elpasopolitically

I just launched elpasopolitcally. I did so to distinguish strictly "green" issues from other El Paso political issues I want to comment about.

There are no bells and whistles with this blog (yet).

First post: Romero Recall Begins. Please read it.

EPEC Fast Tracks Power Poles in Historic District

"Romero Poles"

Romero Poles. That's what the neighborhood has begun to call the electrical poles now marring the historical Manhattan Heights district as well as the Newman Park neighborhood immediately to the north. They are named in "honor" of Rep. Larry Romero who wouldn't even take time to stand with the people that he represents and demand a reasonable solution from the electrical utility. Instead, the champion of payday predatory lenders stands with the El Paso Electric Company and not his constituents.

Of course, a compromise is almost a moot point. EPEC's contractors began working at top speed today to plant the poles. Certainly EPEC doesn't want to have to compromise with residents nor face the Historic Landmark Commission (HLC) of El Paso again.

Seeing the frantic pace of the contractors, one neighbor put it well: "Despite EPEC's agreement to work at a compromise with Manhattan Heights Neighborhood Association, EPEC has decided no longer to apply for permitting with HLC on this or any future projects. EPEC has thumbed its nose at HLC and its customers; EPE has restarted construction and is installing poles along Elm Street as we speak."

Another neighbor points out: "El Paso Electric paid millions of dollars for the right to use the city right of way. It is my understanding that all utilities must conform to the established norms and the rule of law including the fact that the HLC regulates all changes in the area. It has the right to issue cease and desist orders and refer the matter to a hearing. The fact that El Paso Electric chose to remove it's application from the HLC does not create a condition where this organization is exempted from seeking HLC approval for changes in Manhattan Heights. Just how many times does code enforcement issue citations for non-conforming/unpermitted construction in historic areas? I know they have the right to bring the El Paso Electric to court and have them stop activity until a hearing is provided to determine appropriateness."

Will City Council act? Not this one.

So much for the property value of this beautiful home.

When living in the State of Washington for 18 years, residents, officials, utility personnel - all knew what another resident stated that "public safety limits [of high power lines] for electromagnetic and radiofrequency fields remain thousands of time higher given all the studies regarding the association to serious health issues." In El Paso, nobody seems to know that and EPEC claims ignorance.

EPEC wants a rate hike? Since they act imperiously without respect to the health, safety and welfare of neighborhoods not to mention the rules involving historical districts, they shouldn't get it. In fact, the City of El Paso should take over electrical services and tell EPEC to take a hike. By the way such a move can lead to encouraging solar energy rather than discouraging it as EPEC does with their proposed ridiculous hikes for solar power users. They argue that users of solar power don't pay their fair share of infrastructure needs. However those needs would be lessened if more people used solar. Simply put, EPEC wants you to buy more of their electricity. If you don't read the comments after these posts, then you missed a great one the other day: 

"I make tacos.
You buy my tacos for $5 each.
You no like my tacos?
Then you pay me $8.

Someone has to pay for my tacos."

I couldn't have said it better.

Where Was Larry Romero?

Photo by Rose Aguilar, El Paso Inc. See other photos and Inc. story HERE.

Yesterday I blogged about the recent meeting between residents of Newman Park and also the historic district of Manhattan Heights with representatives of the El Paso Electric Company regarding a project to place new forty-five foot poles from Wheeling to Frankfort Avenue along Elm Street. (Full disclosure: this is my hood.) EPEC's route along Elm creates the huge risk of tumbling poles during major floods. Elm Street becomes a "river" during downpours. Flooding plus the deterioration of a 1920's sewer line but six inches from the polls threatens to undermine the sub-surface and cause a pole or poles to fall especially since EPEC is planting the poles at 5 feet and not the standard 6.5 feet.

Residents are up against a powerful utility. Often the only hope is to arouse enough public opposition to either cancel or modify a project. Unfortunately, the City Council representative for District 2 is Larry Romero. He declined even to attend the public meeting on August 11, 2015. As heard from a good source, it seems that Larry believes that the matter is a lost cause and doesn't merit his time. Afterall, this part-time representative has a business to run. His predecessor, Susie Byrd, would have been there to support her constituents. Larry doesn't care about the health, safety and welfare of those he serves on city council. 

