Welcome to El Paso

An ongoing saga.

Billboards.

Last year, City Council was alerted to the fact that one of the billboard companies had put up 17 digital billboards, even though our current city code does not allow it. This is what I call policy making through the back door.

So we had to answer the question: do we want to allow digital billboards in El Paso, Texas, and if so, under what conditions?

Digital billboards are a new technology that allows sign companies to broadcast many more advertisements from a single board. Many of us, myself included, saw this as an opportunity to open up the debate about how we address billboards in general. We have too many billboards, too much visual clutter, too many roadway distractions. Not great advertisement for our city. Especially when what you want folks to remember is our mountain, our Downtown, our neighborhoods. Having done some marketing in my life, all the sign clutter also diminishes an advertisers ability to effectively reach their audience.

Our current billboard ordinance which has been in place for several years requires billboard companies to take down billboards every time they put up a new one. It is referred to as a cap and trade program. Problem is that it hasn't significantly reduced visual clutter, especially along those corridors that are saturated with signs.

Our planning department looked at what other cities are doing that is effective in reducing the number of billboards but still provides ample opportunities for businesses to advertise. Their research showed that many cities like Houston and Phoenix had effectively reduced billboards with a prohibition on all new sign construction. Based on the City Council direction to look at ways to reduce sign clutter in El Paso, they recommended that we adopt a similar prohibition and allow billboard companies to switch out existing static boards for digital boards in those cases where they were willing to remove 16 signs of equal value.

When the billboard company threatened to sue, City Council (in a vote that I did not support) asked that rather than establish policy through a public process, that we establish the policy through a negotiated settlement. Not surprisingly that negotiated settlement did not do much in the way of significantly reducing sign clutter in our community. It stuck with the cap and trade system and in the instance of digital boards only marginally increased the number of signs that a billboard company would need to remove in order to use a new technology that significantly enhances the value of their signs.

Last Monday at the urging of Representative Lilly, the Planning and Development Legislative Review Committee heard the issue again. We recommended that instead of setting policy under threat of lawsuit that we stick to our guns and go with the prohibition. We also recommended to City Council a cap of 15 digital signs citywide and that in order to trade out a static sign for a digital sign that a billboard company would need to take down 16 billboards of equal value. I added an ammendment that would require that all adjacent property owners and neighborhood associations would be contacted and that a public hearing would be held prior to a permit being awarded.

This issue will be heard by the full council in May. Don't forget to weigh in with your thoughts and ideas.

For more information on what other Texas cities are doing to keep Texas scenic, visit http://www.scenictexas.org/.

The Strangest Thing

Last week I was walking on Portland Avenue up close to the base of the mountain. I introduced myself to a woman who was standing outside of her house. She had been daydreaming and looked a little startled by my "Hello!" "That's the strangest thing," she said. "I was standing here reminding myself that I needed to call you. (Of course, that's the kind of city representative I am, appearing when conjured up in someone's mental "to do" list.)

She and her husband owned the house that she was standing in front of, but rent it out and live on the eastside. She said the alley was a mess, and they wanted to talk to me about what the city could do to clean it up. Her husband appeared and walked me to the alley. Looming across the alley was a mountain of construction debris at least three stories high.

Her husband said that he grew up in the house. Lived there since he was 16 years old. He remembers when he was a teenager, dump trucks coming and dumping the mess on the lot behind the alley off of Cotton Street. He remembers that the building was City Hall or maybe a City County building.

So just like that, a public building (maybe) dumped some 40 years ago in this man's backyard. I told a couple of historians who hustled out there the minute they heard the story. The old city hall was demolished in 1959, which about fits the timeline described by the owner. There are a couple of large pieces from the top of the building at the bottom of the pile which might help identify the exact building that was unloaded in this neighborhood. From first glance, these pieces don't appear to be from City Hall, but it is hard to tell. I'm hoping a local historian or someone who can't stand a mystery is able to figure it out.

In the meantime, I am working with City staff to figure out how to clean this up. The pile is actually on private property and was recently sold through a tax foreclosure sale and then sold again.

So that's the latest from District 2.

The Great American Clean-up

El Paso is one of the most scenic places to live in the United States. Our desert landscapes and soaring mountains give us year-round beauty and breathtaking views. But sometimes we do have some windy days (or months), which often leave trash strewn throughout our streets and across our natural spaces.

Next month, Keep El Paso Beautiful will hold the Great American Clean-up. On Saturday April 4, we will have the opportunity to get out, enjoy our open space and take pride in our community by helping to pick up some of the trash and debris that gets blown about by the wind or careless litterbugs.

Here is the press release from KEPB. I hope you are able to take part in this effort.

CALLING ALL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, ENVIROMENTAL STEWARDS, & COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS
SPRING IS AROUND THE CORNER
TIME TO CLEAN-UP NOT ONLY YOUR CLOSETS BUT YOUR COMMUNITY TOO!

