Commission approves Borderland resubdivision in extraterritorial jurisdiction with county conditions

The El Paso City Planning Commission voted June 5 to approve the Borderland resubdivision on a major combination basis, subject to conditions and required county approvals for reduced lot sizes.

Staff described the site as 17.7 acres in the county's extraterritorial jurisdiction north of Borderland Road and east of Westside Drive. The proposal would create 83 single-family lots, a 0.93-acre park and two drainage pond sites (the combined acreage of the ponds was stated during presentation and is recorded in the transcript as "0.4 1.42" and was discussed in staff slides). Planning staff recommended approval with two conditions: that El Paso County approve the reduced lot sizes prior to recordation and that the applicant landscape the rear of all double-frontage lots in accordance with Title 19 of the El Paso City Code.

Myrna Aguilar of Planning and Inspections explained the county's role: because the property lies in the extraterritorial jurisdiction and was not previously subdivided, the county engineer must approve reduced lot-size standards when applicants request lots smaller than county minimums. When asked by a commissioner about the size of the proposed park and whether drainage ponds would be dual-purpose open space, the applicant's representative, George Halud of SLA Engineering, said the ponds are separate from the park and that the park will include multiple amenities; he also said the development has proceeded through county review and that a plat and variance were scheduled before commissioner court.

Commissioners raised concerns about lot sizes and the development's relationship to surrounding larger lots. The commission approved the recommendation with the conditions that the county approve reduced lot sizes and that landscaping be provided for double-frontage lots.