Plan Commission - Regular Meeting

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Good morning everyone. Welcome to city council's work session for Monday, April 13th. It's nice to see everyone in council chambers. Wenos das. Miss Prime. Good morning everyone. This is a work session of the El Paso City Council for Monday, April 13, 2026. It is 9:04 a.m. Mayor Pro Tim Chavez is present and presiding along with representative Aso, Representative Rocha, Representative, Representative Nino, alternate mayor prom lemon, Mayor Johnson has requested to be excused. Mayor Prom, we have a quorum.

Thank you, Miss Prime. Representative Fiero, will you please lead us in the pledge of allegiance? United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. And this morning we begin with a proclamation for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week 2026. Representative TCO. Thank you. We prom Chavez. Are they Are they here? Yes. Oh, here we are.

Good morning. Good morning. And it reads, "Whereas the city of El Paso recognizes the professionalism, excellence, and dedication of public safety telecomuners telecommunicators who answer and dispatch 911 calls each day. And whereas public safety telecommunicators are first first responders serving as the initial and often most critical point of contact between the community and emergency services. And whereas public safety telecommunicators play an essential role in protecting police officers, firefighters, and paramedics by monitoring their activities through radio communications and relaying critical information. And whereas public safety telecommunications help telecommunicators help ensure the swift response of police officers, firefighters, and paramedics in order to protect life, liberty, and property. Whereas the city of El Paso is committed to providing the highest level of emergency communication services to the residents of our community. And whereas each public safety telecommunicator demonstrates kindness, compassion, and understanding while assisting residents in times of need. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the mayor and council of the city of El Paso that May 12th through I mean, I'm sorry, April 12th through April 18th shall be known as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Thank you all for joining us here today. Good morning.

Good morning.

On behalf of the dedicated professionals in 911 Communications, I would like to sincerely thank you for this proclamation recognizing National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week and for taking a moment to honor those who serve behind the scenes. Every day when someone in our community experiences fear, crisis, or uncertainty, their first connection to help is often not a siren or a uniform. It's a voice. The voice of a telecommunicator who answers the call with calm, clarity, and compassion. In moments of chaos, they provide reassurance. In moments of danger, they gather critical information and coordinate response that sends police officers, firefighters, and paramedics to those in need. Their work requires not only technical skill and quick dedication, but also patience, empathy, and extraordinary resilience. While much of their work takes place behind the scenes, the impact of what they do reaches throughout our entire community. Every call answered represents someone in need of help, guidance, or hope. Our telecommunicators are there every hour of every day, ready to serve. This recognition is meaningful because it shines a light on a profession that is essential to our public safety, yet often unseen. Today, we pause to acknowledge the dedication, professionalism, and commitment to those who answer the call. On behalf of all telecommunicators, thank you for your support, your recognition, and for helping us honor the individuals whose voices guide our community through its most critical moments. We are proud to serve. Thank you.

Thank you. Can the team introduce themselves, please? Yes, ma'am. My name is Samantha Martinez. I'm the public safety trainer. I'm Sandra Farardo. I'm a fire dispatcher. Good morning. I'm Lenny Deline. I'm the communications manager. I'm Cynthia Beltron, the communications assistant manager. I'm Gracela Samura. I'm a call taker. Hello. I'm H Gonzalez. I'm a supervisor. I'm Val Ramidz. I'm also a supervisor.

Good morning. My name is Jacqueline Samura and I'm a public safety training supervisor.

Those in the back, Hector Santiago, Battalion Chief, El Paso 911.

Good morning. Jonathan Killings, fire chief. Good morning, Dennis Redd, assistant fire chief. Thank you and welcome for being here. Uh, Representative Nino.

Thank you, Mayor Prom. And I want to thank you guys all for all the work that you all do. Um, public safety is a key priority for all of us and you all are the very first individuals that when someone's seeking help, you guys are the ones who answer the call and you all help individuals stay calm and guide them through all the different resources and also keep our, you know, firemen and our police department safe. So, thank you for all the work. I know that there's a lot of many other individuals who part of the team. How many individuals are part of this team,

Chief? So at the 911 center we have a total of uh exceeding 150 telecommunicators that uh serve all three functions. So we have here today our call takers, our fire dispatchers, police dispatchers. Uh this is just a small sample. Um this entire week is tele uh national telecommunicators week. So uh we'll be doing uh a series of events each single day this week. So you all can come down um and uh visit at at any time uh and meet um all the telecommunicators there that that work there and serve. Uh they work three different shifts. So anytime during the day, 24 hours a day, you can come by and and say hello.

Thank you for that. No, and again, thank you for all the work that you all do. I know that, you know, the city of El Paso has a lot of different partnerships as well to provide additional resources. I could only imagine everything that you all hear and go through. So you guys have my full support and thank you for again uh you know your service to the city of El Paso. Thank you. Thank you Representative Lemon. Thank you for being the voice that answers the call for our community. Gracias,

Representative Rocha. Thank you, Mayor Prom. Thank you all so much for everything that you do. I just I I have to echo everything that that uh Rep. Nino and Rep. Leone have said, but everything that's left unsaid. We are so grateful for everything that you do because you are that first point of contact that several of us, including myself, have had to use. And it's um it's very calming when you have somebody that is well trained that is able to walk you through probably one of the most uh terrible days in somebody's life. So, thank you all for everything that you do and putting yourself out there. I'm very grateful. Thank you.

