City Plan Commission approves C3 recommendation for 9.38-acre North Desert site after narrowing prohibited uses

The El Paso City Plan Commission on Feb. 26 considered a rezoning request for a 9.38-acre vacant parcel at East North Desert Boulevard and recommended C3 commercial zoning with a series of conditions, after rejecting an earlier motion that would have allowed unrestricted C3 uses under the staff-recommended conditions.

Alejandra Gonzalez of Planning and Inspections told commissioners that staff recommended denial, saying the proposed C3 district "is not appropriate for the property in relation to proposed adjacent single family development" and that the site, adjacent to planned residential and a future park, needs a lower-intensity transition to protect neighborhood character. Gonzalez said notices were mailed to owners within 300 feet on Feb. 13 and staff received no written opposition.

The applicant, recorded on the public record as "Carve with Incorporated," argued the site abuts existing C3 along I-10 and an electric substation and said rezoning to C3 would provide continuity along the interstate. The applicant said no specific tenant is yet committed but identified neighborhood-serving possibilities, including a supermarket-type use that would require C3.

Commissioners debated whether to accept staff conditions designed to mitigate impacts — a detailed site plan, landscape buffers adjacent to residences, limits on heavy-truck ingress from the residential side, restrictions on loading areas near homes, and a traffic-impact study (TIA) requirement before recordation. Staff described the conditions as conditional zoning rather than the now-disallowed "contract zoning," explaining that conditions are used to reduce potential noise, traffic and other impacts.

An initial motion to approve the rezoning while removing condition one (which in context would have lifted certain use restrictions) failed on a 3–3 roll call (three ayes, three nays). After further discussion, a commissioner proposed an amended recommendation: approve the C3 rezoning with the full slate of staff-proposed conditions but remove three specific prohibitions from the staff list — automotive repair garage, motor-vehicle repair and material sales — so those prohibitions would no longer apply. That amended motion was seconded and carried.

The net recommendation to City Council, as moved by the commission, is to rezone the 9.38-acre parcel from R5 to C3 subject to the commission’s remaining conditions (detailed site plan, buffering, limits on commercial loading within 50 feet of residences, prohibition on heavy-truck ingress/egress from the south, a required TIA or TIA waiver approved by the streets/maintenance department prior to recordation, and other listed mitigations) with the three prohibited-use exceptions removed. The commission’s action is a recommendation to City Council; final zoning authority rests with the council.

The record shows the key unresolved points for later review by council and staff will include the TIA determination and how the site’s detailed site plan will manage transitions to nearby single-family areas. The applicant indicated willingness to accept many of the conditions but objected to some restrictions staff had proposed. The commission then moved on to a planning-and-design training presentation.

The commission did not adopt an ordinance at the meeting; it forwarded its recommendation to City Council for final action.