El Paso City Plan Commission approves plats and rezonings, denies sidewalk waiver on Vista Del Norte

The El Paso City Plan Commission on Aug. 14 approved a major plat for Vista Del Norte Estates Unit 5 with a waiver to landscape the rear of double-frontage lots but declined a requested waiver of a one-foot sidewalk requirement along US 54, and the commission also approved several other plats, a right-of-way vacation, three rezoning recommendations to city council and staff-proposed code amendments to implement recent state law changes.

The denial of the sidewalk waiver for Vista Del Norte Estates Unit 5 came after commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on whether the development should build a 6-foot sidewalk to match the city's preferred cross-section. Staff explained that the portion of US 54 involved is within the Texas Department of Transportation right of way and that TxDOT typically requires a 5-foot sidewalk; the commission approved the plat with the planter-strip exception but without the sidewalk exception.

The decision matters because the City Plan Commission has final approval authority for subdivision plats, and the commission's choice will determine whether the new subdivision will be built to match existing TxDOT-controlled conditions or be asked to adopt the city's preferred 6-foot standard for new neighborhoods. Commissioners discussed walkability and the potential for later development north of the site to adopt a consistent sidewalk width.

In other land-use actions, the commission: - Approved Formation Park at El Camino Real (a major combination plat for about 52.7 acres) with an exception to match existing roadway and sidewalk cross-sections where guardrails and other constraints prevent a continuous sidewalk on Zaragoza Road. Staff and the applicant noted there is no existing sidewalk across a nearby drainage crossing and that guardrails limit…