And I want to reiterate my thanks to you as well um for being that first line of defense for our community. You are the first people that people count on when we talk about safety in our community. And you are right. Uh responding to those calls with a calm and very um intentional voice to make sure that people feel safe in our community is so important. I know um public safety telecommunicators receive 240 million 911 calls each year and uh you're dedicating your lives to serving the public and so we appreciate you for your service and we celebrate you today and every day. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you. Do you want us to take it?

Do this without for them. social media. It also has a picture function.

That's cool. So vertical and horizontal like our Instagram. Oh, nice. Wow. And for the record, Representative Canales joined the meeting at 9:08 a.m. That brings us to item number one, and this is presentation and discussion and update on the city of El Paso's federal legislative agenda for the 119 United States Congress. Good morning.

Good morning. So you can pull up the presentation please. Okie do. Looks like it's up there. Okay. Um so today's strategic and legislative affairs um is kicking things off. we have the um distinct pleasure and honor to hopefully start off your week right with this presentation. So, this is going to be a presentation um if you can hear me. Hello. on um implementation updates for the city of El Paso's federal legislative agenda. Get the mouse here. Okay. So, no no action is required for this item. This is simply a presentation and update on the city of El Paso's federal legislative agenda. Um, it's reviewing the activities from the last quarter, but really for the previous year and discussing what you can look forward to for the following year. So, I'm going to take a quick step back and talk about the big picture here. Um, we established the first ever federal legislative agenda for the city of El Paso about a year ago. And really just taking a step back to say the purpose of this federal agenda is essentially to really um build up our ability to uh attract and sustain federal funding. The agenda itself details the principles and priorities that guide the city's advocacy on federal issues that impact the city. So it promotes federal funding and supportive legislation uh for key city projects. Um really what it's focused on is trying to secure federal funding to the best extent possible

especially to pres uh pursue these major projects for the city. So that's um including the advanced manu manufacturing district uh uh expanding modernizing the Isleta port of entry including presidential permitting fort bliss partnerships deck plaza development. What it really comes down to is reducing the taxpayer burden. If you want to see uh further details I put the link to the agenda. Okay. Uh so little bit of a busy slide but we wanted to show um that essentially in our federal program we have provided updates for each quarter in the past year since the agenda was developed. So what we really have this for is for posterity should you decide to look back at the various presentations that we've brought before city council. Um but what really want to highlight here is that it's been a year since we established our federal legislative agenda. That was March 3rd of last year. And in addition to the agenda coming before city council for your approval, um it resulted in a discussion that came in April uh regarding how exactly we can translate our agenda to uh city council and city staff's presence in Washington DC. Um, so with that in mind, it's been a year and we'll just take a look now at uh really what translated from uh that initial direction. So um the first I I think uh look back for the past quarter. Um but really where this all found its fruition is through the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference. Um so that did happen in the prior quarter in March 16th to 18th. Uh just to briefly describe um NLC in DC is an annual convening of more than 2,000 elected and appointed city leaders at municipal governments that convene and focus on federal issues that impact our local municipalities.

We had excellent representation this year, including our deputy city manager, of course, strategic and legislative affairs was there. um our manager for grants and strategic initiatives, community and human development, economic development, and also of course city council staff that came with us to DC. And we appreciated your time um and making that step to visit our nation's capital with us. Um really when we talk about NLC and especially given the direction from a year ago, uh what we want to emphasize here is that this congressional city conference, it set the foundation and lessons for the coming year. um as we continue further engagements at the federal level uh we can kind of glean lessons learned for um moving forward for when we aim to do this next year um and support preparation for next year's conference. So we'll talk a little bit more about that. Um so briefly just to say uh the kind of advantages that come from El Paso's presence at this conference. uh NLC is a national um coalition of city uh local municipal governments and when we all meet here together this gives access to legislators which we'll talk about um but also federal agencies and for attendees also learning opportunities with their peers with peer cities that attend um really to focus on these competitive advantages and lessons in funding and advocacy and this really finds its fruition through our federal advocacy committees of which I know that several of you are members. ers um of and as you convene throughout the year with peer cities, you can really organize around priorities that these federal committees u center around and these uh committees are also led by um national league of cities advocates. So it really helps orient us around these shared goals with other cities. Um so that's kind of the first section here looking at the working meetings. Um, I

do want to note as well that, you know, when we go to DC for this conference, we gather lessons, but we also are able to translate our lessons um with our peer cities and really tell El Paso's story. So, for um just even just looking at this picture here, this is from uh one of the presentations that was led by Mayor Pro Tempori and it was um a panel that was moderated um with these many folks in attendance. I think it was like over hundred sta um like local representatives and uh this uh through this moderated panel it uh we were able to kick off a discussion giving our story to then talk about how we can promote civility and public discourse um and kind of uh bridge those divides in our polarized environment. So I it was a is very compelling uh presentation and um also to mention uh actual work work sessions led by city staff um by uh specifically community and human development led a workshop on affordable housing and um I don't mention it here but housing was really a a major major focus of the conference and across the country. So that was that was quite compelling I believe. Um and then lastly, just the h um hill visits and actual direct meetings not just with our house representatives but also with senators that traditionally are a little bit more difficult to arrange with. And that was done in partnership with TML which is to say there's this added benefit of having um um cities from across Texas also uh coales around this. Uh but really what's what's especially um fortuitous and strategic about the National League of Cities Conference is that it coincides with a decision period where our House representatives make their decisions about which uh capital projects will be selected for community project funding. Um this is kind of an

