City Council takes no action on Duranguito petition

El Paso Times

This building at 302 W. Overland Ave. at the corner of Chihuahua Street in the Duranguito neighborhood has been boarded up. It dates to the 1880s.

The City Council on Tuesday opted to not act on a petition asking that the Duranguito neighborhood be designated a historic district.

The mayor and council voted six to one to not act per the advice of the city attorney and outside legal counsel following an executive session discussion about the petition. City Rep. Alexsandra Annello voted against not taking action on the petition.

City Rep. Cortney Niland, who represents the district, did not attend the meeting. She resigned in April, citing family related issues. The runoff election to fill her seat is July 15.

The petition was sparked by community efforts led by the Paso del Sur activist group to save the neighborhood located in the Union Plaza area where the city plans to build the controversial $180 million Downtown arena.

Lowell Denton, outside legal counsel for the city, said the recommendation was made because Texas law has made it clear that voters cannot adopt zoning ordinances.

More:

City argues against temporary restraining order, stops city's arena negotiations

Travis county judge postpones El Paso's Downtown arena hearing

“The provisions listed in the petition are provisions that are in the El Paso zoning ordinance — a historic overlay. The ones (historic overlays) that do exist in El Paso today are zoning ordinances, so we believe that those are not lawful and that subject is already in front of the judge in Travis County,” Denton said.

County Court at Law 5 Judge Carlos Villa, gives the oath of office to newly elected Mayor Dee Margo. Margo takes over the position and becomes El Paso’s 51st Mayor.

Mayor Dee Margo, who was sworn in Tuesday morning, said that the City Council opted to take the legal advice and wait to make any further decisions regarding the Downtown arena until after a ruling is made in mid-July.

“Their particular petition has to do with a zoning issue that the state has never upheld in any way, shape, form or fashion, plus we are waiting to see what happens in the courts in Austin,” Margo said. “It behooves us to wait.”

Paso del Sur collected more than 2,400 signatures for the petition, which was certified by the city clerk June 15. For the petition to be certified, the City Charter required the signatures of 1,831 registered voters — about 5 percent of the number of voters who participated in the May 2015 general election.

Jose Quintero, Paso del Sur member and petition leader, said the group will immediately begin collecting signatures for a second petition.

If the group succeeds in getting a second petition that is certified with enough signatures, it would force the city to place the proposed ordinance on the ballot for the next general election in November.

More:City mum on demolition permits for Duranguito properties

“Because they refuse to listen to the people of El Paso that signed this petition to designate a historic district in barrio Duranguito, they’ve left us no choice except to start on our second petition,” Quintero said.

About 25 to 30 arena opponents gathered in the council chambers. Many addressed the council during the call to the public, which initially was limited to one minute per speaker.

Margo had placed the time limit in order to allow everyone to have an opportunity to speak. He said he was not trying to limit the public's opportunity to voice their opinion.

“Beginning this meeting with a one-minute limit is a horrible way to start community engagement,” said Cemelli de Aztlan, who spoke in favor of protecting Duranguito.

The City Charter allows for 30 minutes for public comment at City Council meetings, with three minutes allowed for each speaker. If there are more speakers than the typical three-minute time allotment will allow, then the council can limit the time frame to one minute per person. The previous council generally suspended the rules to allow each person the full three minutes.

Attorneys file restraining order to stop city's arena negotiations

After several speakers complained about the time limit, city Rep. Peter Svarzbein asked that the rules be suspended and the council voted to approve the request.

Margo said after the meeting that he will discuss with City Council to possibly extending the 30 minute time frame to an hour in order to allow more people to speak during call to the public.

Denton said the issues being brought up by the petition also are going to be addressed during the upcoming court hearing scheduled in Austin.

The city is seeking an expedited declaratory judgment in Travis County to prevent any legal action against it and to validate that the Downtown arena project is an appropriate use of voter-approved bonds.

It also is seeking validation that the arena can be built in Downtown El Paso and in the Duranguito neighborhood.

Travis County 201st Civil District Court Judge Amy Clark Meachum will make a final ruling on the city’s requested declaratory judgment.

Elida S. Perez may be reached at 546-6137; eperez@elpasotimes.com; @ElidaSPerezEPT on Twitter.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the City Council vote.

In other action

• The City Council appointed city Rep. Michel Noe as mayor pro tempore and city Rep. Claudia Ordaz Perez as alternate mayor pro tempore.

• The city will partner with the El Paso Independent School District to share outdoor recreation facilitates at 31 schools such as tennis courts, playgrounds and tracks. The cost to the city will be approximately $23,000 annually. City officials said the cost to build 31 new facilities with similar features would cost about $42 million. The EPISD is expected to vote on the agreement in August and the facilities would be available for use in September.