Planning and Zoning Commission - Regular Meeting

Thank you. Hello, my name is Elizabeth Cruz, Branson Special Projects Compliance Officer for the City of Socorro. Thank you for joining today's meeting. Before our meeting begins, we would like to remind our guests to please remove all hats and silence all electronic devices. No disruptive behaviors or outbursts will be tolerated, and violators are subject to rejection or possible prosecution.

Hola, mi nombre es Judy Rodriguez, Planeadora de la Ciudad de Socorro. Gracias por participar en la reunión de hoy. Antes de que comience la reunión, quisiera recordarle a nuestros invitados favor de quitarse los sombreros y silenciar todo dispositivo electrónico. No se tolerará ningún comportamiento perturbador ni exabrupto y los infractores estarán sujetos a expulsión y posible procesamiento.

Good afternoon, everybody. This is the planning zoning commission of the city of Socorro, Texas. It is September 9th, 5.32 p.m. We call this meeting to order.

Good afternoon. Starting with item number two, establishment of quorum. Mr. Andrew Arroyos?

Here.

David Estrada?

Here.

Oswaldo Reza? Absent. Yolanda Rodriguez? Here. Rafael Carrillo? Absent. Isidro Torres?

Here.

We have quorum with four commissioners present. Moving on to item number three, open forum. Alfredo, do we have anyone that would like to speak?

Not at the moment.

Thank you, Alfredo. Moving on to item number four. Do I have a motion?

I make a motion to approve.

Second.

I have a motion made by Andrew Arroyos and seconded by Isidro Torres to approve. All those in favor of the motion?

Aye.

Any nays? Any abstain?

I abstain.

Motion carried. Moving on to item number five, public hearing request for the proposed amendment to the City of Socorro's master plan and rezoning of Lot 5A1, Block 2, El Gran Valle Replat B, located at 11550 Dittinger Road, City of Socorro, El Paso County, Texas, from R1, single-family residential, to R2, to a urban residential to allow for a quadruplex. Mr. Arroyos?

Afternoon, everybody. We will open public hearing at 5.33.

At the moment, we don't have anyone that would like to speak.

We will close public hearing at 5.33.

Thank you, moving on to item number six, considering take action on the proposed amendment to the city of Socorro's master plan and rezoning of lot 581, block two, El Gran Valle, re-plat B, located at 11550 Diddington Road, city of Socorro, El Paso County, Texas, from R1, single family residential, to R2. A, urban residential to allow for a quadruplex. Ms. Rodriguez?

