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El Paso council directs staff to develop anti-displacement framework, adds community task force
Summary
City Council asked staff to build an El Paso-specific anti‑displacement framework, create a stakeholder task force and hold district community meetings to gather input before proposing policy options.
The El Paso City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to direct the city manager to develop a comprehensive, locally tailored framework of anti‑displacement strategies and to create a stakeholder task force to guide the work.
Council members said the goal is to identify tools that can protect residents in neighborhoods facing rising rents, redevelopment pressure and investment—while ensuring any proposals fit El Paso’s distinct neighborhood contexts. The motion instructs staff to consider a wide menu of approaches, including tenant protections allowed by state law, preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing, income‑targeted zoning and community ownership models such as community land trusts and limited‑equity cooperatives.
The resolution calls for staff to (1) research policy options and promising practices used elsewhere, (2) coordinate that research with the city’s ongoing housing strategy work, (3) form an anti‑displacement task force composed of community members and stakeholder groups, and (4) host community meetings in each council district to collect neighborhood‑level input before returning recommendations to council.
Representative Gabe Canales, who placed the item on the agenda, told council the intent is to get ahead of displacement trends other cities have faced after rapid investment. “We want policies that lock in affordability and give residents a say in shaping the future of their neighborhoods,” he said.
Council amended the original direction to specify groups to invite to the task force and to add follow‑up engagement: housing finance authorities, legal aid providers, landlord and tenant organizations, chambers of commerce, developers, homeless services, childcare providers and neighborhood associations; the final motion also allows council members to recommend additional participants.
Several council members stressed this is the start of a research and engagement process, not a commitment to any one program or to a budget appropriation. City staff said work on the anti‑displacement framework will be coordinated with the city’s housing plan and other studies already underway, and that staff expects to bring draft recommendations back to council in coordination with those planning timelines.
Public commenters and council members urged quick outreach to affected neighborhoods, including the Chamizal area and other districts where residents said they already feel pressure from rising rents and speculative investment.
The vote was unanimous. The council motion also directed staff to return with preliminary recommendations aligned with other forthcoming housing strategy work.
