Some Environmentalists At Odds With New Northwest Construction

As El Paso continues to grow, so does the debate over how it should be developed.

In the next few years, the desert landscape surrounding Trans Mountain Road will be transformed by a number of development projects in the works for several years now — projects that will have an easier time getting off the ground thanks to a City Council decision earlier this week.

On Tuesday, developers cut a deal with City Council. In a 6-2 vote, council agreed to ease construction restrictions in the land surrounding Trans Mountain Road. In exchange, developers agreed to donate acres of their own private land needed for a state funded freeway expansion on Trans Mountain Road.

Bill Addington, of the El Paso Sierra Club, an outdoor conservation group, said he fears new construction in the area will destroy precious land and wildlife.

“Without that we lose part of ourselves as human beings,” said Addington, referring to the acres of wispy brush surrounding Trans Mountain Road.

Pat Woods, Desert View Homes’ director of development, one of the developers involved in Tuesday’s deal, said Desert View Homes and others have collaborated with other environmental groups and the city to preserve the area’s desert charm.

“We have absorbed the cost to put in hike and bike trails. There’s over 20 acres in this 200 acre development of open space, parks, and hike and bike trails,” said Woods. “We think we are meeting the needs of the outdoor community.”

Addington disagreed.

“They can ‘greenwash’ it all they want, say they’re gonna put a biking trail in, they’re gonna put some trees up, but they’re still destroying all of this you see before you,” he said.

Desert View Homes is not the only landowner looking to build in the Northwest. Among the other projects are developments by Enchanted Hills and Hunt Companies Inc., to name a few.

Woods said there’s a growing need for affordable housing on the city’s West side as more people move to El Paso.

“You look out here and you see a flat piece of land that is ready to develop,” Woods said.

Addington said he is not against new construction; he said he would rather see new buildings go up on the city’s East Side.

“I don’t know what to tell those folks,” said Woods, referring to those against the Northwest development projects. “Everything you see out here they would like to stay forever and I don’t see how that’s possible.”

Construction on a Desert View project to build up to 600 new homes near Trans Mountain Road over the next five years is slated to begin on October 1.