In another matter, King Larry, without asking for public opinion or consent, had a roundabout removed simply because he doesn't like them. The result - a serious accident at Tumbleweed and Mathias. Read the story HERE. (Thank you, David Crowder of the El Paso Inc.) This is just one more neighborhood in District 2 that is poorly served by this dud of a city representative.


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City Manager Raise Was Premature

It seems as if every El Paso blogger has had something to say about the City Manager's pay raise. I wanted to think through that issue before weighing in. Here goes:

I agree with David Karlsruher that the city manager's performance review and compensation does not belong in the public arena. Mr. Tommy Gonzalez is an employee and has a right to have such matters discussed in private by our elected Representatives. I further agree with David that, if we don't like Council members' decision, we can recall them or just not re-elect them. (Recalling a city council representative is just about numerically impossible unless, of course, you have a mega-church with an entranced audience.)

There's a "but" here as you might suspect. BUT what should be a matter of public discussion is what the Council finally decided to do. Because Mr. Gonzalez is unarguably the most important city employee, his salary increase by Council becomes a matter for public discussion and debate. I had already decided to vote against raising council salaries before they pulled the proposal from the city charter election. Higher salaries aren't what entice good people to run - big money in El Paso guarantees who gets elected. Just look at Niland, Noe and Romero. With Council's premature decision about Tommy's salary, they spent their salary increases. 

Why do I say that the salary increase is premature? I speak as an environmental activist as well as a taxpaying citizen.

First, Mr. Gonzalez's goals for the City (and they are his goals de facto and not those of Council and certainly not those of El Pasoans) have nothing to say about the environment, open space, conservation, ecosystems, etc. "Attractiveness" is not the same thing as controlling sprawl, being cognizant of the scarce resource of water, protecting the beauty of our mountains, desert and wetlands, and providing trailheads, parks, connectivity and open space for recreation.

Mr. Gonzalez's staff met with members of the West Texas Urban Forestry Council Board. Most of them were the authors of our city's Tree Care Manual, our approved tree list, and (when it was a reality) our Tree Board - a now defunct and forgotten "sub-committee" of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. In spite of the seeming enthusiasm of the City Manager's staff, nothing has been done other than shuffling the organizational chart and re-assigning the City Arborist, a good step for sure. The promised consultations, the resurrection of the Tree Board and following the Tree Manual have not come to fruition.

I understand that Mr. Gonzalez inherited some problems. On the other hand, he has had one year to make a difference on some projects. The destruction/reconstruction of the San Jacinto Plaza Park is a good example. While on this topic, let us recall that Tommy Gonzalez readily ordered taking down El Pasoan's treasured holiday Christmas tree until this blog started a public outcry. Niland didn't like the shape. She said "jump" to Tommy and he asked "how high". 

This jumping is another matter that concerns me because we've seen it in other cases. Gonzalez seems to be impulsive and this characteristic may be the biggest concern.

It has been argued that we would lose our City Manager if we didn't offer him a salary commensurate to other larger cities in Texas. Yes, but, those salaries go to full-time employees. Full time. When Council raised his salary, they also gave him more vacation time. He will not use that "vacation" time to take the kids to Hawaii; he will use that "vacation" time to do more paid consulting work. In other words, we have a part-time city manager who is also a part-time paid consultant. The City Manager should give up his consulting work and become the full-time City Manager of El Paso, Texas. Then let's talk about a commensurate salary.

Finally, I don't believe the financial numbers. I don't believe that the city is doing as well as Gonzalez claims. If so, instead of raising our onerous property taxes, why doesn't Council cut them? Hmmm?

Gonzalez may eventually deserve a higher salary. End the consulting, be less impulsive, be more transparent, listen to tree experts and don't just dictate planting larger trees in smaller spaces, and care about environmentalism - then and only then should he be up for the raise.

Council should be held accountable in the arena of public debate. I wouldn't not support a council person for election on the basis of one issue. However, when it comes to next budget time when they do seek public input, they each better listen carefully. I hope that they hear now that the raise was premature.