JOIN THOUSANDS OF VOLUNTEERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TAKING PRIDE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES ON
SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2009
FOR THE
GREAT AMERICAN CLEAN-UP (GAC)
CALL THE OFFICE OF KEPB @ 546.6742 TO REGISTER YOUR CLEAN-UP SITE
ALL SUPPLIES FOR THE GAC ARE AVAILABLE AT KEPB COMMUNITY TOOL SHEDS
LOCATED AT FIRE DEPARTMENTS THROUGHOUT EL PASO

FIRESTONE HAS, ONCE AGAIN, JOINED OUR EFFORTS TO KEEP EL PASO BEAUTIFUL ALL EIGHT FIRESTONE LOCATIONS WILL BE EXCEPTING TIRES TO DISPOSE OF THEM PROPERY DURING THE GREAT AMERICAN CLEAN-UP

Keep El Paso Beautiful (KEPB) in partnership with the El Paso Fire Department, Environmental Services Department, El Paso Street Department, Neighborhood Services and Community Volunteers are working together towards a cleaner, healthier, and safer El Paso.
El Pasoans now more than ever want to do their part to improve not only their own community, but our planet. Keep El Paso Beautiful is reminding environmental stewards of all ages and walks of life that Green Starts Here, with each volunteer and group that joins in to participate in the 2009 Great American Cleanup.

The Great American Cleanup in El Paso is scheduled to take place on Saturday April 4, 2009. The 2009 Great American Cleanup reminds individuals and families that a better environment for us all starts in our own communities and the volunteer work we do close to home affects our entire planet. Thousands of volunteers in El Paso will gather during the Great American Cleanup to rid our streets, waterways and public spaces of litter and illegal dumpsites. We’re greening up parks, schoolyards and other public spaces, hosting educational events, removing graffiti and much more.

REDUCE YOUR USE - THERE IS NO EXCUSE
Katherine Gunter- Palafox
Executive Director/Keep El Paso Beautiful
915.472.2985

Calling all teenagers! You are invited to join the MAYOR'S 100 TEENS.

FACT SHEET

Purpose: The Mayor’s 100 Teens draws attention to the many ways in which teenagers make El Paso County a better place. The program focuses on heralding the achievements of youth who do not routinely receive recognition but who nonetheless make a difference in unique, personal ways. Teens who have overcome adversity, provided service to others, achieved something significant and who lead by example deserve to be honored. In recognizing them, the program intends to inspire more teens to higher levels of service and accomplishment.


Nomination Forms: Teachers, counselors, family (but not parents) and any others who recognize an individual’s spirit, drive, and accomplishments may nominate teens currently in grades 9, 10 or 11. It cannot be a teen currently in the 11th grade graduating early. We are requesting that nominators consult with the individual on their interest to pursue this opportunity before submitting the application as the selected teen will have to commit himself/herself to various events and activities. All nomination applications must be typed, handwritten applications will NOT be considered. Preferable method of nomination application submission is via email to nunezdx@elpasotexas.gov. Nomination applications are available at the Mayor’s web site (http://www.elpasotexas.gov/mayor/teens.asp), all city and county high schools at the counselors’ office, libraries, Police Regional Command Centers and a variety of other community locations. Please call Diana Nuñez at (915) 541-4015 for more information. Nomination application period opens on Monday, February 23, 2009 and closes on Friday, March 27, 2009.


Selection Process: Nominations for The Mayor’s 100 Teens are thoroughly reviewed by a committee of educators, community leaders, business people and representatives from youth organizations. Notification is made to selected teens in May.


Public Recognition: Each October, The Mayor’s 100 Teens are introduced and honored in a celebratory public event. A commemorative book that tells the story of each teen is published. Members of The Mayor’s 100 Teens accompany the Mayor to numerous public appearances, participate in community projects and groups and make public presentations throughout the year.

Sunday Meditations

On Sundays, I like to lay on the couch and drink coffee and read the New York Times from the beginning to the end. It's a nice way to relax but also think through what's going on in the world. My dad recently sent me two other items to put into the Sunday mix. I'm passing them along to you. Maybe, like me, you like to spend your Sundays daydreaming and thinking through things.

The first is a music video from a group called Playing for Change. I'm not going to explain it here. It explains itself.

The second is from a radio program called This American Life that airs on NPR. The program is called "The Global Pool of Money," and it takes you through all the forces that came to bear in the recent crisis of the housing and mortgage market. To get to the full episode, click on "Full Episode" on the menu that runs along the left side of the screen. The radio program makes the crisis easier to understand because it introduces you to people who were operating at every level of housing bubble (the borrowers, the lenders, the brokers, the loan bundlers, the Wall Street investors buying bundles and selling them up the chain, etc.)

So some things to chew on on a Sunday afternoon.