2026-10-15 - Historic Landmark Commission

Yes. So this is a reminder that this is an official meeting of the City of El Paso's Historic Landmark Commission. We ask and expect that all attendees are courteous and respectful to each other to

ensure a professional meeting. Any excessive display of uncivil behavior or being disruptive may require for an individual to be removed from the meeting. Per our municipal Chapter 20.20, certificates

of appropriateness, certificates of demolition, and applications for administrative review shall be granted, granted with modifications, or denied based on the following criteria. When the city

council has adopted architectural and design guidelines for a particular district, those guidelines shall control, provided that they are not in conflict with other requirements of the city code.

Except that the HLC may approve exceptions to the guidelines in an effort to maintain the historic integrity of an H overlay property, in which case the exception shall control in that particular

case. All right, thank you. Do we have any public comment? None? All right. On to the regular agenda. Item number one is 3014 Copper Avenue. Itziar, can you bring up the presentation, please? And

commissioners, just a real quick introduction to one of our new preservation program team members, Stephanie Barrios-Urrieta. She has been working very closely with the applicants for both of the

cases that we brought to you today. So she will be presenting the material. You'll notice that the template has changed from what you're used to. And we also ask that you allow for both our staff

member and the applicant's representatives to present all the context and information, and hold off any questions until we have heard from both sides. Unless there's some kind of misunderstanding on

the content, but just so we can keep things flowing smoothly, and give everyone their time to speak. Can you repeat her name? Stephanie. Stephanie. Okay. Stephanie. All right, thanks, Stephanie. Hi,

nice to meet you. Like they said, thank you. Stephanie Barrios-Urrieta with city planning and design. So we'll move on to item number one, which is a request for a certificate of appropriateness for

the construction of a six-foot high privacy fence along the west side of the property. So the property is located at the corner of Copper and San Marcial, adjacent to Memorial Park. The applicant is

proposing to install a privacy fence along the west side of the property to provide separation from the neighboring property. The fence will be located entirely on the applicant's side of the property

line. Here we have the proposed elevations and plan view. The fence will be six feet in height, and it will be constructed of horizontal wood planks. And then here we have photographs of the existing

conditions. As you can see, there is currently no fence or physical separation between the two properties, which you can see on the image to the right. And the second photograph shows the property

from the street where the proposed fence would be partially visible from the public right of way. And then here we have a reference photo of an example to a similar fence constructed at another

property within a historic district. This fence was designed by the same design representative and is provided as a reference for the proposed design. At this time, I'd like to invite the applicant's

design representative, Ms. Karla Frausto, to provide any additional information and answer any questions from the commission. Hi. My name is Karla Frausto. I'm representing Veronica Escobar and her

husband, Michael Peters. And the fence is not towards the front of the lawns. There's nothing there. But it is directly between the two homes. The neighbor, and I can read you a statement that Michael

Peters wrote. "I write to explain why my wife and I are requesting expedited approval for a project to install a fence on our property." Sorry, my voice. "1314 Copper Avenue in Manhattan Heights

Historic District. For several months, we have subjected to a campaign of harassment and intimidation by our next-door neighbor at 3110 Copper Avenue, directly across. He has attempted to harm our

property by hurling objects at our house, has attempted to destroy our plants, and has engaged in other threatening behavior. All has been captured and recorded by our cameras. We have reported his

behavior and shared videos with El Paso PD, but their response has been inadequate, essentially counseling us not to do anything to cause harm to escalate his behavior. For the record, we have never

engaged in any hostile behavior towards him, in fact, just the opposite. Our neighbor's behavior has been steadily escalating because of this, and because of the lack of support from El Paso PD, we

feel it is urgent and need to protect our property and our personal safety." He places photos and documents in his windows for them. He is flipping them off. He's coming between the properties. He's a

physician. Yeah. And, if you recall that home, Georgette, she was murdered in their garage. That's that house. They moved, or he moved. Dan moved. Yeah. And this... Excuse me. He's not a gentleman.