Impressions of a Farce: City Council Rejects Historical Survey

As did many others, I sat for nearly 4 hours yesterday at the special City Council meeting regarding accepting grant money to conduct a survey that could have led to El Paso's downtown being declared a National Historic District. Council rejected the survey which is what they could have done in 5 minutes instead of four hours. (The extra hours did give Romero time to text and Robinson to sleep.) All the rest was a smoke screen and a forum for Cortney Niland's loud tirades. (CN gets the Ethel Merman Award for Ranting.)

In a post after this one I will publish some of Max Grossman's comments from Facebook. For this post, here are some of my impressions:

First, City Council reps are smart people (well - most of them). They know full well that an historical survey comes with no strings attached. They know full well that El Paso's downtown becoming a National Historic District would not place any restrictions on what a property owner could do with his/her building. They know that a Local Historic District does come with some restrictions - but that wasn't the subject. They also know that having a National Historic District means that a building owner can receive 45% of project costs from state and federal sources for restoring a building. They know this. Cortney kept using the carrot and the stick analogy saying that she wants incentives not mandates when that 45% would have been a really great incentive. So why was there a chorus of fear? The survey will lead to restrictions! It will be a mandate and not an incentive! Building owners don't understand! (They do. Their bright people too.) Why? Because there is another agenda. More on that in a moment.

Next there was also the fear-mongering about the trolley. Oh my gosh, we have this big, expensive trolley project about to start and we don't want to stress out downtown property owners any more than we have already. Give me a break. The trolley was a red herring. Why? Because there is another agenda. More on that in a moment. 

Third, Redevelopment Director, Jessica Hererra, took the fall I'm sure at the direction of T-Rex (Tommy Gonzalez). Over and over she restated that the survey came with no restrictions but over and over she restated that the City had not gotten buy in from property owners - that they had not been nor had Council been adequately informed and it was her department's fault and now we had to go about it differently. (She knows that yesterday's vote kills the survey and the Historic District no matter how much pretended communication there is now.) I'll let my next post of Grossman's comments elaborate further. Again, the aim was not to give time to better inform others and then come back and maybe do a survey later. The aim was to shoot down the survey altogether. Again, why? Because there is another agenda. More on that in a moment.

From the very beginning, Niland insisted that the Mayor ask each speaker from the public to identify whether he or she was a "stakeholder" - i.e., a property owner downtown. This was demagoguery. Fortunately, most speakers identified themselves as stakeholders by virtue of being taxpayers and sharing a common heritage with all El Pasoans which includes downtown. Certainly property owners have rights. They also, as do all of us, have a duty to the community as members of that community. As a traditional conservative I hold these values dear. Niland's Ayn Randish definition was intended to further the aim of her stakeholders (i.e., Mayoral voters in 2017): the ones who have another agenda. More on that in a moment.

Finally, although some in the preservation community won't, I will cut Peter Svarzbein some slack. He voted with the majority to reject the grant. But that wasn't all of the motion. The motion also called for having staff work with Niland's "stakeholders" and preservation advocates and come back with a recommendation. I want to believe - I do believe - that Svarzbein believed that a survey is still a possibility as well as having a National Historic District. I watched him agonize. I admired what I saw was someone trying to weigh all sides. I especially saw someone with a heart who seeks collaboration and communication. What he failed to recognize is that the point of yesterday's farce by Niland, the Downtown Management people, Tanny Berg, Joe Gudenrath, T-Rex and his staff was to shut down the survey and an Historic District altogether. Why? Well here's my speculation:

What's the hidden agenda? My speculation may be wrong. However, there is a hidden agenda. Remember that new arena? It must be only so far from the civic center. That doesn't give too much latitude and it points to downtown. I understand that the arena's footprint is around 12 blocks. This means that there is a mega-million dollar deal that will benefit a number of downtown building owners. A National Historic District would, in their minds, threaten that. Our Ethel Merman recipient and her cohorts wanted one thing: kill even the possibility of an Historic District. They succeeded.

