El Paso City Council Approves Controversial Development

El Paso City Council has approved a smart-growth-like development that several surrounding neighbords oppose. On Tuesday, Council voted 7-1 to approve rezonging the proposed 60-acre Rio Valley Development on the corner of Westside Drive and Borderland in the Upper Valley. Only City Representative Emma Acosta voted against the move.

Because several surrounding land-owners signed a petition against the rezoning, the developer, The Winton Group, needed the vote of 7 representatives in favor of the development to make it a reality.

The City Plan Commission had originally rejected the rezoning for an earlier version of the proposed development. They decided the development would be inappropriate and not in the best interest for surrounding residents. After being rejected by the CPC, the Winton Group modified the plan. They added an orchard with more than 400 pomegranate trees, more walkable streets, and removed some of the commercial development proposed in the community.

The development is based on smart growth principles such as walkable blocks, tree-lined streets, shared public spaces, several ‘pocket’ parks, and a main street with businesses and eateries residents can get to without using their cars. The 364 housing units will vary in price from about $96,000 to $300,000. They’ll also vary in look – with some art deco, spanish villa and other types of architecture. It’s a type of development the city has been pushing developers to build, and while some are in the works, there is no smart-growth community in El Paso yet.

“You know, the city’s spent a lot of time and money in trying to bring this kind of development to El Paso, and the development industry has held back and said no, and if they have agreed, they asked for a bunch of incentives so hopefully we’ll go out there and prove a market,” said Scott Winton, Vice President The Winton Group, who has not asked the city for financial incentives.

Civic group Save The Valley opposed the development. So did three other neighborhood associations, including the Upper Valley Neighborhood Association, according to Mary Frances Keisling, who organized an effort to try and prevent the rezoning. She is also the President of Save The Valley.

“What you’re doing now is taking a slice of Manhattan and plopping it down in the middle of Yellowstone, now that’s a stark analogy but this is our Yellowstone folks,” Jim Maxfield told city representatives at Tuesday’s meeting. The residents said the development is too dense for the Upper Valley. They want to protect the open space of the area, with spread out houses and farmland. Neighbors on Tuesday told city council the development would only congest their streets more. “Anyone who’s driven down westside road knows that this is a beautiful area, it’s unique to the southwest, it’s not the desert and we should keep it that way,” said Eded Goodwin, another Upper Valley resident.

Winton said the development would accommodate inevitable growth. Newly-elected City Representative Cortney Niland said that with Fort Bliss and El Paso facing population booms, there is a high demand for nice, affordable housing. “I know that living in the Upper Valley is a previlage so I think it’s a previlage that should be afforded to all sorts of economic backgrounds,” she said.

The 60 acres are already zoned for a development that could hold about 188 housing units, but Winton wanted a rezoning to General-Mixed Use so he could add some commercial space. He also amended the proposed development to increase the housing from 188 units to 364.

The vice president of the Canutillo school board said Winton had not told them just how dense the development would be until a day before the city council meeting.

“To have no communication with the school board, with the school district, ahead of time on this, I feel is very irresponsible on his part and really goes to show that he cares nothing about the children in the district and cares only about his own profit,” said Laure Searls.

“We’ve talked to members of their bond advisory committee before they went to the voters asking for a bond election, we’ve had good communication with all of their administration. I don’t know how someone can make an extreme statement without knowing the facts — and if they were looking at the facts, then they’d recognize that that’s not true at all,” said Winton.

Searls told city council the two elementary schools near the development were at capacity or already over capacity. But Canutillo ISD spokesman Gustavo Reveles Acosta said both schools were under capacity. Nearby Garcia Elementary was built for 680 students. Currently, 640 students are enrolled there. Damian Elementary, which is right across the development has a capacity of 725, and currently there are 600 students enrolled. Canutillo is also building a new elementary school across the freeway from the Upper Valley that will take students from Damian Elementary.