and greater development flexibility. Developers can expect unit price premiums and increased sales paces. Keep in mind that a well-designed environment enhances the value of property and buyers select neighborhood first and home second.


An EPA study, "The Transportation and Environmental Impacts of Infill versus Greenfield Development" [Greenfield = Suburban Edge/Sprawl] shows the advantages for infill development which include shorter vehicle trips, lower infrastructure and household travel costs, less pollution and greater access to amenities.


The closer you live to work, the more money you save on commuting. The more money that you save on commuting, the more you can pay on mortgage or rent, a benefit to builders,sellers and landlords.


Try a simple tool. Go to Abogo. Type in an address from a neighborhood that can be considered infill - Sunset Heights for example. Type in another address for a home on the edge of sprawl. Make the comparison.


Finally, take time to read "Sustainable Development: Prosperity without Growth" by Michael Kinsley and published in 1992 by the Rocky Mountain Institute. Kinsley's summary: ". . . while growth is often perceived as the only path to economic viability, the good news for both declining and growing communities is that there is an alternative. Prosperity does not require growth; it requires development that is sustainable." 


Plan El Paso, the City's Comprehensive Plan Re-Write, should be adopted and with very few changes - fewer than those proposed in a Memorandum.

City Planning Commission Approves Plan El Paso

The CPC with just a bit of editing approved the Comprehensive Plan Re-Write this afternoon by a unanimous vote. Chairman Larry Nance guided the process which included an inspirational message from City Planner, Carlos Gallinar, and a presentation by Victor Dover and Jason King of Dover Kohl, public comment from the conservation community, Chamber of Commerce persons and EPWU staff as well as a lengthy and active discussion by Commissioners.


Although the CPC's approval was a major step toward final City Council approval set for March 6, there is still over a week to go with Council's Legislative Review Committee meeting next. Here is the schedule of upcoming critical meetings:

Legislative Review Committee

Thursday, March 1, 2012, 1:30 p.m., 2^nd Floor City Hall

Public Service Board (PSB)

Monday, March 5, 2012, 5:00 p.m. 1154 Hawkins Blvd. (Map)

Not only will they discuss the Comprehensive Plan Re-write (Plan El Paso) but the NW Master Plan/Scenic Corridor issue.

City Council

Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 8:30 a.m., 2^nd Floor City Hall

Clarifying Three Major Issues

There are several items on the table now and it can get confusing. Keep these three things separate: Plan El Paso Comprehensive Plan (the City’s Comprehensive Plan re-write), Transmountain Road (Scenic Corridor) and Northwest Master Plan (sometimes referred to as the Westside Plan), and the TxDOT Transmountain West Project and the Sierra Club Lawsuit.

First, the most pressing item on the table now in terms of time is the Plan El Paso Comprehensive Plan. You can review Volumes One and Two of the Draft document online at Plan El Paso. Read the letter from the City’s Planning and Economic Development team. It  points out the level of participation and the time spent in concert with Dover Kohl & Partners developing this very forward thinking plan:

“Over the last 18 months, the City of El Paso has been engaged in one of the most exciting and publicized planning processes in over a generation–Plan El Paso, a rewrite of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.  During this time, the City partnered with Dover Kohl & Partners, one of the country’s top planning firms (www.doverkohl.com).  We met with over a thousand residents and many of you were active in giving us recommendations, drawing ideas, and expressing your hopes for a more prosperous, sustainable, and vibrant El Paso.  Nearly 20 separate community-wide meetings took place in all parts of the City.  We met with seniors, families, young professionals, developers, college students, military personnel, realtors, homeowners, and even held several “hands-on” design sessions with elementary age children.  We had over one-hundred face-to-face meetings with stakeholders and neighborhood associations, and formulated an advisory committee comprised of your friends, neighbors, and colleagues  to provide guidance.”

Know that there are some powerful El Pasoans who would like to jettison or water down the plan that all of us together helped to write. There have already been some delays in the schedule to approve the plan but it looks as if all is moving forward now.  Several meetings are coming up that will lead to a final approval of Plan El Paso. But approval is not a sure thing. Please mark your calendars for the following meetings and attend as much as you can. I will alert you prior to each meeting.

Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee

Monday, February 20, 2012, 10 a.m. to Noon, 10^th Floor City Hall

City Plan Commission

Thursday, February 23, 2012, 1:30 p.m., 2^nd Floor City Hall

Legislative Review Committee

Thursday, March 1, 2012, 1:30 p.m., 2^nd Floor City Hall

City Council

Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 8:30 a.m., 2^nd Floor City Hall

The Plan El Paso Comprehensive Plan Rewrite is steeped in the values of smart growth, walkable and sustainable communities and placemaking – making livable neighborhoods, communities and cities. We all know the existential angst we all experience: alienation from each other and our natural world, vast separations of our homes from where we work and where we shop, expansive streets and highways that are congested, our finances drained as a result of driving these distances to work and shop, our air polluted by long waits bumper to bumper, red light to red light, and our canopy of native trees and shrubs is quickly disappearing. The current designs of our communities have drained our wallets, robbed us of joy, shut us off from each other, and plagued us with a plethora of maladies – obesity, diabetes and heart disease being the leaders.

Our communities can be designed better so that we are closer to where we shop, more apt to interact with our neighbors, able to walk or drive easily, connected with our natural open spaces, and have a sense of place.

Do some homework. Read Plan El Paso. Check out the smart growth FAQs.  Read more about placemaking from Project for Public Spaces.  Google smart growth economic advantages and surf and read.

Send your comments to Carlos Gallinar, Comprehensive Plan Manager  and go to one or some or all of the meetings above and let them know that you want Plan El Paso.

One more meeting is critical. The PSB is apparently having a special meeting on March 5 at 5 or 5:30 on the 4^th floor of their building at 1154 Hawkins Blvd. (Map) Mark your calendars now because you won’t find this meeting published on their web site until the last possible moment for you to know. They will discuss the Comprehensive Plan and the NW Master Plan. They really need to hear from their public. (Weren’t we talking about firing our trustee?)

This brings us to the next issue: the Transmountain Road (Scenic Corridor) and Northwest Master Plan. My understanding is that dates for discussing this item are under discussion by the City and the PSB currently. I don’t know the next step  but I do know that the charrette work in progress presentation is now available online. An elpasonaturally post reported that the no-build option was the unanimous favorite of participants at the charrette. Still, when further meetings are set, plan to go – that’s when the bigwigs, backroom movers and shakers attend. These are the meetings that count just as the meetings listed above are the ones that count.

Some of the confusion between the Comprehensive Plan and the Northwest/Westside/Scenic Corridor plan stems from the fact that Dover Kohl has been the consultant in each. Information about the NW Plan are at Plan El Paso also.

The impetus for re-doing the Northwest Master Plan was the success of a petition guide asking that land in the Scenic Corridor be preserved and no major roads built through that land. I can tell you that all petitioners are adamant that the land be preserved and arroyos and habitats be preserved from the devastation of bulldozing and asphalting to make more of those wide and congested roads. The petition is still quite alive if preservation isn’t guaranteed. Simply put, the City Charter allows for petitioners to seek a referendum on a ballot should City Council fail to pass the ordinance prescribed by the first petition or pass an ordinance different from the first one. There is no deadline to start a second petition. At this time, both the City and petitioners have agreed to the process now facilitated by Dover Kohl. Nevertheless, a decision must be reached by the City and the PSB. If no preservation, if destruction of natural habitat and animal corridors, then expect round two of the petition to begin. All hope for agreement on the preservation of the Scenic Corridor which can come as part of a new plan developed with the help of Dover Kohl.

Thirdly, there is the TxDOT Transmountain West Project and the Sierra Club Lawsuit.  Expansion of Transmountain Road on the west side has always had some strong proponents even among those who want to preserve natural open space around it. The trouble comes from the fact that the project grew from a simple $15 million improvement to an $85 million super-freeway with an extra unneeded overpass (Plexxar) and without any practical animal corridor and any safe provision for entry and exit to the State Park. (Safe entry into the Park is yet another permutation of this issue which we will discuss later.) The El Paso Times already reported that “TxDOT officials worked closely with developers as they planned a strip of big-box stores on Trans Mountain near I-10. And when public meetings were held in February [2011], ‘plans for Transmountain had long been completed,’ according to an email Texas Transportation Commissioner Ted Houghton sent to a City Council member.” Who cares what you want.