outgrowth of what was previously known as earmarks where we dedicate um the House representatives dedicate appropriations for local capital projects. So um looking at our initiative on this front we submitted I think the highest number of applications this year that we've had in in city history and this you know as an right after this conference ended we heard the announcement of which city proposed projects were selected. Um so it is a really strategic time for us to uh bring our stories and kind of pro uh basically explain why these projects should be prioritized. The projects are listed here. Ultimately, um, the selections came down to $14.5 million. And these are, uh, projects that were, um, by the way, that's, I think, um, historically the largest amount of projects, uh, funding for projects selected. And it's just to say when we say selections, um, this kicks off an entire year's worth of appropriations. So, it's just to say for the FY27, these were the projects that were chosen by our house delegation and it was both Congresswoman Escobar and Congressman Tony Gonzalez. Um, so when we do this, we continue to work to ensure that we maintain the funding that is initially proposed. So, just kind of going into the next slide, the picture that you see here is from a press conference. So a year ago, uh the projects were selected for FY26 appropriations and strategic and legislative affairs um along with uh I guess moving forward we'll talk about the lobbyists, but we really work to advocate and um inform appropriations discussions so that the projects that were selected in the previous year um will retain the kind of funding that was proposed. So this is just what was

awarded last year. 7 million. So it's it's um we're very very happy for this amount, but we can look forward to sustaining additional actually a larger pool of funding for the coming year. And the press conference is available at this link. Okay. So this this is a segue as well to say um we were uh able to go physically to DC. We set our legislative agenda. We work with you all, our city departments and our partners in DC to advance our federal legislative agenda. Um, that being said, we are uh putting forward in the future city council uh actually the end of this month a uh request for a lobbyist for strategic for the city rather. And what this will do is it will further enhance it will not just enhance our presence in DC but sustain our work during the year in DC. Um while you know while we return we'll still have these um this added support to enhance our capacity. Um and the lobbyist is guided by by our federal legislative agenda. And it's not just our agenda, but the actual presence that they will offer in particular to support our connections with agencies to give us this um kind of advanced understanding of potential funding opportunities. Um kind of the work on the back end really makes a difference to um kind of even before an opportunity comes up that El Paso's is is at the table in those conversations. um and also to support our growing work around military affairs. Um and that's something that is an a just growing aspect of the work that we're doing. A very important um I guess piece in our legislative agenda that calls for these increased partnerships. So in addition to that, it'll also enhance our ability

locally to build those partnerships with federal agencies kind of like organizing our workload in a ve in a more optimized way. So, with that, um, this is going to come before you all at the April 28th city council session. Um, it's something for for us to reflect on, and we're happy to support, uh, briefings and conversations in advance of this council session and really just, um, express how this is going to build on our success and enhance our capacities to, um, draw more funding to the city at the federal level. So um that's that's really what you can look forward to for the coming council. Um I mentioned that NLC kind of set the precedent for the following year. So um what this translates to in addition to our sustained work and preparation for being present in DC is to also inform our engagements elsewhere. So, for example, we have El Paso days in Austin, and I think this can kind of inform some of the work that we do to be sure that that's also optimized and um we really make the best of that time and and inform both um engagements, El Paso DC, Paso and Austin. And um it's also just to note that we are going to update our federal legislative agenda again. Um time flies, the next Congress is going to begin in um January of 2027. So with that just uh we will continue to engage with our departments and bring that to you um potentially I think like August no sorry September October to city council so you can look forward to that. Um otherwise these are uh upcoming council items um that you can take a look at here and this is just really an opportunity to reflect on the past year and look forward for what's to come for the federal program. Um, so that concludes the end of my presentation and we're happy to take any questions.

Thank you, Al, for that presentation. Representative Fiero. Thank you, Mayor Prom. First and foremost, thank you very much for your leadership and for preparing us and preparing our legislative update well in advance. I mean, I I think that the city, your team has really become the the leader in our community at preparing our delegation, both federal and state, um, on what our hopes, our expectations, and what we need for our community. So, thank you very much for that. I also um want to just share Congresswoman Nescobar's team was here last week and I think she they visit with every with all of us and they were very complimentary on you and the rest of the team when when we were in DC and the ability for you to share the priorities of our community and and then share some of the ones that were already been funded. So again, thank you for your leadership. Thank you for everything you've done um for our community. Thank you, Mayor Proim. Thank you, Representative Rota.