This man purchased the house, and so they really would like to get this wall put up. It's a fence. Yeah. It's a fence. It's not visible from the street. I walked past there this morning, because I

live in the neighborhood. Do you? How do you know? Not because of just random reasons. It's on the park, so- Right ... it's not visible from the street as far as I can tell, so I have no objection to

it. Any questions? I would just like to clarify if it's six foot or eight foot, because I see contradicting language. We do apologize. Initially, it was going to be eight foot, but- They brought it

down. Yes. Oh. To six foot. And then is the color also going to be gray? It's going to match the existing trim for the house. Oh, okay. So if we go back to the images from the house, if you can see. I

see. It's hard to see, but the trim at the top, it's going to be that same color. Okay. Thank you. All right. Any additional questions for the representative? No? Motion to approve the application. So

moved. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, motion passes. Thank you. Thank you very much. On to item number two. Mr. Chair, at this point, I'll recuse myself and retreat to the audience.

Okay, sounds good. Thank you. Thank you. Item number two is a request for a certificate of appropriateness for improvements to the public right of way adjacent to 108 East Mills Avenue. Itziar, can

you bring up the presentation, please? Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. So the project area is located, like I said, along East Mills Avenue, directly in front of the Historic Kress Building and across

from San Jacinto Plaza. The project is divided into two phases, with the applicant requesting approval for both phases. Phase one consists of temporary safety improvements in preparation for

Winterfest and the holiday season. The proposed work includes the removal of an existing tree, patching of its tree well, and an additional vacant tree well, along with repairs to deteriorated parkway

areas and damaged sections of the sidewalk. The intent of this phase is to address existing pedestrian safety concerns, particularly with the increased foot traffic anticipated during the Winterfest

and holiday season. And then phase two, it consists of improvements to the parkway and sidewalk areas. The proposed work includes the installation of new trees intended to complement the landscape at

San Jacinto Plaza, additional sidewalk improvements, and a fence associated with a potential outdoor cafe area. Here we have the detail drawings for the proposed fence. The design incorporates

architectural details intended to match existing decorative elements of the Historic Kress Building. And then here we have photographs showing the existing conditions along the right of way, including

the sidewalk, the tree wells, and surrounding parklet areas. Here we have some additional photographs documenting the current conditions. And then here's the rendering illustrating what phase two will

look like once completed. And then finally, I have some historic images from the Crest building as additional context for the building's historic character. Now I'll open the floor for the

representative. Or the applicant, yes. Representative of the applicant. Good afternoon. My name is David Avines with Avines Architecture. I think Stephanie pretty much covered what our intent is. For

phase one, as she mentioned, all we're trying to do is make the sidewalk safer, because the intent is for the food court to open up for Winterfest. And we just want to make sure that the walking

surface is level, because we currently have the tree, as well as two leave outs that have the rubber mat in them. One of them has rock as well. So anticipating crowds because of Winterfest, we would

just like to, again, keep the horizontal surface level and fill in the leave outs with concrete. The proposed improvements for phase two, what we're proposing is that the railing for the outdoor

seating, nothing will touch the Crest building. Everything's freestanding. Okay? So we do not intend-- We're respecting the building itself. And then the landscaping, our intent is to somewhat match

the landscaping at the plaza with the long-term goal, hopefully, that this side, the south side of Mill Street, will have a landscaping that matches the placita to create a nice promenade for the

public. And that's what this project is about. But phase one, we're hoping to do prior to Winterfest, and then phase two will be scheduled for next year. Thank you, David. It looks like we have a net

positive on vegetation, so that's a good thing. Does anyone have any questions? Yeah, just to clarify, we're only voting on phase one. You're showing us parts of phase two, but we're only voting on

phase one today? No. That is correct. Well, it's my understanding that phase two was submitted to determine if we could receive a certificate of appropriateness for both- So I can clarify. Sorry,