Thank you, Yadira. Good evening, Chairman and Commissioners. Yura Rodriguez, Planning with the City of Socorro. I'll present the next item, item number six, and this is a rezoning request for the property located at 11550 Dindinger Road. Let's proceed with some general information, beginning with an overview of the property. The property address is 11550 Dindinger Road. The legal description is locked by A1, Block 2, El Gran Valle, Re-Plat B. Property owner is Paola Gandara, who is represented by Luis Hernandez from Innovativo Style Building Designs, LLC. The lot size is about almost .28 acres. The zoning R1 single family residential, currently used vacant, future land use suburban residential SR. In summary of this request, request is for approval of a rezoning of property from R1 single family residential to R2A urban residential to allow for a quadruplex. And staff recommends approval for this rezoning request. This aerial view shows the location of the subject property, which is outlined in blue, and along Dininger Road and near the intersection with Campeche Road. The property is currently vacant and is surrounded primarily by residential development. Followed by the zoning map where the subject property is outlined in blue, and is zoned R1 single family residential shown in yellow. The surrounding areas I mentioned before is mostly residential with R1 properties in yellow and R2 medium density residentials in orange. Then is the official land use map from the Socorro 2040 comprehensive plan where the subject property is outlined in blue and designated as suburban residential, SR. The surrounding area shown in yellow is also planned for suburban residential land use. This is the subdivision map. The subject property is outlined in blue and is located within the subdivision named El Gran Valle, which is outlined in red. The original plat, El Gran Valle, was recorded in December 1988. In June 2009, El Gran Valle replat B was approved, dividing the property at 11550 Dindiger Road into two lots, lot 581 and lot 582. The subject property for today's case is located on lot 581. El Gran Valle subdivision currently contains 186 R1 single-family residential lots, one C1 light commercial lot, 11 vacant lots, and six R2 medium residential lots. The surrounding properties Zone R2 are mostly duplexes or two detached dwellings. The exception is the property next to the subject property at 11560 Dindinger Road, which is a quadruplex. Now we have some views of the property from Dindinger Road. followed by the public notice map highlighting the area within 200 feet of the property that was notified as required by law regarding the proposed rezoning. Then the notification letter that were mailed in both English and Spanish to property owners within those 200 feet around of the subject property. Staff received one call from property owner at 11556, the endangered road requested information regarding the property line placement. And at this time, staff hasn't received any comments in support or opposition to this request. Now, this slide is showing the public notice sign. Because this application was processed after the new UDC was adopted August 6, 2026, the new notice requirements apply. This slide shows the required public notice sign under section 11.01.05 of the UDC. The applicant must post the sign on the property at least 10 calendar days before the first scheduled public hearing. The sign must remain in place until final decision is made and must be at least two feet by four feet. It must also remain visible, eligible, throughout the required posting period. Next slide is giving a little more explanation about the Unified Development Code new zoning district. The city of Socorro is introducing the new UDC to update zoning and expand housing options. Now I would like to introduce the R28 zoning district, which is a new district under the city's UDC section 2.04.07, known as urban residential. In general, the R2A is designed to support higher intensity residential developments in a compact urban form, and provide a greater choice of housing types, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, and small apartment buildings. This is the site plan submitted by the applicant showing the proposed building, the parking spaces, landscaping, and access from the Indian Jail Road. The subject property is about .28 acres in size. This table shows the dimensional standards for the proposed quadruplex at 11550 Dindinger Road with the side-by-side review of R2 and R2-8, including lot size, lot width, setbacks, and lot coverage. Here we are comparing the R2A with the current R2. R2A is more applicable to the proposed quadruplex because it specifically accommodates higher density residential development, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and townhomes with dimensional standards tailored to these housing types. Now we have some visual representations of the proposed development. It's expected to look like this. This slide shows the proposed floor plan for the quadruplex. The building is two stories and includes four residential units, unit A, B, C, and D, with each unit approximately 1,493 square feet. Each unit includes bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, living and dining areas, and other typical residential spaces. Once again, request is for approval of rezoning a property from R1 single-family residential to R2A urban residential to allow for a quadruplex. And at this time, staff and the applicant, Mr. Gallo and Mr. Hernandez, are available to address any questions you may have. Thank you.

Just have a quick question just to clarify. The caller that you had received was neither in support or opposition. They were just calling about property weight?

Correct. She is requesting some information.

Thank you.

So the 0.275, that's roughly estimated about what? Close to 11,000 square feet?

0.275, it's sort of like 12,000. About 12,000 square feet? Yes. Whew.

So this is the first R2A that we look at, and that's because of the UDC. It's now under UDC, okay. And so the only thing in the UDC that is looking at square footage or number of units is the lot area, which in R2A is 75%, I think. Like you can cover up to 75% of the lot with, building, the structure. But is there anything in the UDC that addresses number of units per square foot of the lot?

If I'm reading it, is it 7.25 to 15 per acre? I'm sorry, I said 7.25 to 15. It's 7.25 to 15. Dwelling per acre, units per acre, right? Correct. And sitting max?

Under the R2A. But it also depends of the, it's a site-based development.

It depends on what?

It's a site-based development, depends on the site.

Site-based development. What does that mean?

That it's for attached dwellings, for example, in this case, units develop or... On individual lots, density is governed by applicable lot areas, lot width, and dimensional standards rather than a maximum dwelling unit per acre. Limitation.

Rather than a maximum dwelling unit per acre. Okay. And so what Andy is looking at right here is a seven and a quarter to 15 dwelling units per acre. That's the range that we have to look at per acre, right? From seven and a quarter to 15. depending on area, lot width, and dimensional standards. Okay.

Let's say, for example, under R2, for a quadruplex, the quadruplex lot area, the minimum, It's 12,000. For R2A, it's giving us the opportunity to be less than the 12,000. Like this case is less than 12,000.

It's minimum lot between 7,500 and 9,000. And for R2, regular R2 for quadruplex, you need 12,000. Okay, what was the old number per acre? 15?

15 units per acre.

So this one comes out to like 3.75 for... But it's a little bit more than 12,000, correct? Yeah.

Good afternoon, commissioners and chairmen of the board. My name is Jaime Gallo. I'm the civil engineer representing the client. So we're excited to bring you the first R2, or the R2A to the city of Socorro. And at this point, we're just asking for the rezoning, right? Please rest assured that we're going to go through the entire process, make sure everything is dotted and everything is crossed. And if we need to come back and bring this down to a tri-tex instead of a pop-tex, whatever adjustments we need to make, we will make, right? We'll work with staff to ensure full compliance. So at this point, we just need, pending your approval of this rezoning, we'll then proceed to the detailed construction documents.