Thank you, Mayor Prom, Ali, Omar, Cesar. You all did a phenomenal job. And I know that that's just only three of you. You know, it was a whole team that that produced this and it was a production. And it took a lot of coordination. And I just want to thank you for the the great experience that I had at being able to be try to make a a a change or a difference. Miss Mack, thank you for the the staff that went. Having Miss Gera there, having uh Miss Rodriguez there, having that staff there was pivotal in being able to to firsthand hear all the updates and changes and everything that are coming and what um what those points those main points were like housing to come out of that conference. What I will say and something that I'm really proud to to bring back was that it was a it was a monumental effort on the strategic and legislative affairs team to coordinate not only the the four of us that went but all of the staff in addition to that and it was seamless. So Al great job on doing that with with the rest of the team. But one thing that I will say is that I went through several sessions from Sunday all the way through Tuesday and then Hill Day on on Wednesday. There's a lot that the city of El Paso does really well already. And there's a lot specifically we were talking about AI and I happened to be in the meeting with with Miss Gera um in that session. A lot of what some cities are still struggling to do, El Paso's already doing it. And that is a huge testament to the leadership that's happening within the city. And so I just I'm it was such a proud moment for me. That was just one of the the instances

of the many that I found um on public safety was another one. El Paso just does things already so well. And that is a huge testament, Miss Mack, to you and and all of your staff. And I just wanted to say thank you. And thank you to the strategic and legislative affairs department. There's there's some constituents that will reach out and tell me, "Hey, uh, Miss Rocha, please stay in your lane. You know, stay local. Uh, we don't have to mix with with state or federal." And I want to make sure and make myself perfectly clear. We have to interact with our state and legislative delegations and partners in order for things to make a difference here at home so that we can make sure that El Paso is getting the biggest amount of money and making the biggest impact with the money that we do get and make sure that we let everybody know that this border city is amazing and beautiful and we're going to fight for everything that we we go out for. So thank you again Ali and strategic legislative affairs department Omar Cesad I know you all are here representing but to everybody that took part in the organization of getting us there and just the coordination we're very grateful and it was a wonderful experience of my part thank you

representative thank you mayor br al is this a a first for the city to have council and staff go uh something like days in DC. Uh no ma'am. So there has been uh prior attendance for the National League of Cities conference. Um I will say this is the first year that we have formally adopted a federal legislative agenda. Um so that does I think was intentional to bring additional impact um through attendance in this conference and we hope that next year you can kind of pick up the conversation such that it doesn't feel like a first time.

Very good. Well, I think you all did did amazing. Uh, you know, the organization behind that, I know you had a big part in that, but the the team as well and and thank you all for for organizing this and, you know, we had the opportunity to speak to legislators, to meet with federal agencies, attend sessions, uh, met with other city leaders. It was a really, really great experience. I'm really looking forward to seeing what additional things we can bring for our city, for our constituents, uh, funding. you know, I had the opportunity to look uh look into some funding for for for our community and so I'm really looking forward to see what's going to come from that. Thank you again for putting this together. Thank you. You know, the LA uh NLC was a was a really great experience and I'm really looking forward to to attending again. Thank you.

And thank you Al from uh from myself as well. I think it was a great experience to be in Washington DC and to participate in the NLC conference. Um, congratulations on 14.5 million dollars brought to the city of El Paso through the community project funding. Um, and you know, I I reiterate what Representative Rocha was saying. You know, we showed up and we showed up big and we made ourselves present. We have an agenda that that we're pushing forward and we're making sure that El Paso is on the map. And I think this is this is, you know, a new day for El Paso in the sense that NLC was one example of it, but it's also through other initiatives that we're doing as a city. For example, the Bloomberg um that that U Miss Mack, Miss Neman, and Mayor Johnson are participating in. All of these different initiatives are putting El Paso on the map and making sure that people see us and hear us and uh we we're controlling the narrative for our beautiful city of El Paso. So, thank you so much, Ali, for all the work that you and your team did, Omar, and everyone else that was involved. It was a it was a great experience, and I'm happy to see that the the dollars show up for it. Thank you, Miss Prine.

Yes. That brings us to item number two and this is discussion and action on motion from city council on February 3rd, 2026 directing the city manager in collaboration with the city attorney to develop a plan of action to prevent the installation of any immigration customs enforcement ICE detention facilities in the city and to research and look into the following. Number one, create and present a protocol that prevents federal law enforcement officers from entering any city facility with the intention to search, detain, or arrest a person without a signed judicial warrant. Number two, explore a moratorium on permitting, zoning, and licensing for immigration and customs enforcement facilities. And number three, produce a report that details all points of cooperation between the city of El Paso and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Good, good morning, representatives. I just wanted to let you know this is a two-part presentation. As you recall, Miss Ne and her team have done extensive work on this as well. We want to start with the public presentation um and then allow for uh the folks who have signed up to speak um to be able to do so. Um and before you take action on the recommendations, I want to ensure that we retire to executive session to allow for you to hear consultation. Then we'll return for any actions related to this item. Thank you.

Good morning, Mayor and Council. City Prom and Council uh Mario Diagino, deputy city manager for the record bringing a presentation today and it was a follow-up from a February 3rd council action and that action directed the city manager in collaboration with the city attorney to develop a plan of action to prevent the installation of immigration customs enforcement detention facilities in the city. Additionally, to collaborate with the county of El Paso to support this measure. It further directed the city manager and city attorney to research and look into the following and report back within 60 days. Create a pre create and present a protocol that prevents federal law enforcement officers from entering any city facility with the intention to search, detain, or arrest a person without assigned judicial warrant. To explore a moratorum on permitting, zoning, and licensing for immigration and customs enforcement facilities. and to produce a report that details the points of cooperation between the city of El Paso and Immigrations and Custom Customs Enforcement. These are some of the background executive orders that that came out at the around the same time. And so to create and present a protocol that prevents federal law enforcement officers from entering a city facility with the intention to search, detain or arrest a person without assigned judicial warrant. So, state law or Senate Bill 4 from 2017, a local entity may not adopt, enforce, or endorse a policy under which the entity prohibits or materially limits enforcement of immigration laws. Federal ICE agents have power to arrest, detain, or detain in public places, areas generally accessible to the public. Our recommendation is an employee protocol to immediately notify supervisor department heads in the city attorney's office. With that, I'm going to bring up Kevin Smith to speak on some of the

