Historian files lawsuit, demands Duranguito petition be included in general election ballot

Dr. Max Grossman, the historian leading efforts to preserve the Duranguito neighborhood in Downtown El Paso, has filed a lawsuit demanding the City Clerk to place a proposed ordinance establishing a historical overlay in the Duranguito area on the ballot for the November 2018 general election.

The lawsuit also declares Council has “acted unlawfully by interfering and preventing the City Clerk from performing her duty.”

Advocates for the preservation of the Duranguito neighborhood launched a petition drive in January of 2017, stating they and those who signed the document “oppose the forced displacement of people and businesses for the purpose of erecting an entertainment arena.”

According to section 3.11 of the city charter, if more than five percent of the voters sign a petition on a particular ordinance, Council must place that ordinance on the agenda of a council meeting to be held within 30 days.

On May 15, 2017, they presented more than 2,400 signatures, but Council took no action saying it wanted to wait until the results of a court hearing in Austin before making a decision regarding the original petition.

The City Charter stipulates a second petition must be circulated to trigger an election.

On September 11, 2017, The Paso del Sur group submitted more than 2,200 signatures to the municipal clerk, hoping to force Council to vote on establishing a historical overlay in the Duranguito area, the site of the new Downtown arena.

The move would create a historic district that Paso del Sur said, “the city’s own architectural survey recommended 19 years ago.” At the time, Paso del Sur members told ABC-7 the organization was against the demolition of buildings in the Duranguito area “for the sake of a sports arena that would benefit only wealthy investors.”

On October 17, 2017, the City Clerk validated 1,974 signatures submitted in the second petition, exceeding the required number of 1,666 signatures. If the second petition’s signatures are validated, yet Council takes no action, Grossman’s lawsuit says the municipal clerk must place the petition on the ballot at the next general election for voters to decide.