West Side residents frustrated with overnight construction: “This is egregious”

West El Paso residents are livid with the noisy, overnight construction of a charter school in their backyards.

“This is egregious,” said Vernon Castle, who told ABC-7 he has owned his home for more than four decades at the corner of Carousel and Cabaret drives. “It shows a mindset that I find disturbing.”

In October, Castle said he and his wife were woken up by light shining brightly into their bedroom at 3 a.m.

“I said, ‘Well what in the world is all this light coming from?'” Castle remembered. “I looked at the construction site and they’ve got it lit up like Ratliff Stadium on a Friday night.”

A new charter school is under construction by Banes General Contractors, according to the neighbors. Castle said he received a notice that the company is allowed to start construction at 2 a.m.

“They may have had a permit to do some construction work, but they did not have a permit to disrupt the entire neighborhood, light up the night sky and create all this noise,” Castle said.

Neighbors are equally frustrated with the noise.

“It’s all the time,” said Moses Hurtado, whose family has also owned a home for more than four decades in the area. “Sometimes, it starts at two in the morning.”

Hurtado told ABC-7 the builder has not provided much communication to residents in the neighborhood.

“I wish they’d have talked to the people that lived here,” Hurtado said. “That way, they could have at least had an input. At least we would have known it would have been two stories.”

A spokesman for Banes General Contractors released this statement:

“Regarding this project, Banes has obtained an after hours permit in order to avoid disturbing early traffic conditions in the neighborhood. We have utilized this on a few occasions since the start of the project. However, in light of some of the neighborhood concerns, we will revisit any early construction activities.”

The spokesman insisted that Banes Contractors did send out area notifications, which he said was required by permit. ABC-7 also asked whether the bright lights and early construction would stop. This what the spokesman said:

“The lighting is a requirement for safety and quality reasons when the early activities are scheduled. The project team is now revisiting this with the ultimate goal of avoiding these early activities, being mindful of area traffic conditions, and maintaining a great relationship with our Mesa Hills area neighbors.”

A spokesman for the city of El Paso told ABC-7 the company does have a permit to work overnight. He said the city would have to look into noise complaints.