If you want to contribute to the Sierra Club’s lawsuit, then make your check payable to “El Paso Regional Sierra Club Group” with a memo that reads “Franklin Mountain Legal Defense Fund”. Mail your check to the El Paso Regional Sierra Club Group, P.O. Box 9191, El Paso, TX 79995.

Finally, I’ve published before the benefits of trees in the urban setting. Unfortunately, U.S. Cities are losing 4 million trees each year. I’ve sat in enough City Council and Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meetings now to know that the leadership of El Paso is much more concerned about the image of being a Tree City USA than actually valuing trees – native trees. It’s just window dressing. A ribbon to hang on a wall and not the substance of a soul.

Fire the Trustee

(See bottom for some very important dates regarding the City Comprehensive Plan Re-Write and a presentation about the Rio Bosque by John Sproul.)

Imagine that you have a trustee in charge of managing your financial portfolio. You go to this manager and say that you have decided to make some changes in your financial plans. The manager tells you that you can’t. You want “abc”; she insists you want and need “xyz”.  As she has done so many times before, she tells you that her investments for you assure that your fees for her services are kept low. You tell her that is not true but she keeps insisting that it is. You’ve noticed that she makes a number of claims that aren’t true. You realize that your goals and objectives have diverged.  You also realize that your trustee shares very little with you and makes non-transparency a regular policy.  What do you do? I’ll bet you take your assets out of that account. I bet you fire your trustee and go get another one.

Overwhelmingly people at the Dover Kohl-led charrette process involving the Scenic Corridor and the Westside (NW El Paso) Plan said that they just don’t want to develop any of the acreage in the Westside Plan. (Read No-Build IS the Option at our blog.)  Nobody wanted the old plan that many remember was written in spite of objections.  Big “X’s” marked that plan at the hands-on session. “Why sell the land for development?” was the key question. The PSB, the land manager, our “trustee”, will tell you that selling land will keep water rates low. From an open records request, we learned that PSB land sales from 1999 to 2009 were about $4 million per year. For the last two years those sales amounted to less than $500,000.  Land sales only amounted to 2% of the yearly revenue including water, stormwater, and wastewater – not enough to keep rates low by any means.

Now factor in some more things. Once land is developed, guess who takes over the cost to maintain the infrastructure and provide the services for the new development? You do – and it’s much more than keeping the pipes working and the sewer flowing. It’s schools, fire, police, roads, more and more. You can count on paying for these expenses from now on until eternity.

Except it won’t ever go for very long. There’s an 800-pound gorilla sitting next to our land manager: water supply. We have more land than we have water. Development doesn’t pay for itself. We are in fact subsidizing developers. Costs for water will increase as we depend more and more on desalinization and imported water. (By the way, imported water from farmland to the east of El Paso County is not at all a sure bet. Word is that there are lawsuits popping up.)

Land sales may have made some difference in the past. (May have – I don’t really know and I’m just guessing.)  But with increased population and water customers, the benefit from land sales decreases. Things change. Unfortunately our trustee has not – a trustee you will remember who will tell you straight to your face such things as a piece of property being “natural open space” when that land is nothing more than a vacant lot in the middle of a long-established neighborhood.  (What do you do with your trustee? Take your assets elsewhere. Fire your trustee. Go get a new one.)

It’s becoming clear. People want to preserve land not sell it for development and subsidize developers. People want to re-vitalize our downtown. People no longer believe tall tales about land sales and water rates.

Here’s another 10 reasons why protecting El Paso’s Scenic Transmountain Corridor is important to protecting the Franklin Mountains State Park.