P.S. Thank you Claudia Ordaz and Lily Limon for your "no" votes. You wouldn't vote for a motion that killed the survey. You got the farce.

P.P.S. I owe Larry Romero an apology. As I was walking up the stairs to the Council meeting yesterday, Romero was passing by above the steps. Out of civility and courtesy I said "hi". He shunned me. This is my City Council Representative!? So, Larry, I'm sorry. I forgot that not only are you a do-nothing dud whose only moment of near eloquence in a council meeting was your defense of pay day predators, you are also a detestable and despicable figure. I'm sorry for forgetting. I'll remember next time.


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Xeriscape Don't "Zero-scape" Fort Bliss Cemetery

This is not xeriscaping.

This is.

Tomorrow City Council will discuss and vote on a resolution which urges Fort Bliss to replace the "xeriscaping" at the national cemetery with grass. The resolution (Item 10.1 on the agenda) is at the request of Rep. Beto O'Rourke and is sponsored by Niland, Noe and Romero. 

elpasonaturally is a big fan of Beto O'Rourke however must part with him on this one as it did on his recent vote against support for Israel. 

The chief problem with the resolution is the false belief held by most of El Paso that the cemetery or anything like it is xeriscaping. Merely throwing red rock screening on the ground (and abetting the destruction of our mountains at the same time) is not xeriscaping. The Texas Master Gardeners, part of the Texas AgriLife Extension, says: 

"Xeriscape means dry landscaping - perfect for an area like the desert. Xeriscape creates a visually attractive landscape that uses native plants selected for their water efficiency. Properly installed and maintained, a Xeriscape can use less than one-half the water of a traditional landscape and require less maintenance than a landscape that is primarily lawn." [Emphases mine.]

Read the Master Gardener page about xeriscape and take a look at the posted picture. Visit Eartheasy xeriscape page and see the picture and look over the plant selection. Best thing: visit the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens at the UTEP Centennial Museum and/or the El Paso Desert Botanical Garden at Keystone Heritage Park.

Finally, read this open letter from Marshall Carter-Tripp urging the xeriscaping of the cemetary not the zero-scaping that now exists nor its replacement with water-thirsty grass: 

Restoring Grass at Fort Bliss Cemetery?

"The El Paso Times reports that the El Paso City Council will consider tomorrow a resolution urging that grass be restored to the Fort Bliss cemetery, at the request of Representative O’Rourke.

"El Paso and Fort Bliss are located in the mountainous Chihuahuan Desert, and moreover are experiencing long-term drought.  The Rio “Grande” is empty a good part of the year.   While the PSB assures us that we will continue to have a safe water supply, it is also “mining” the underlying aquifer for that supply.   The cemetery was using some 62 million gallons of water a year to maintain the grass.  What kind of message would it send to resume pumping that much water for grass?   Arlington National Cemetery is cited as having grass.  It is located in the Washington, D.C area, which receives over 40 inches of rain a year, more than four times as much as do El Paso and Fort Bliss.  Water use is not an issue there!

"The real problem with the cemetery at Fort Bliss appears to be inadequate xeriscaping.  Xeriscaping does NOT mean just sand and gravel, more correctly called “zero-scaping.”  Landscaping with native plants and other drought-tolerant plants can be very beautiful Perhaps if the Fort Bliss authorities visited the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens at UITEP, or the gardens at Keystone, they might get some sense of what can be done. The West Texas Urban Forestry Council would help plan for better tree cover, and there is much expertise in the El Paso Native Plant Society.   Trees will help reduce water use even if grass is restored.

"The remarks quoted in the Times’ report suggest that the only standard of beauty is grass.  Should we call it the “Downton Abbey rule?”   Why must respect for the dead be measured in blades of grass?

"My spouse is a military veteran.  He will not be buried at Fort Bliss, as he is donating his body to the Texas Tech medical school.   Even if he were there, he would not be less at rest under a desert willow rather than grass!  Should I survive him, my grief would not be diminished by grass, and I would in fact regret the misuse of water and energy to maintain that grass.   We have no grass in our own yard  - but it is full of beautiful plants at all seasons.   

