Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Historic panel requires 4412 Hastings Drive to restore 50% living landscaping; leaves windows in place
Loading...
Summary
After years of unresolved work done without permits, the Historic Landmark Commission required the homeowner at 4412 Hastings Drive to restore at least 50% living groundcover and count the parkway toward that requirement; commissioners accepted the existing windows as installed and barred new permits until landscaping compliance is achieved.
The El Paso Historic Landmark Commission on a vote approved a measure requiring the property at 4412 Hastings Drive to bring its front yard and parkway into compliance with district landscaping rules, and it agreed to accept the current replacement windows as installed.
Provisional staff presenter Provolentia Velasquez said the property — in the Austin Terrace Historic District — had multiple after‑the‑fact alterations dating to 2018 and possibly earlier, including removed historic windows, an enlarged driveway and artificial turf where living ground cover once was. Plans examiner Fred Alejandre told commissioners that the property was placed on a violation notice in 2018 and that administrative approval in 2020 proceeded without final inspections.
The commission debated enforcement options and fines. Assistant City Attorney Russell Wade explained that code enforcement may issue daily citations once enforcement begins; staff said the recent ticketing in the file goes back two months. Commissioners pressed staff about whether the commission’s decision would affect outstanding fines; staff and the city attorney clarified the commission’s role is limited to design and permitting recommendations and does not itself levy the daily fines.
A family representative, Alicia Herrera, said the homeowner (referred to in the record as Mrs. Rubio) is a non‑English speaker who did not know permits remained outstanding. Herrera said the homeowner’s husband paid a fine in 2018 and later died, and the family believed the matter had been resolved. Herrera said the homeowner is willing to correct violations and work with staff.
Commissioner (speaker 6) moved that no permits be issued until the primary landscaping and the parkway achieve 50% living ground cover and that staff be authorized to review and approve the homeowner’s proposed landscaping; the motion also accepted the currently installed windows as they are. The motion, seconded and put to a vote, passed. Staff said the landscaping plan should be presented to staff prior to work and that the 50% requirement may include cactus, grass or other living ground cover; the driveway and parkway will be counted in the calculation.
The item requires the homeowner to correct violations within the commission’s stated timeline and leaves remaining enforcement of fines to code enforcement and the courts. The commission’s action focuses on design compliance and the availability of future permits: staff said permits will be withheld while violations remain uncorrected.
Next steps: the homeowner will submit a landscaping design to the Historic Preservation Office for staff review; staff will monitor compliance before permitting other work on the property.