2 more things before we go:

Come hear wildlife and conservation biologist, John Sproul, this coming Thursday, February 2^nd, at 6 p.m. at the El Paso Garden Center, 3105 Grant Avenue. (Map) The Trans-Pecos Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists is sponsoring this presentation open to the public.  Many of you know that the Rio Bosque, an important ecological treasure and wildlife habitat, is in critical danger. The drought, challenges with water, and underfunding from the City have led to a park on the verge of dying.  Sproul and a handful of volunteers daily truck water from the nearby Bustamante Plant into the park where they hand water the trees. Bottom line: come hear Sproul.

By the way, elpasonaturally likes what the El Paso Times editorial board had to say about wetlands in their op-ed piece on work at the Fred Hervey Water Reclamation Plant in Northeast El Paso. All the same arguments can be made for the endangered Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, another City Park that the Parks and Recreation Department spends zero dollars for – but then they haven’t budgeted for trails, connectivity or open space.

Finally, as many of you know, an item to take action on the City’s Comprehensive Plan Re-Write (Plan El Paso) was deleted from last week’s CPC meeting. It seems that some at the Chamber of Commerce want more time to give additional feedback.  This is a euphemism for a delay tactic to scuttle the plan. This Plan has been vetted for nearly two years now. (You can read the complete draft of volume 1 and volume 2 of the Plan El Paso document online.)  More than 2500 people participated in 100 meetings and 20 hands-on-sessions. Plan El Paso has been discussed by numerous groups, stakeholders and the press. Nobody can say that we can’t make a decision on it now. As citizens who care, mark your calendars now and be heard at the following upcoming meetings:

Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee

Monday, February 20, 2012, 10 a.m. to Noon, 10^th Floor City Hall

City Plan Commission

Thursday, February 20, 2012, 1:30 p.m., 2^nd Floor City Hall

Legislative Review Committee

Thursday, February 23, 2012, 1:30 p.m., 2^nd Floor City Hall

City Council

Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 8:30 a.m., 2^nd Floor City Hall

You can bet that the Chamber and those forces who hate the new landscape ordinance, hate open space, hate the Open Space Advisory Board, hate anything but concrete, asphalt, sprawl and water meters will be present at each meeting. (See above about subsidizing developers.) City government needs to see and hear us as well.

No-Build IS the Option

Option Number One: No-Build - Protect ALL of the land. 

Click on image to enlarge.

At the Works-in-Progress session this past Saturday, Dover Kohl representatives gave a summary of what they had learned from the Hands-on Session and meetings with various stakeholders throughout the week regarding the Westside (Northwest El Paso) Master Plan and the Scenic Transmountain Corridor issue. Here's what they learned:


Option Number One: Protect ALL of the land.
Option Number Two: Preserve as much as possible.
Preserve permanently.
Protect arroyos and habitats.
Create a new and safer entrance into the State Park.

The old PSB Westside Master Plan that nobody wants. (Nobody wanted it when it was first proposed but we got it anyway.) Note the commercial development along Transmountain. 

Click on image to enlarge.

Dover Kohl did not come to "talk the public out of conservation efforts and initiatives" nor did they try to explain or defend the PSB. However, working back and forth between interested parties, they did provide a scenario for smart growth development that had a bit of both sides to it. Their scenario preserves 65% of the land versus the old PSB Westside Plan that only saves 32% and even the land defined in the petition initiative that preserves 55%. The scenario that they presented at the end of the week provides more homes for a larger population and accounts for more employment than the old plan of the PSB's that would put ugly commercial development along the Scenic Transmountain Corridor. If one were to live in the old PSB plan, they would walk 4,660 feet to the nearest shop or restaurant but only 1,182 feet in the new plan. Parks would only be 824 feet away versus 2,957 feet under the old PSB plan.


Nevertheless, people said that what they prefer is the No-Build Option. Begrudgingly, some said that a simpler scenario would be okay but with caveats: land (including arroyos) are preserved in perpetuity; no roads through the open space unless elevated ("no box culverts" one El Paso leader emphatically stated); preservation of the Scenic Corridor; protection of animals, habitat and animal corridors.

The only scenario that some found begrudgingly acceptable.

Click on image to enlarge.

Get to CPC Meeting Tomorrow (Thursday) at 1:30 p.m.

Long note but please read. Bottom line: El Paso needs to adopt Plan El Paso, our new Comprehensive Plan.

