El Paso City Council takes no action on petition to save Duranguito
Today was the first City Council meeting for El Paso’s new mayor and four new city representatives.
The council chamber was packed.
Many of the people in the audience are hoping the change in leadership could help save the Duranguito neighborhood from becoming the downtown arena.
The group Paso del Sur says more than 2,400 signatures were collected on a petition to preserve the Duranguito neighborhood. The petition was submitted to the city clerk in May.
Many in the crowd today wanted the City Council to take action by either accepting the petition or rejecting it.
Those behind the petition are hopeful an “h-overlay” will be established in Duranguito, creating a historic district.
Council heard from an outside attorney, Lowell Denton, who said throughout Texas history there has never been a zoning change as a result of a referendum. He advised the city not to do anything until the Austin hearing on the city’s effort to build the arena in Duranguito in July.
“The court has never required a city to submit a zoning ordinance to the public and in cases where a zoning ordinance was voted on by the public, the courts have struck them down as being unlawful,” Denton said.
Mayor Dee Margo agreed with the attorney.
“Well given the litigation and the recommendations by our internal city attorney, as well as outside counsel, their particular petition had to with a zoning issue that the state has never upheld in any way, shape, form, or fashion. Plus, we’re waiting to see what happens in the federal courts or the courts in Austin so it just behooves us to wait. We recognize the commitment of the residents and those who signed those petitions and their involvement and we wanted to be mindful of that. We understand that, but it’s also a legal issue and that’s the way we were advised and that’s why we wanted clarification by the outside legal counsel,” Margo said.
Organizers behind the petition say they are not giving up the fight to save Duranguito.
“They are here and not going anywhere. We have formed a commitment to stand against the gentrification of our neighborhoods. The exclusion of our culture and the displacement of our elders,” one petition supporter said.
The city voted six to one not to take any action on the petition until after the hearing next month.
Rep. Alexsandra Annello cast the dissenting vote.
ABC 7 will be at the hearing in Austin and continue to follow this developing story.