Good morning council. Kevin Smith with planning inspections. I'll be discussing the item regarding moratorium on the permitting, zoning, and licensing for these facilities. It's important to note a little bit of background about state law and where state law comes from regarding zoning and land use and development requirements. So zoning authority is given to home municipalities such as El Paso through state law. And the state law governs what we can and can't do. It gives the boundaries that we can act in regarding uh zoning matters um for for the city to impose on on development. In the local government code um section 211, it does uh bring up there and this is I I apologize. I I'll read this here and this is directly from the state law. It says this subchapter does not apply to a building, other structure or land under the control, administration or jurisdiction of a state or federal agency. So very simply what this is saying is that cities in Texas cannot regulate federal or state agencies for development requirements. They supersede us and they typically do not even come to us for permits. They just go and develop develop the land. As we look at what we do have currently on the books for these type of facilities, they fall within the definition of correctional facility or detention center in our zoning code. The definition is found there and that is the closest definition we have there in the books. Um for the the zoning code where these are allowed by right are the higher intensity commercial zoning districts and the manufacturing zoning districts. What it means by right is that there are no other zoning requirements or special items that they have to go through. There are two zoning districts and I'll I'll explain this for a moment in the ranch and farm and the C2 zoning districts that require a

special permit and these come to um for different uses um periodically throughout the year. A special permit is an imposition on certain uses or circumstances that help to safeguard the community. The use is disclosed throughout the process and and is noted and publicly it is disclosed um at city plan commission and city council. When a property is reszoned, just simply reszoned, it's given the umbrella of all the the the uses that are allowed under that zoning district. When a special permit, it is specific for that one use. So, it is a special permit for X use and that is what is under consideration by city plan commission and eventually is approved or acted on by city council and that that'll play into some of the recommendation I'll be going over here in a moment for how we can look at updating our code. The other zoning districts uh it is I'll just note it is in a master zoning plan in the industrial uh mixed use and in all other zoning districts this use is not allowed. And again this is just for uh facilities that do not fall within under that federal or state agencies. As we look at the moratorum um requirements um there is a a moratorium allowance under section 212 of our local government code on certain commercial property development. This is specifically to address a gap in development regulations. There has to be findings that the existing rules are inadequate and that um new rules need to be updated to uh to help and uh safeguard the community. And like most of the development codes, it they have to be based on a health, safety, and welfare of the community just as the other requirements in our development code.

So just a background and this is all per per uh the section of uh our local government code. It takes a 100 days before a moratorum can even take effect. So if a moratorum say was to be published today before it could even take effect would be 100 days from now. At this during that time our department would be still required to process those applications move along the process. Okay. Once that moratorum is in effect, if it does get approved, they are short-lived. State law only allows them to uh exist for 90 days, there is an opportunity to have one extension. Uh but total of the moratorum cannot exist for more than 180 days. After that concludes, there is a two-year waiting period before the city can try to do another moratorum on the same issue. It is important to note that during this moratorum period, the city needs to be working on ways to address the item. So, it can't just be we we want to impose a moratorum and do nothing. We have to make changes to address the that development requirement gap for for this requirement and simply for the length it takes to even impose a moratorum. staff is not recommending a moratorum to be placed on on on this uh item here. Um the recommendation that we have actually to address this is to uh for the council to direct staff to um draft revisions to the zoning ordinance for this use facility. Okay. Our recommendation is as I mentioned before in a number of the zoning districts they are allowed by right. We would recommend changing that to a special permit. That's where council can have the authority to decide whether it's appropriate or not to permit these.

It allows that stronger oversight by city council. And as I mentioned before, all the notification requirements would still need to be met. So, the property owners would be um would be would be notified of that specific use. It's again it's not that zoning district, it's that specific use that is being uh proposed at a given location. And then as well as the notification requirements that um happen uh for the city plan commission and city council in terms of the our uh our normal processing requirements. The city also in looking at some other Texas cities, what they have done as well, they have imposed other items such as distance from each other or from residential uh setbacks or size requirements. But I I believe that one of the strongest powers that currently lacks in our code would be changing this to be a special permit because then city council has that that uh ability to decide is it appropriate or not at a given location. I will now pass the presentation over to Chief Pacillas to talk about um his portion of the presentation. Good morning, Mayor Prom Council. Peter Pacillas, chief for police for the record. So, some points of uh cooperation, we cooperate with uh multiple law enforcement agencies in the city of El Paso. state, federal, and local. Uh, and, uh, we do have grants that come through the federal and state side. Little history on uh, the El Paso Police Department. We've been, uh, in existence for over 152 uh, years. And throughout the history of our department, we have had uh worked cooperatively with uh federal, state and local agencies um through throughout uh in various ways