David. We're requesting approval for both phase one and phase two with the understanding that if there are any changes to the design of phase two, they would have to come back to present those changes

and request approval for the changes. But we are requesting for approval of both phase one and phase two. It doesn't say phase two, but the second part of the agenda item, installation of new

landscape trees, fence, lighting, and seating area, that would be phase two? Mm-hmm. Okay. Is there any way to transfer the tree somewhere? What are you going to do with it, just chop it down? We have

spoken to our landscape architect about that, and with downtown trees, we haven't had much success in transplanting. And then I'm not quite clear on what exactly you're proposing. It looks like the

seating area would be on the sidewalk, right? So would the city be granting an easement for use of the sidewalk? So we have various vehicles the applicant can pursue. The first one that comes to mind

is the Right of Way Cafe program. That's the way many of the restaurants downtown operate outdoor patio seating areas for their establishments. But this commission only has purview over the aesthetic

improvements that are happening on the right of way in front of the historic property, which is what we're reviewing right now. The city, whenever the applicant is ready to go for a permit for their

outdoor cafe, the planning department will work with the applicant to ensure they get the appropriate permits for that. Got you. So questions like, how much sidewalk is left? So all of those are

regulated by the dimensional standards in the Right of Way Cafe program. I can forward you the information on that, especially because we've seen a lot of interest in the Right of Way Cafe program

within the downtown area, not necessarily within the historic footprint of our local district downtown. But I'd be happy to share that information with all of you. The more you know, the more you can

share. Sure. I mean, we have interest, but like you said, that's not within our purview anyway. Right, so the drawings look beautiful. Mm-hmm. The designs match, I think, the plaza, or maybe they

match the Crest, but there's little details on the side- And if I may add, Commissioner, that tree, and I feel for any tree always, it is kind of in the middle of the sidewalk. Right. People have to

dodge it, and it really does conflict with just the fluidity of the pedestrian walkway in that area. And the reason that the tree is within our purview is because it's an aesthetic, right? Well, it's

part of the right of way within the historic district, and our design guidelines within the right of way within the downtown historic district. Okay. And then- So parkway improvements are within the

purview. So that was my next question. Why is this even in front of us? I assumed it was because the Crest is a historic building, but I didn't know there was a downtown historic district. I recall a

lot of debate over- Yes. I'll be happy to share all the-- As I mentioned in our first meeting, I will be happy to provide for everyone some updated trainings and share information as far as what our

current local districts and their boundaries are, so we can begin discussing the best ways to update them and work with the property owners of said districts. But I'll be happy to share with you all

the boundaries. We do have a downtown historic district. That would be awesome. Yeah. Yeah. I'd like to know the difference between the downtown historic district- Yeah, I think it was the same thing

as residential districts- ... and what we have and what we don't ... but the downtown is a properly designated district. Right. So I'd like to know, when you send us the material, some explanation of

the difference between the existing one and the one that the county was pursuing. As far as boundaries? Absolutely. No, just as far as why the county was pursuing it if one existed already. So then

the boundaries are different, and local designation is very different from national designation. So the county was- Yeah ... pursuing district designation at the level of the National Register. Our

current downtown district is only designated as a local historic district, and that's why it's within the purview of your commission and our administrative historic preservation program. So any

building within that existing district comes to us for those aesthetic things that- Correct ... that you were mentioning. Correct. Okay. Well, I have tons more questions, but that's not on the agenda,

so I'll wait until you send us the updated materials. But yeah, that's all I got. Great. Just to clarify one thing, one comment you made. This sidewalk, from building face to curb, is 28 feet. And so

with phase two, what we'll be looking for is a right of way vacation of nine feet. So there would still be a 19-foot walkway for the public. Okay. Yeah, it looked different on the pictures. It looked

like a different ratio. But yeah, okay. We're very aware of the amount of space, and it's very generous. I just wanted to point that out. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. Thank you very much. Does anyone have

any additional questions? No? Motion to approve phase one and two for the subject project. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Nope. Motion passes. All right. Thank you. I'm going

to let him get back up here. All right, onto the consent agenda. Motion to approve the consent agenda. So moved. All those in favor? Aye. We had a second. Yeah, we had a... So moved over there. All

those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Nope. Motion passes. All right, is there any announcements before we adjourn? All right, motion to adjourn. So moved. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Any

opposed? Nope. All right. Meeting adjourned. Cool. Where's Probi? Thank you all.