Please make every effort to attend tomorrow’s (Thursday, January 26^th) meeting of the City Plan Commission at 1:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers. (Map and Directions to City Hall) This meeting is far more important, critical and consequential than last night’s hands-on session (although that was very important).  It is imperative that as many of us who can will make this meeting.

I've also learned that the item to take action on the Comprehensive Plan may be moved to the front of the agenda - 1:30 p.m. sharp!

The CPC will take action on the Comprehensive Plan Re-Write (Plan El Paso).  It is CPC and the City Council who make the final decisions about Comprehensive plans . . . not Dover Kohl and not you and me except as we impact our elected Representatives.  All the work that you did at charrettes last year will be worthless if some powerful interests have their way. They hate Smart Growth; they hate walkable communities; they hate open space; they hate the new Landscape Ordinance. They love little or no landscaping. They like big box stores and disconnected neighborhoods and concrete and asphalt.

We have learned that they plan to come out en masse tomorrow to the CPC meeting. They know that they don’t need to “waste their time” engaging in a public process through charrettes. They will focus on the CPC and on Council. You should too. (Did you see any of them actively engaged in last night’s hands-on session for instance? No. They are sharpening their swords for CPC and the City Council and they have done so with the Comprehensive Plan and they will do so later with the Westside Plan.)

The Comprehensive Plan has been vetted for over a year. More than 2500 people participated in 100 meetings and 20 hands-on-sessions. Plan El Paso has been discussed by numerous groups, stakeholders and the press. Nobody can say that we can’t make a decision on it now.

Plan El Paso is comprehensive and addresses a wide range of issues: transportation, livable/walkable communities, health, historic preservation, transportation, downtown development and much more.

Please plan to be at the meeting tomorrow. Let the CPC know that there are numbers for the Plan. You can sign-up to speak on Agenda Item #9 prior to the start of the meeting at 1:30 p.m.

Let me be clear: the meeting tomorrow has to do with the City’s new Comprehensive Plan. It is a separate item from our current work to re-do the Westside Master Plan and preserve the Scenic Transmountain Corridor. However, the Comprehensive Plan has everything to do with the quality of life in El Paso, our economic development and our El Paso’s ability to be competitively tough in the 21st Century.

You can read the complete draft of volume 1 and volume 2 of the Plan El Paso document online. (The Comprehensive Plan Community Presentation is scheduled for Thursday evening at the El Paso Community Foundation at 333 N. Oregon in the Foundation Room on the 1st Floor. (Map)  This is another very important meeting to make if you can.

Time is very short. We need a big turnout.  Tell your friends, neighbors, neighborhood associations, organizations and everyone you know who has worked to make Plan El Paso a dream come true.

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."

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.

Open Letter to the El Paso City Council

This past Tuesday, the Dover Kohl proposal to re-do the Northwest Master Plan was presented to Council. Council was asked to authorize the City Manager to sign what is a fourth amendment to the existing contract with Dover Kohl. Dover Kohl's work is an essential part of the process which all agreed upon when the petition to preserve the Transmountain Scenic Corridor came before Council. Unfortunately some key players were absent on Tuesday: the Mayor, Ann Lilly and Steve Ortega. Some Council members were concerned that the $200,000+ cost for the services of DKP was too costly given the possibility that petitioners and the PSB may come to some deal readily. Unfortunately, such a deal would only be between some petitioners (myself for instance) and Mr. Archuleta. It would not and could not be representative of the desires of all petitioners and, indeed, all stakeholders. On Wednesday, the PSB agreed to a similar resolution to contract with DKP and to pay half of DKP's fee.

Today I wrote the following letter in an email to the Mayor and other members of City Council:

An Open Letter to the El Paso City Council Regarding the Previously Agreed Upon Process

Dear Mayor Cook and Honorable City Council Representatives,

I urge you to pass the resolution authorizing the City Manager to sign the Fourth Amendment to the Agreement with Dover Kohl and Partners, Item Number 5 on next Tuesday’s agenda. You postponed action on this matter for one week. I sincerely appreciate and value the desire of Council to be careful with our money. However, this is one expense that makes sense for several reasons especially given the context of the petition which called for permanent preservation of the Scenic Corridor and no major roads through the preserved land.