"Let us honor the dead, and their families, by respecting the beauty of our own landscape, and by respecting the need to conserve water for the generations to come." - Marshall Carter Tripp

Let us hope that City Council will change its resolution and urge Ft. Bliss officials truly to xeriscape the cemetery and not use just gravel or replace gravel with water and maintenance intensive grass.

CRRMA Unanimously Ends Relationship with Predatory Lenders

By a unanimous vote at it meeting this morning, the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority directed Executive Director, Raymond L. Telles "to issue written notice to the CRRMA's back-office service providers [North Texas Tollway Authority and the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority] to end their acceptance of cash payments at local retail locations for the César Chávez Express Toll Lanes." The local retail locations in question is the payday lender, ACE Cash America. 

The same motion also asked the Director to "continue working with the City of El Paso's One-Stop Shop for acceptance of cash payments for the same toll lanes.

Bottom line: the CRRMA unanimously did the moral thing - they ended their relationship (although indirect through other tollway authorities) with a company in an industry that too often victimizes the most financially vulnerable in society. The need for the cash option, as Director Telles explained, is that El Paso has a large population of people who use cash only. Also, the cash option is the least expensive means to purchase a toll tag.

According to CRRMA Chair, Scott McLaughlin, the CRRMA will work toward using other local retailers. Besides taking cash payments, authorized dealers will need to be able to set-up customer accounts with the NTTA. 

Mr. Telles' presentation to the Board can be seen HERE.

If you emailed a Board member, please thank them for listening and responding to El Pasoans regarding this moral issue. Contact info is HERE.

Finally, consider that, except for one vote, the CRRMA and City Council unanimously agreed to do something about payday lenders. The one lone vote came from a man who never says anything at City Council meetings but apparently will speak-up for predatory lenders: District 2 Representative Larry Romero. 

Romero Lone Vote for Predators

Although usually quiet at Council proceedings, Rep. Larry Romero today, in effect, supported payday predatory lenders.

Although usually silent at City Council meetings (probably having gotten his voting instructions ahead of time), District 2 Rep. Larry Romero* was the lone vote on City Council this morning against the ordinance to regulate predatory payday lenders. El Diario reporter, Karla Guevara Walton**, tweeted: "City Rep Larry Romero concern with the City invading personal lives . . ." Romero also used an analogy that the City should control alcoholism by limiting drinks at bars. (Sounds like someone may be concerned about his tab at the Pershing Inn.)

By a vote of 6-1 Council voted to support the ordinance passed last year and let it go into effect on January 16th. 

The payday lending scheme that victimizes so many families in financial crisis has been in the news recently also because of the CRRMA's contracting with the North Texas Tollway Authority which uses ACE, a payday lender. (elpasonaturally blog post HERE.) Disgust has been voiced with our regional mobility authority for a plan that will introduce some of El Paso's most vulnerable citizens to loans of up to 533% per annum. At today's Council meeting Lisa Turner, the Conscience of El Paso, criticized CRRMA's contract that allows a payday lender to collect tolls for the newly completed Border Highway.

The issue has even spilled over into the Texas gubernatorial race. Senator Wendy Davis, the likely Democratic candidate, laid blame on Greg Abbott, the likely Republican candidate.

*BTW, does Rep. Romero still live in District 2 as he has not resided with his wife at 2630 Savannah Avenue for most of his term now. Can the Municipal Clerk certify that he is a resident of District 2?

**Also BTW, if you can't attend City Council or watch it on digital television (there is no other way to watch it), then I highly recommend that you follow Karla's tweets HERE.

