Residents upset with blighted property in neighborhood

Mountain Park is one of El Paso’s most scenic neighborhoods. The homes dot the foothills of the Franklin Mountains in the Northeast. Residents peering out the windows of their homes can see arroyos to the west and north and to the east, Fort Bliss, Biggs Army Airfield and beyond. Deer and other wildlife are often spotted strolling through the yards at dawn and dusk. The 40-year-old neighborhood has been home to mayors, legislators, doctors, lawyers, Army officers and families.

But for years, a home at the top of Zion Lane in the Mountain Park neighborhood has been marring the view. A vacant house is boarded up and surrounded by chain-link fence. The yard is nonexistent, and the fence does little to keep out feral cats.

“I get up every morning and that’s the first thing I see in the morning,” said Diana Gutierrez, a neighborhood resident.

Gutierrez joined about a dozen of her neighbors outside the home Tuesday morning to voice their complaints about the eyesore with ABC-7.

“This is an old community. It’s a beautiful old community. And unfortunately we have to look at this everyday,” Barbara Pence said. Pence lives two houses down from the vacant house. She told ABC-7 that it has been like that for 15 years.

She and several of the neighbors told ABC-7 that the homeowner is in the military and has repeatedly told them that he plans to renovate the house once he retires. But they say that his timeline hasn’t changed over the years, and he declines offers from them to find contractors and oversee work.

“My husband and I have offered to purchase the property. We have offered our help in any way for this gentleman,” Pence said. She also said she has repeatedly approached the city to do something about the property, but hasn’t gotten anywhere. “We’re really desperate at this point to get help. Because our homes when we get ready to sell them, they’re not going to sell at the price we are taxed on,” she added.

The president of the Mountain Park Community Association, Beverly Clevenger, told ABC-7 that the association has covenants regarding property upkeep, but the city cannot enforce them. And the association doesn’t have the money to fight any ensuing legal battle that may emerge if it tries to enforce the covenant on the owner.

ABC-7 asked the city why the house was allowed to remain in its condition for well over a decade. Sonya Calahan, a city building inspector, said in a statement, “The Codes do allow for abandoned projects to be condemned after 2 years of cessation of work. However, the City has not typically or historically acted upon these types of cases unless/until it becomes apparent that there will continue to be no progress on the project and if the structure is unsecured. Priorities are placed on unsecured and/or abandoned properties where unwanted entry is occurring.”

The house is secured under city standards since its window holes are covered with plywood and the property is surrounded by a chain-link fence.

But in the last few months, things started to look up for the neighbors.

In July, the City’s Building and Standards Commission held a hearing about the house’s condition and issued a ruling in August condemning the house, calling it a safety hazard.

The homeowner didn’t appeal and has not evoked the Soldier and Sailors Relief Act, according to the city.

Another hearing is planned for Wednesday. Calahan said in the statement to ABC-7 that the owner is scheduled to submit his report and plans for the property.

Residents are hopeful that the outcome of the hearing will lead to the end of the blighted property’s blemish on their neighborhood.

“I feel encouraged that someone is listening at last,” Pence said.

“Either demolish the home and start all over, or get a contractor and get it fixed,” Gutierrez said. “We’ve been patient. But it’s gotten to the point where enough is enough.”

The city urges residents who are having issues with vacant or hazardous properties in their own neighborhoods to call 311.