helping us secure and being one of the safest cities in the 20th century. Um technology started taking a grip in the late uh 60s. And one of the things that the FBI did is they started the National Crime Information Center, also known as NCITCIC. What this is is where um we just had the telecommunicators here, is the officers when they pull people over, they're checking people, they go to what we call channel one, and they'll run uh people in vehicle on that uh NCIC, TCIC. TCIC is the Texas Crime Information Center. That's how officers would determine if somebody's wanted, something stolen um in the system nationally. uh police departments and sheriff's uh uh offices uh do this and this all started in the late60s. By the turn of this century um things uh had changed obviously because of the 9 and11 attack and what the FBI started including in the NCIC uh database was criminal histories, protective orders, sexual offenders data and terrorism and immigration data. Um current uh community surveys show that El Pasoans feel uh safe in El Paso and that has a lot to do with various factors but one of them is the uh the safety of the city uh that uh we police. In February of uh 87, Chief Jung Skagno uh decentralized the department uh into a regional command, thus setting the groundwork for community uh policing uh in the city of El Paso. This uh increased our presence uh presence in the community and our cooperation with the citizens of El Paso, thus helping us become a more effective uh police department uh out there, thus making us one of the safest, largest cities in the United States. We have had procedures as long as I've been on the department when we're dealing with people that do not uh have

a legal status in the United States. Uh, one of the things is uh we may not uh in my 41 year history, we may not uh uh enforce immigration law, nor do we ask um about their citizen status. The only way we make arrests out there to this day is we must have probable cause to arrest for a uh criminal offense. When officers determine that an individual uh is an undocumented migrant, uh we turn them over to Border Patrol or CBP uh as a whole. Uh how does that happen is uh in general, if an officer comes across and somebody doesn't want to prosecute somebody that we have a state offense on and we're able to determine that they're undocumented migrants, we will contact CBP, Border Patrol, to come and uh uh take custody of this person. If they don't show up in a reasonable amount of time, usually 45 minutes to an hour, we release that individual because we have no charges on them. If somebody does come up to one of our officers and they request asylum, they'll be immediately referred over to uh CBP. That that is a federal issue under our procedures manual 305.3 arrests uh on there. Um due to federal regulations in NCIC, there's the immigration violator uh administrative warrants. If the person has local charges, the subject will be booked uh on the charges that we uh enforce. The officer will notify ICE uh of the arrest and the detention facility where they're booked, which is going to be downtown uh facility. Then the officer will document that in their report. If there are no uh charges um through dispatch, we'll notify the uh law enforcement support center. If uh ICE does not respond, just like I had mentioned previously, uh the officer will release the individual and then the officer will uh notate that in an email to uh PD head notifications.

Uh on arrest also through the NCIC threat screening center, commonly known as the terror watch u um system, is updated in March of 2025 under presidential executive order 14157. uh that came into existence January 25th or 20th 2025 and it designated cartels in foreign as a foreign terrorist organization with low no local charges. The officers will follow the instructions on the NCIC alert and contact the uh threat screening center uh of what they have. The watch list has uh by itself is not grounds for arrest or detention. The watch list uh teletype will have handling codes one through five. And basically what the one two through five codes just inform the officers that the person might have ties to terrorism, a person of interest uh to uh a law enforcement agency, uh possible immigration violator or uh ties to a transnational uh uh crime organization. Um with that, I'll be turning it over to Elda from the controllers's office. Good morning, Mayor Protemp Council Elder Rodriguez Hefner, Office of the Controller, Grants Administration. So, this next section of this presentation is going to address grant certifications and asurances. So all federal grants um come with uh certifications and asurances which is really a a legal commitment uh in order to receive funding. Um we are seeing more and more uh clear very specific language um stricter enforcement across

all agencies. There's a all these l this language that is now embedded into our applications and um our agreements um are also part of the revisions that are going on uh in the uniform guidance which is the code of federal regulation that govern um federal grant admin uh administration. So some examples of um the language that it is included, it's really about concealment, harboring, shielding uh any fugitives from the federal law that have come persons that have come in to the United States illegally and are still here illegally, impeding federal officers from exercising their authority. um encouraging persons to come into the United States illegally and be in violation of the federal laws, transport or movement of illegal persons that are here within the United States, declining to cooperate with enforcement um of federal immigration laws, shielding illegal persons from ICE detention, while they are in violation of federal law. This one in particular um this can bring civil and criminal liability. Non-compliance with federal laws or failure to cooperate generally with the federal authorities uh will definitely jeopardize the continued receipt of um federal financial assistance in the form of grants not just from DOT but from all federal agencies.

Currently, we have about 123 active grants that total in awards over well over $500 million. Um, of these we have covered payroll um almost $75 million. This is to say that the city depends heavily on federal and state funding to operate many of the community programs that the city offers. Then non-compliance of federal laws come with serious consequences. Termination or suspension of current awards and withholding of funding that maybe we have already incurred the cost uh prepared a reimbursement request and they haven't paid us yet. They can withhold those funds. um excluding the city from programs in the future which may result in a period of 18 months to up to three years. This is the suspension and debarment. Uh just like we the city check for suspension and debarment of our own vendors, so does the federal government. and requiring us to repay a disallowed cost that is tied to false statements which would be the signing of assurances and certifications that we are not following some of the federal funded programs that um would be significantly affected and these are just some um but under public health you're looking at Wick family planning, emergency preparedness, immunization, HIV prevention, obesity. Um, under police, we received the cops