Agenda 21 Comes to OSAB

I need to preface this post with two items:

First, as a person with deep traditional conservative roots, I don't like big anything - government or business. I also want plenty of liberty with freedom of choice. Smart Growth means more options to me. It doesn't mean that someone can't do something. It means more choices. Living in sprawl America means that I must choose the automobile for transportation. I must choose hydrocarbons for fuel and lubricants. I must choose the big box store on the edge of town. If I live in most suburbs created from the 1950's forward (or in East El Paso predominantly with the palm trees and squared front walkways), my choice is to leave my niche or culvert, find the main arteriole where I join many more motorists and drive to the strip mall usually much farther from my home than the crows flies or park on I-10 to go to work. The oil, automobile and agricultural giants have convinced me that I still live in a free country and have such great choices such as buying a Chevrolet or a Hyundai, purchasing Chevron on this corner or that, and shopping at a mega food giant or a big box store. So many choices! Bah! With Smart Growth I have more options: drive a car, ride a bus, ride a bike, walk, maybe even take a train. I can live in a house with a backyard or in an apartment above my small street shop. I can choose to live next to natural open space because there is natural open space - not just more land for developers to put up the latest Happy Acres.

That's my first preface, here's my second: Ed Beck is a good guy. I mean it. Who is Ed Beck you ask? He was one of the many candidates who ran for the District 2 seat on City Council. More than anyone else he was probably the reason Romero beat me in the run-off. Ed had a sizable loyal following of fellow conservatives. I'd often find his cards stuck in the door of the same houses I was visiting. They would read: "I'm the only Republican in this race." Ed is a man of principle and voters loyal to him weren't squishy. Having principles was also true of Michael Apodaca who endorsed me after he lost in the general election. My other opponents had squishy followers and they easily voted for Larry Romero or myself. Am I sore with Ed? Absolutely not. If you ever get to know the guy, you will like him. He's not just nice, he's a good man. He's a good neighbor and someone who will do something for his neighbors not just talk about it. The big problem with Ed is that he believes one really screwy thing: the Agenda 21 UN Conspiracy. 

Agenda 21 Conspiracy followers believe that smart growth and smart choice and sustainability and being green are ALL U.N./Communist plots to ultimately put all the world under one government control. One conspiracy nut (and let's not call them "nuts" because that's derogatory - "fruit pies" which are sweet seems far more apt) . . . one fruit pie said this: "Agenda 21 is not an environmental management policy, but an attempt to impose a global centrally planned quasi-government administered by the United Nations. Under Agenda 21 all central government and local authority signatories are required to conform strictly to a common prescribed standard and hence this is just communism resurrected in a new guise." (The Green Agenda) Can you stomach more? Then read the American Policy Center's piece. Or read a piece by an El Paso blogger even if she gets most of her facts wrong about Dover Kohl and Plan El Paso (that communist, UN document that evil people thrust on El Pasoans). The ultimate vision of the world under Agenda 21 comes from Glenn Beck, no relation to Ed I don't believe. Here's that dark future being brought to us by Plan El Paso, Agenda 21, and all those who who favor sustainability, a clean environment, plenty of natural outdoors and freedom to walk or ride a bike as well as drive a car:




Now you know that, as the author of a blog for a "sustainable El Paso southwest", I want to burn up old people (after taking away their automobiles, their backyards and their WalMart.) Bad robot!

There are, of course, more rational voices. Read Jeff Turrentine who concludes: 


"In the century since they first appeared on our physical and cultural horizon, the suburbs have earned the right to consider themselves every bit as American as our gleaming cities and rolling farmlands. There's no stealth plan to "abolish" them. There is, instead, a perfectly transparent plan to include them in the list of communities that must be brought into the sustainability fold if we're ever to address climate change effectively, protect wildlife habitat, and ensure that we don't pollute or deplete our resources to the point of no return. Smart growth is great for cities—but it's great for suburbs, too. People who love them should understand that any concerted effort to make them cleaner, prettier, safer, and less congested is a conspiracy worth joining."

Or read Stephanie Mencimer who makes the connection between the Agenda 21 Fruit Pie Conspiracy and Big Oil. 

So, what difference does it make that Ed Beck believes the Agenda 21 Conspiracy? Today City Council appointed Larry Romero's nominee to the Open Space Advisory Board: Ed Beck. Larry demagogued the smart code/smart growth issue in the election with his own brand of misinformation. He had a business friend of mine believing that he would have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to remodel his struggling restaurant. Larry also got it in my friend's mind that the evil El Paso government was going to take away parking from his patrons for more mass transit. Larry has a new vision - a vision of continued blight and favortism. Ed gets his payoff and Larry and his rich string pullers get the status quo and that suits the old fogies on the 5 Points Business Association just fine. They're Americans, you know. They like that freedom of choice that Big Oil, the Automobile Industry and Big Industrial Agriculture give them. Let's hear it for choice!

