Planning staff briefed the City Plan Commission on two Texas laws that took effect Sept. 1, 2025 and direct changes to local zoning and subdivision rules for cities of El Paso's size.

Staff described two bills (referred to in the meeting as SB 840 and SB 15). SB 840 addresses multifamily and mixed‑use residential conversions and new apartment/mixed‑use development in commercial zones: staff said it creates new definitions for apartments/multi‑family/mixed use, establishes a 65% minimum of total square footage to be converted to residential in certain conversions of commercial buildings, allows taller apartment buildings by raising a by‑right height to 45 feet in applicable districts, and relaxes some local requirements for traffic impact analyses and parking in specified circumstances. Staff warned these are design and code‑text matters and that implementation requires amendments to Titles 18, 19, 20 and 21 (zoning, subdivision and development codes).

SB 15, staff said, governs the plotting of new single‑family lots on previously unplotted land five acres or larger in districts that otherwise allow single‑family homes, sets minimum lot-area rules (for example, 4,000 sq. ft. maximum lot size referenced, and a 2,250 sq. ft. minimum lot area noted in staff remarks) and a one‑space parking requirement for those lots; staff said it primarily affects large undeveloped tracts in the Northeast Planning Area.

Staff emphasized that developers who meet the state thresholds can proceed with building permits and by‑right actions in some cases (eliminating some local discretionary review), and that local code sections (zoning, subdivision, parking, traffic impact requirements and building‑permit review) will be amended to align with the state law. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about whether school sites or historically plotted land could be affected; staff said applicability depends on the underlying zoning and whether land is recorded/plotted and whether a structure is older than five years in conversion cases.

After discussion, the commission voted to recommend amendments to local codes to conform to the state laws and approved staff's request that titles be updated. Several commissioners probed issues around heights, parking, traffic impacts and equity; staff said the changes are ministerial to comply with state law but will be implemented with additional code text and departmental review.