grant late last year. Um, Haida would be in jeopardy, vict crime victims grants, save neighborhoods, fire also has the regional catastrophic preparedness emergency response grant. um hazard mitigation, safer grant, community and human development. Um you're looking at CDBG, ESG, um HAPWA, home, they are heavily funded by grants under airport programs. um everything coming from FAA which is um the airport improvement uh repairs of taxiways, runways, uh roof, ceiling etc. and uh the economic adjustment assistance grant which is currently funding the innovative innovative uh factory project. There's um Sun Metro and there with Sun Metro we're looking at all the formula grants. Um the low and emission low and no emission uh grants that allow us to purchase natural gas uh fueled vehicles. Um the bus and bus facility grant that allows us to replace buses. um repair or construct new bus shelters and stay in uh compliance with ADA. Bottom line, federal assurances are considered part of the grant agreement uh including any immigration related terms and conditions that they may insert. uh non-compliance with federal laws may result in termination,

suspension, debarment, and returning of funds. And federal grants provide millions of dollars in funding for priority community programs that we just discussed. And with that, I'll turn it over to Kevin or Chief Council. Again, I want to just go over our recommendations as you heard the speakers all talk. Um, under creating a present and presenting a protocol that prevents so the employee protocol of of immediately notifying a supervisor, department head, and the city attorney's office of law enforcement on the premises for the second item of exploring a moratorum, direct the city manager and city attorney to draft revisions to the zoning ordinance for the correctional facility use. And under the third item to produce the report on points of cooperation is to continue those points of cooperation including grant certification requirements.

This concludes the public presentation. Thank you, Mario. Um, do I have a motion to retire into executive? We're not taking any action until we do that. Is that correct, Miss Mac? Okay, we have to do public comment first. We do have three members of the public that signed up to speak this morning. The first person is Anna Resa, followed by Eduardo Castillo and Juan Ortiz. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.

Good morning, Mayor Protemp and city council members. My name is Anna Resa and I work for the Episcopal Dascese of the Rio Grande. In February, I spoke to you along with many other community members about our call to say no to more detention centers, especially where there are warehouse structures and to close really all immigration centers. They are cruel and they are evil. Today, I am here with others to show our support to the continual support of your call to action to prevent the installation of any ICE detention. A moratorium is a dirty to show that we know that these centers are dangerous and deadly. They are torture that affect people mental health for life. It's also I know that it takes a lot of work and it to stand up for this as we just heard. Um but it's not the only way that with other ways is a way to stop this evilness that is needed. It will take many of their efforts to se show that we we don't want this injustice in our city. We as a city want to prevent further harm to our community members and neighbors throughout the US. We need strict legal environmental requirements. Let's change it to a special permit. Let's protect people that have been criminalized, treated as cruel, and and downright evil at the courts. I've seen 10 to 15 mask agents confront people at their hearings and seen mother a mother breastfeeding being harassed this way and detained. At our two current detention centers in our city, we visit people there and hear innocent people share their anguish as they are separated from their families, spouse and children. They freedom is robbed. We need to stop this and prevent it. As people of faith, we are praying for you and this process. God says, "Liberate my people." We must

always remember our families, neighbors, and communities are not criminals. And I would suggest to the police department to only give 10 minutes for the border patrol to show up. They should recognize what it means for them to do a pickup. It's death, separation of family, and puts evil puts them in an evil detention center. Peace be with you. The next speaker is Eduardo Castillo, followed by Juan Ortiz. Good morning. You have three minutes.

Good morning, Mayor uh Mayor Prom, Council members. Uh I believe I'm required by city code of ethics and and city code of conduct to disclose that I was recently appointed to the ethics review commission, but that I am here in my individual capacity and that this matter does not pertain to any anything pending before the ethics review commission to my knowledge. So, I want to get that out. Thank you. Uh, and while I greatly appreciate the council's responsiveness to the concerns raised by our community, it must be made clear that the community rejects the expansion of inhumane federal detention policies. A nation can secure its borders without sacrificing its soul. Current fiddle federal immigration tactics which disproportionately impact minority communities are designed to inflict pain and humiliation. And while a special well a total moratorum on detention facilities remains the strongest path forward. I recognize the council's shift toward zoning revisions. However, for a special permit process to be effective and protective, it must be rigorous. I propose that any zoning revision includes requirements that the applicant seeking to build a detention facility must meet the following mandates prior to approval. One, environmental accountability. Complete full assessments under both state and federal law inclusive of the National Environmental Policy Act. Two, humanitarian standards provide an exhaustive details on medical care, mental health resources, and legal services for detainees. Three, safety and welfare.

formally demonstrate that the facility will not jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of El Paso residents. Four, public transparency. Conduct mandatory public hearings to address community concerns before any permit is granted. And finally, legal compliance. The applicant should prove adherence to all local, state, and federal regulations. El Paso must not be a silent partner in cruelty. We need an ordinance with teeth that prioritizes our community's values over federal overreach. Thank you.

And the final speaker is Juan Ortiz. Mr. Or star six, please to unmute your telephone. Juan Ortiz star six, please to unmute your telephone. You're still on mute. Star six, please. Mr. Ortiz, star six, will unmute your telephone. You're still muted. I believe you might be having technical difficulties. That concludes public comment.