Although the PSB’s latest map keeps Paseo del Norte, opens up a new road from Paseo to the State Park, drops in a “resort” (previously a school on the old master plan), and cuts through the southern arroyo (FEMA 39), it does come closer than prior suggestions to preserving the desired view shed. It might be easy for any one of us to conclude some kind of arrangement with the PSB. Unfortunately, that would be a back room deal between myself and Mr. Archuleta, or the Chairman of the Open Space Advisory Board and Mr. Archuleta, or between some other limited number of stakeholders. It would not represent the views of all involved. The process which we all agreed upon and which includes the hiring of Dover Kohl, allows for a democratic and transparent approach that will result in a defined view shed to be preserved permanently and an agreeable solution regarding any roads.

It also should be pointed out that a conservation easement, for example, requires some forethought about what is included and what is excluded in the land being preserved. The process that we agreed upon allows for the conditions of such permanent preservation to be well thought out and deliberately defined.

The process also means that the view shed once defined and permanently preserved will fit into the entire new plan for the northwest properties. It should be our goal that a beautiful view shed should fit beautifully into a beautifully planned area. The City has seen too much hodgepodge development and here we have a chance to have a coherent, holistic design that uses Smart Growth/SmartCode and utilizes the principles of green infrastructure/low impact development. The process offers the possibility for not only achieving the principles behind the petition but also of creating a more sustainable, livable space for El Paso’s Northwest.

As you each are probably aware, the PSB passed a similar resolution this past Wednesday. They have agreed to the scope of work as presented by Dover Kohl and will share 50% of the costs for a Northwest Plan update to SmartCode. They have agreed to the process.

Finally – and I say this from the heart – authorizing this agreement builds trust. When plans are made behind closed doors and deals struck in private meetings, then the dreams and hopes and ideas of many are carelessly and disrespectfully ignored. Like so much hodgepodge development, such deals serve the interests of a few but do not bring us all together as a community of proud citizens of El Paso, Texas.

Please authorize the Fourth Amendment to the Agreement with Dover Kohl and Partners.

Respectfully yours,

Jim H. Tolbert

Bravo Work-in-Progress Presentation!

Dover Kohl team members Pam Stacy, Megan McLaughlin, Steve Price with elpasonaturally author and Tommy Young at top of Ann Morgan Lilly Arroyo 41A. Picture by Judy Ackerman.

On Wednesday evening the Dover Kohl team of consultants gave a summary of their work so far regarding ASARCO and three transit corridors: Five Points, Oregon and Remcon Circle. You can read their post about it here.

There were a number from the open space/environmental community among the 80 or so attendees at the Main Downtown Library auditorium. The City Council members present were Susie Byrd, Beto O'Rourke, Steve Ortega and Ann Lilly. Conspicuously absent was Mayor John Cook. City Manager Joyce Wilson was there as were Debbie Hamlyn, Pat Adauto and Lupe Cuellar. Of course, Matt McElroy and Fred Lopez (the two unsung heroes for getting Dover Kohl to El Paso) were present.

DK's values of infill, preservation of natural open space, community building, walkability, understanding of peak oil and sustainability are enough to make one stand up and cheer. I cannot wait to see these people back in El Paso. I'm already missing them. I wanted to shout "Bravo" just to see their vision of Five Points which is walking distance from my Newman Park neighborhood. Obviously the team's knowledge of zoning laws and economics will help guide El Paso.

I asked Karen Peissinger-Venhaus for her comments and she replied:

"I have to say that the engaging streetscapes depicted during last night's WIP [Work-in-Progress] presentation were a sight for sore eyes. And, the whole Dover Kohl team was a breath of fresh air that El Paso has so desperately needed. I am so very glad City Council spent the (our) money to bring the team to El Paso to show all of us what is possible.

"I was especially encouraged to hear Peak Oil mentioned during the presentation, that it is being taken seriously.

