Commission approves rezoning and special permit for ballroom and retail at 3550 Richbeen Blvd.; commissioners add conditions in debate

The El Paso City Plan Commission on Aug. 28 approved rezoning and a special permit for a proposed mixed-use development at 3550 Richbeen Boulevard that would include a 26,000-square-foot ballroom and a 15,000-square-foot retail building on approximately 5.45 acres west of Zaragoza Road and south of Vegemir Boulevard.

Jose Beltran, planning staff, said the site is currently zoned C-1 and the applicant requested rezoning to C-2 plus a special permit and a binding detailed site development plan to allow a ballroom use. Beltran said the plan shows 210 parking spaces, including seven accessible and 11 bicycle spaces, building heights up to 30 feet, and that Plan El Paso designates the location as G-4 suburban walkable. Public notice and neighborhood outreach were completed; staff received four phone inquiries, one phone call in opposition and one letter of opposition raising concerns about traffic, noise and property values. “Staff recommends approval with conditions of the rezoning,” Beltran said, and summarized recommended conditions including a 15-foot landscape buffer adjoining residential property, approval of the detailed site plan, a 500-foot separation for establishments deriving a majority of income from alcohol and emitting amplified sound, and a ban on certain high-intensity uses.

Applicants presented architectural materials and noise mitigation measures. Architect Guillermo Barajas said the event center’s primary noise mitigation strategies are building mass (the event center would be tilt-up concrete), distance between the ballroom and residences, and landscaping. “The building is actually going to be constructed out of tilt wall concrete, which will contain most of the noise, if not all of it,” Barajas said. He described landscape and masonry wall requirements and said the team increased parking after staff review.

Commissioners questioned lighting, noise limits and stormwater. Kevin Smith of plan inspections noted a masonry rock wall and additional landscape buffer as part of mitigation; staff said specific stormwater retention and drainage capacity would be reviewed during the building permit process and that some nearby subdivisions’ drainage infrastructure may already account for this site’s runoff. Commissioners discussed whether to require an 8-foot rock wall instead of the code-required 6 feet and whether the commission could set decibel limits; staff said citywide noise ordinances and code enforcement handle specific decibel regulation and that the commission could require changes on the detailed site plan.

After discussion, the commission moved, seconded and approved the rezoning, special permit and detailed site plan with the staff-recommended conditions. The motion carried. Commissioners and applicants agreed that final permitting will address detailed engineering, stormwater retention, lighting and other site-level technical items before construction permits are issued.