Oh - one new insight!   Why does TxDOT want to take federal money from Bike Share and give it back to the federal government by way of salaries for more agents at the border gates? Bob Bielek said it: "The automobile is King." TxDOT loves your freedom to choose the automobile - but not the bicycle, not the bus, not the train, not the soles of your own shoes - walking is a communist, U.N., Agenda 21 conspiracy. (Ted Houghton saw to it that big money went to Larry Romero in the election. He vetoed any money that might have gone my way and the way of freedom of choice.)

Smart Code Works

Smart Code works and the El Paso Times has spotted it.  Too bad the 5 Points Business Regressives (aka, Association) and City Council Representative Larry Romero are preventing this new model of urban planning from working miracles along Piedras, Grant, Pershing and Montana.

Dr. Noe Likes Walmart but not People NOT in His District

At the NW corner of Montana and Chelsea with Trowbridge defining the northern boundary sits some land that now has a Vet clinic and a Chico's and once a Baptist church now torn down.  Adjacent to this land is a quiet neighborhood. On the other side of Montana is old Chelmont Center and an Albertson's.  Walmart is hell bent on obtaining the land.  The neighbors do not want the added traffic congestion which will surely come with semis delivering products to the store and thousands of customers forced to go around the block - i.e., through the residential areas. 

It was a concern during the recent campaign in which I was a candidate.  Early on I opposed the project - the rezoning for the benefit of Walmart.  My opponent, Larry Romero who was subsequently elected, favored Walmart until he realized that his position could cost him one or more precincts.  Flip-flopping he changed his position and came out against the Walmart. (At the City Plan Commission meeting he sat silently as people spoke out against Walmart.  He sat opposite of the neighbors in the chambers of Council.  He did send his surrogate from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to speak in favor of Walmart.  That was two weeks before the election and days before he had his convenient conversion.)

Besides knowing that it would be a huge stress on the neighborhood, I opposed the project because I was aware that the Parks and Recreation Department at one time looked at the land as a place to move the now-closed Chelsea Street pool.  There is money in the quality of life bonds just for purchasing new land for that pool.  Somewhere along the way, that plan got moth balled in favor of supporting Walmart.  Obviously, some in the City hierarchy were persuaded by Walmart to let them go after the land. Many neighbors favor the idea of a park and pool.  Fred Borrego has a very special vision of what that park and pool should look like.

There were close to 70 neighbors - maybe more - at City Council today.  The plot to rezone the land had been turned down by the CPC earlier largely because of neighborhood opposition.  Walmart appealed to the City Council and today the matter was to have been heard.

Homeowners within 300 feet of the proposed site had signed a petition in opposition to the Walmart.  There were enough of them who signed to force what is called a 211 - in order to pass Council there needs to be a super majority.  5-3 for does not work.  It must be 6-2.  Dear Dr. Noe questioned the validity of the petition and asked for a two week postponement.  This in spite of the fact that 70 people (maybe more) were there in opposition - 35 of us had signed up to speak against it.  This also in spite of the fact that Sylvia Firth issued an opinion that the petitions gathered constituted the 211. Citizens had already tolerated nearly two hours of special accolades and recognitions before Council even got to the regular agenda.

Courtney (whatever business wants business gets) Niland seconded the motion.  It passed with the help of Lilly and Acosta who had promised to vote against the Walmart.

Why was Noe so eager to postpone when the proposed Walmart is not even in his District but in outgoing Rep. Byrd's district?  Here's the scoop so pay attention: Joe Lopez, Noe's campaign operative, does the local advertising for Walmart.  Need I say more?  Noe and Walmart are betting on the new City Council to support the retail Leviathan.  The matter will be heard again in two weeks - July 2nd.  We will see if Romero is true to his word or will find a reason to flip flop again.

The vote may also be an early sign of just how reactionary and bourgeois this new Mayor and City Council will be.