HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I know, I know January is half over but this is the beginning of the new year for FPDA. If anyone is counting we are starting our 39th year advocating for the best interests of businesses and residents of the Five Points area of El Paso. We finished last year with a great Christmas Party thanks to Tony, Dinah, Tracy and Kristin. Those of you who missed it, are the poorer. We also swore in our new Board. (The “swear at” comes later). Outgoing City Representative Alexsandra Annello administered the oath of office.
ELECTIONS, ELECTIONS
To start the new year off, we will see the election of two new government representatives for our area; first, the run-off election for City Representative District 2 and next the primary election for the District 77 seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Our January meeting will feature a political forum with the two run-off candidates, Dr. Josh Acevedo and attorney Veronica Carbajal. We will begin promptly at noon so please arrive as early as you can. We will give each candidate 3 minutes to introduce themselves and their platform and then open the floor for questions. Our new “program facilitator” (she’ll have to tell me if she wants to be known as Chair) Dinah Kilgore is already working to set up a candidate forum for the District 77 primary candidates for the February meeting. If you can help, please let Dinah know. I encourage you all to attend and bring friends and business associates to learn about the candidates to make informed election decisions.
CHANGES, CHANGES, BUT ARE THEY GOOD FOR US?
There are many changes afoot in and around our part of the world. It may be too late to affect some and for others we need to move now. All of them have the potential for great harm for our neighborhood or some good if we can make our voice heard. At random, here are some of the issues:
1) The I10 bulldozer that threatens to take property to the east of Piedras, close the Raynor underpass, move northbound traffic to Piedras with the possible result that much northbound traffic will opt for Copia and avoid Five Points is grinding forward. Opposition is still working for the best interests of those along the freeway as opposed to interests that are only concerned about running more trucks through the heart of the city.
2) A new monster has raised its ugly head, the GSA plans to increase the commercial truck traffic facility at Bridge of The Americas that will increase truck traffic in the immediate neighborhood (our neighbors to the south) and on the freeway, potentially destroy the coliseum, and create every type of environmental pollution one can imagine. We have joined our neighbors in opposing this proposed expansion. We are not opposed to increased traffic with Mexico but we believe truck traffic belongs on the perimeter of the city and passenger car traffic is more appropriate for the heart of our city. This is especially true of residential neighborhoods that border the current BOTA facility.
3) The El Paso Police Department will vacate the old Sears building and a decision must be made on the use of that land. The City, in its infinite wisdom has already reduced the parking lot by ½ but, hey that’s alright, businesses don’t need auto traffic. Everyone will come by bicycle, bus and shanks mare. Utopia is here! Two big questions arise: A) Who will develop the property? Do we want the city to repeat its rousing success with North Park Mall? Do we want some unbridled greedy developer chosen by the city only on his high bid (which should all rightly be spent in Five Points but won’t) who only has eyes for the dollar, and doesn’t live or work in Five Points to create an incompatible eyesore? I wonder. B) Will the City insist on its only apparent form of economic redevelopment that emphasizes a concentration of bars (I refuse to use the City’s euphemism “Entertainment Districts” because the entertainment I see in those areas is Murder, Mugging, and Miscellaneous Mayhem) with no apparent concern for so-called family-friendly businesses that don’t need police presence on overtime to keep the lid on.
4) The Uptown Downtown Plan (it has another hard fought name but this one is so cute I couldn’t resist) has been adopted. Won’t that they spent less time on fighting for a new name and social engineering. Its plan (sorry, concept only, not the plan—just like the I10 “concept” that became a plan) focuses on social engineering such as more density (multistory low income apartments with no off-street parking such as the beauty on Montana between Campbell and Kansas), affordable housing (code word for low income?), gentrification prevention (limit market appreciation of properties) and bike paths. Why should this concern us in Five Points? This is the coming urban model for central El Paso and we could be the next “beneficiary”. Also, they are our western neighbors (Cotton Street is the boundary). Their “concept” is to narrow the “too wide” streets such as Rio Grande and Arizona and put in trees and bike paths—up to Cotton. What happens to our side? And what happens to the possibility of limiting exits on I10 that will put traffic back in our business area? Pues, quien sabe?
5) And, lastly (for this list at any rate) the salvation to all of the foregoing (I wouldn’t hold my breath), a new Master Plan for Five Points is in the works. Properly executed this might be a solution but forgive me my skepticism. When city council agreed years ago not to implement smart codes in Five Points, it directed the “planners” to work out a hybrid code. We met with Alex Hoffman and worked out an area near the freeway, set the boundaries and are still waiting to see the effect on existing development and the proposals for the hybrid plan. I grow blue in the face. The other thrilling news about the Plan is that the city has searched far and wide and could only find a qualified firm out of town, a firm whose principals, I am sure, do not live, work or own property in Five Points and will see no personal consequences of their decisions. They will simply pick up their generous checks and move on. This is the scenario of the Memorial Park Master Plan that was such a fiasco that the residents, including the “steering committee”, said the plan was nothing like what they were promised and showed up with “torches and pitchforks” to protest. The then City Representative and Interim City Manager agreed that it would not see the light of day in City Council. We must not let the same thing happen in Five Points. We all must be engaged through the entire process. If you’re interested, Alex Hoffman will be in charge of the Five Points Master Plan.
JUST WONDERING…..
Why is it that a wealthy developer gets to build a HUGE subdivision in far northeast El Paso with taxpayer-subsidized infrastructure; property tax and fee reductions, forbearances, etc.; a stream through the development; a new police headquarters farther from the center of the city and nearer said development and the extreme northern city boundary; and possibly special loop access that was not originally planned?
Why is it that already-developed older central neighborhoods, such as ours get “densification”; “gentrification limitation”; low-income housing; bar districts; loss of police headquarters; a storm water channel with no channel and a storm water pit instead of a park; a freeway that takes business away to major intersections; and no subsidies on our infrastructure? Just wondering………
A crumb or two every now and again would be nice. Sure beats a shower of lumps of coal.