Thank you, Miss Prime. Council, do I have a motion to return to executive? I I have a quick question first. Okay. Sorry. Representative Canales. Um, if the speaker is able to connect by the time we come back out, can we take public comment at that time? Absolutely. Okay. Just wanted to make sure they're aware that they they have some time. Sure. Thank you. I agree. Uh, motion second. There's a motion and a second to return to executive session. All in favor? I.

Anyone opposed? and the city council of the city of El Paso may return to executive session pursuant to section 3.5A of the El Paso city charter and the Texas government code chapter 551 subchapter D to discuss item number two discussion and action on motion from city council on February 3rd 2026 directing city manager in collaboration with the city attorney to develop a plan of action to prevent the installation of any immigration customs enforcement detention facilities in the city. This is under 551.071 consultation with attorney. It is 10:08 a.m.

Do we have a motion? Well, do don't we? Oh, yeah. Sorry. Motion to come out of executive session. Is there a second? Second. Thank you. There's a motion and a second. All in favor? I. Anyone opposed? And the work session is back in open session at 11:26 a.m. And we're on item number two.

Representative, if we could pull up the slide, please.

Representative Canales. Thank you. Um, I'll begin with a motion. One moment as I pull up my writing. Um, so I I move to direct the city manager and city attorney to draft revisions to the zoning ordinance for the correctional facility use uh to evaluate the definition for appropriateness and bring forward any uh identified potential changes. Uh to modify approval from by right permitted to special permit in all applicable zoning districts. uh and to evaluate other requirements to which may include items such as distance from each other, distance from residential setbacks and size requirements. Not finished. Sorry. um separately to uh direct the city manager and city attorney to implement recommended protocols related to uh federal agents actions within city facilities. Uh and finally to direct the city manager and city attorney to continue to comply with uh grant assurances.

Second council, we have a motion and a second. Is there any other comments? Yeah. Can be sure and mayor approach him whenever council is ready. There's the caller is still in the queue. Okay. Then let's listen to public comment. I I don't have anybody that wants to speak at this time. We'll go ahead to public comment. Thank you.

Okay. Mr. Ortiz, star six, please to unmute your telephone. Juan Ortiz, star six, please. Mr. Ortiz, you're still on mute. You need to press star six to unmute your telephone. Your microphone is still muted. Mr. Juan, star six, if you would like to speak. Um, I still don't see the microphone live yet. So, thank you, Miss Prime. Council, we have a motion and a second. Do we have any further discussion on item number two? Okay. No discussion. So, call for the vote. Miss Prime. Yes, ma'am. So, the motion was made and read into the record by Representative Canales, seconded by Representative Lemon, and this is on item number two. On that motion, call for the vote in the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously.

Thank you, Miss Prime. Do we have a motion to retire into executive? Some move. Second.

There's a motion and a second to retire into executive session. All in favor? Anyone opposed? And the city council of city of El Paso may return to executive session pursuant to section 3.5A of the El Paso city charter in the Texas government code chapter 551 subchapter D to discuss executive session item one, real estate division update HQ number 25-5035 under 551.072. Executive session item two, application of El Paso Electric Company for approval of a system resiliency plan PC number 59137 HQ number utility-77 under 551.071 executive session item three legal consultation on chapter 380 economic development agreement with Worldwide LLC HQ number 478 under 551.071 071 and executive session item four, Daniel Viegas versus city of El Paso at all cause number 315-CV-386 under 551.071. These matters are taken into executive session under 551.071 consultation with attorney and 551.072 deliberation regarding real property. It is 11:31 a.m.

Council, do we have a motion to reconvene? There's a motion and a second to come out of executive session. All in favor? I. Anyone opposed? The work session is back in open session at 3:07 p.m. We're on EX1 alternate mayor pro 10 fier. Thank you. Ex2

engage in a settlement discuss discussions in the application of the El Paso Electric Company for approval of a system resilience uh plan under the Texas Public Utility Commission docket number 59137 in the matter uh number HighQ utility 77 and to take all steps necessary including the execution of any required documents in order to execute this the authority. Oh, thank you.

There's a motion made and read into the record by alternate mayor prom, seconded by representative Chavez, and this is on EX2. on that motion. Representative Asa. Sorry, I'm just saying my usual 1750 from Opas Electric employee pack. Representative Nino. Thank you, Mayor Proam, but I also have received a contribution from the El Paso electric employee pack. Okay, Miss Prank call for the vote.

Yes, voting session is open and the voting session and the motion passes 7 to1. Representative Lemon voting nay. The remainder of council voting I. Ex3. U consultants in the matter of Daniel Venegas versus EX4. We're on EX3, sir. Oh, I'm sorry. No action. Thank you.

Ex4. Motion made. Second in the carried that the city manager in consult consultation with the city attorney be authorized to hire consultants in the matter of Daniel Viegas versus city of El Paso and and police officers cause number 315-CV-00386 and take all steps necessary including the execution of any required documents in order to execute the authority. Second. I was going to second it. Then

there's a motion made read into the record by alternate mayor prom, seconded by representative Maldonado Roachcho on EX4 to hire consultants. On that motion, call for the vote. Thank you, Representative Federal in the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay. Is there a motion to adjurnn? Second. There's a motion and a second to adjourn the work session. All in favor?

Anyone opposed? And the work session for Monday, April 13, 2026 is adjourned at 3:10 p.m. Thank you, council. Thank you so much, Miss Prime. Everyone, have a good afternoon. Thank you.