El Paso commissioners pause national historic district nomination
El Paso County commissioners want feedback from city officials before deciding whether to seek a historic district designation for downtown El Paso from the National Register of Historic Places.
Commissioners met behind closed doors Monday to discuss whether to seek the nomination but didn’t take any action. Had they voted to proceed, a draft proposal could have been completed around March, with a potential review by the Texas Historical Commission in September.
Commissioners instead directed county staff to meet with city officials to determine how a national historic district may impact existing city ordinances.
“Before we do something that has unknown consequences, we want to meet with the city,” County Com- missioner Andrew Haggerty said. “We want to make sure it would not put undo pressure on property owners.”
The hold on the nomination comes as the city continues its court battles to build the $180 million down- town multipurpose arena in Union Plaza. Preservation advocates are suing the city in an attempt to prevent it from demolishing buildings in the area.
Some historic overlays restrict what changes prop- erty owners can make to their buildings and spell out a complex process for mod- ifications or demolition, but don’t automatically prevent buildings from being razed.
“It’s a great project and we still want to make sure it happens, we just want to make sure it happens right the first time,” Haggerty said.
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo had also said he was unsure if such a district would inter- fere with city codes and that it seemed premature for the county to move forward with- out meeting with stakehold- ers.
“Wait until we talk with all of the stakeholders and properly go through the process,” Margo said Monday. “It was a prudent decision.”
Consulting firm HardyHeck-Moore Inc., hired by the county in Febr u a r y, conducted a historical and architectural survey of down- town.
The firm recommended a large historic district designation for the area that extends roughly south of Interstate 10 to the César Chávez Border Highway, and from Cotton Street to North San Francisco Street.
The area includes most of dow ntown including Segundo Barrio, Chihua- huita and Union Plaza — that area also encompasses the neighborhood commonly referred to as Duranguito where the city plans to build the multipurpose center.
Emily Payne, a consultant with the firm, said the decision will delay the application process, but the firm is happy to continue working with the county.
The process for review is lengthy and undergoes several steps.
The state historical commission first reviews the application and materials submitted by the firm where it may undergo revisions.
Afinal draft is then scheduled for review with the State Board of Review, which only meets three times a year.
If the nomination clears the board it goes to the State Historic Preservation Officer.
The state preservation officer then determines whether the nomination will be approved. If it’s approved, it then goes to the National Parks Service for a final decision.
The consultant’s report identified 169 properties that might be eligible for individ- ual designations through the national register.