"However, from what I heard and saw, my concerns are these: focus on consumption as a form of leisure, and the potential for displacing low-income people from their neighborhoods. My mantra is, 'design to include, not exclude.'"

Read Karen's blog, The Adventures of Pei. She is particulary interested in the issue of environmental racism which is particularly germane in this region. Also check out the blog where Karen was a guest author: Cheap Like Me.

Plan El Paso Presentation Scheduled for Tomorrow Evening

County Commissioner Veronica Escobar participates in a hands-on session

The Plan El Paso team will give a Work-in-Progress presentation tomorrow evening, Wednesday, June 30, at the El Paso Main Public Library Auditorium, 501 N. Oregon. The Dover Kohl assembly of consultants will present all of the draft concepts, plans, renderings and preliminary regulating plans (zoning maps) for the ASARCO and transit sites.

Consultant Megan McLaughlin tells me:

"I can assure you that there will be a lot of very valuable information and its's really important that we get a good turn out so that we can get feedback from the attendees. We want to make sure we are on the right track before we return home to refine the plans."

Last week a number of El Pasoans gathered at the Memorial Park Senior Center to participate in a hands-on design session around transit-oriented development. They looked at three corridors - Five Points, Oregon and Remcon Circle.

Jim Erickson tackles some design issues with his group

County Commissioner Veronica Escobar participated in the session. Afterwards she said:

"It was a wonderful experience to sit with folks from the neighborhood to dream and plan for the future of Five Points. There's so much potential, and the ideas were so great, that I hope the City and the private sector can help make it happen."

Making it happen is my concern. I had the opportunity to visit with 3 members of the team this past Sunday while we hiked together in the Franklin Mountains State Park. I shared my primary concern: You can do all these great designs that conserve natural space, contribute to walkability, etc., but if a developer comes along and wants to do things the old way, what can be done especially in the State of Texas that has such strong private property laws?

The answer in a nutshell is that the designs will serve not only as examples of how to do something better, but they will be a vision that can long guide us. Dover Kohl City Planner, Pam Stacy, pointed out that El Paso's dreams for urban park development began with the vision of the 1925 City Plan for El Paso. The team that Dover Kohl has put together includes economists, city planners, people who know issues regarding zoning and much more.

Frankly, if just a portion of the dreams that are now taking shape are realized, the City will be so much the better.

Texas Wildlife Urban Biologist for El Paso, Lois Balin, has been sharing a similar dream. Here is her presentation on conservation development:

Balin Conservation Development Design

Go Ahead - Make My Day

Click on image to enlarge

The Planning Department of El Paso and the Plan El Paso team of Dover, Kohl & Partners invited members of the Open Space Advisory Board to a meeting at the Open Design Studio at 2400 N. Oregon yesterday. I went with some skepticism based on my knowledge that not only is ASARCO property contaminated but so is all of the surrounding land - so much so that some believe that children in Anapra and Sunland Park suffer hyperactive disorders due to the effects of lead still in their environment. (Two of just a hand full of children that I met the other day were on Adderall.) I have my doubts as to how well the ASARCO toxins can be permanently contained and kept from our drinking water.

I went with skepticism. I left excited. What is Dover Kohl all about? All those good concepts that we keep talking about: sustainability, liveable communities, walkable neighborhoods, preservation of open space, green design, placemaking etc., etc. Where have these guys and gals been? The City of El Paso has chosen a first-tier consultant.

Dover Kohl is the lead consultant for Plan El Paso. However they have "assembled a team of national and local experts in sustainable urban design and planning to create the ASARCO/TOD Redevelopment Plans and Form-Based Codes for the City of El Paso."

Town Planner, Megan McLaughlin, walked us through a presentation of some of their design concepts surrounding the ASARCO area. As she did so, she and a couple of her other team members elicited comments from the Open Space members present.

Before I left, I asked a couple of other people in the environmental community (the "usual suspects" I call this group) what they thought about working on designs when there is still so much contamination and very little forthcoming information about that contamination. They said that it is a matter of "both/and" - learn what we can about the toxicity of the site and see what more can be done about it . . . but envision and design at the same time. With Dover Kohl on the job, I agree and I'm overjoyed.