And that's important that you say it, and I'm kind of glad you say that, because if you guys are willing to negotiate and say, hey, we're willing to go down to a triplex or whatnot, because I know that we did change, there were some major changes or whatnot, but we're trying to keep it to at least a duplex every 10,000 square, to 10,000 square feet, but again, it's bigger than the 10,000 square feet, and then it's the first 2A, so.

Yes, sir.

Thank you for taking that into consideration. As you know, there's a shortage of develop a lot of stuff can be developed out there So we're trying to maximize the use of the lot, but by all means we will be within the compliance of the right And just because in the past we've that's the way we've tried to keep it and try to disrespect Try you know the people that live around there and stuff like that don't want it to be over to overcrowded Right, but I get what you're saying. So I

So the owner actually lives down the street. They live a little further down the street, so they do have a vested interest to make this look nice and in compliance with the city's ordinance.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I just have a question for my fellow commissioners. The precedent we've set was a duplex per 10,000 square feet, even at a multi-level storage?

So right. Even then? I don't think we had ever gotten one that was a two-story. All of them had been single stories. So I think this is the first one that's come up to be a two-story as a quadplex.

The rest of those that we had seen were all single stories. And I mean, I definitely respect you all. Been here longer than one of the newer ones, for sure. Nope, not that much longer. But I mean, do we have a new UDC? right right this is what's to solve the work that we have to do correct in setting these presidents and i think it's important that we have it here we obviously the public hearing notice is done the new public hearing was was done and the community had a chance to come in i i just think we we need to move into this new 20 code i agree with you

I agree with you 100%, but it is nice when they come in and say, we are willing to work with you guys or whatnot. So we appreciate that very much.

So I have a question. So the R2A, the applicant is actually meeting all the criteria that is required with no deviation, no waivers. According to the new R2A code. Correct. Okay.

Any questions?

It is what it is.

Well, yeah, I'm trying to just to understand and learn the new where we're going forward, right? But it is setting.

Yes.

So we're going to continue, like this subdivision says that there's 11 vacant lots, right? So potentially, and so... it's gonna go, I mean, people coming in for duplex, now they're gonna go in for quadrants and five units and so on. It's rezoning at this point.

Right, this is a rezoning, so I think that since the applicant has requested rezoning and it's a 2A, and we have a new unified code, then I guess we can forget what we said before and start over again.

But with the understanding, of course, to the point of like, we want to be careful, we don't want to overcrowd them, traffic, the roads, especially last time we had one where there was a new development on this road that just, is it going to be ready for all that traffic? We shall see, 100%, but I think it's,

Right, and I think it's important that we stipulate that the public has a voice in this, and so if we don't have public protests, if we don't have public speaking, then we assume that it's okay.

One question I did have on the new, now that you mentioned it, on the public notice requirement, we just... So it was never stipulated in the UDC that it has to say, this is what might come. It just says there's a public hearing notice.

So this is the first time that it's been posted on site, right? That's a new requirement going forward, which is a good thing.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's a good thing. And it's got to be there 10 days prior to today's hearing minimum. Correct. And then through the whole process through city council.

Correct.

And so it's right there? I mean, could you do it?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It'll take the guesswork out a lot. Now, you still have discretion on if something doesn't meet the requirements or they're asking for something extra that's outside of the norm. But it's meant to take the kind of the guesswork and make it also for the public a lot more straightforward so they see the world as, all right, this is what it is. It fits in it so that there's a lot less guesswork. So there's an advantage in this demand, but for you guys, it would be difficult a little bit adjusting to it because you're, you know, a lot of time you're operating with lack of information and code. So I think we'll just have to work through it. But then, like, I think somebody else said it is, like, well, it's been approved by city council and that's what they want to do. And also on the notices, on the public notices, If you go to other cities and stuff, you'll notice that that's fairly typical. Usually there's, I don't know, there's other languages. Sometimes they will go to the main site if you want more information or go to the city office. It's got the phone number and everything on there. So again, just standardize the practices like other municipalities. It's the same. Also easier for developers and also most people if they recommend, oh yeah, you know, there's a sign. Yeah.

Okay. I think I'm ready to vote. Any more questions?

Yeah, I think we're ready. No? Okay.

I'd like to make a motion to approve. Second.

I have a motion made by Andrew Arroyos to approve. Second by Isidro Torres. All those in favor of the motion?

Aye. Aye.

Any nays? Any abstain? Motion carried. Moving on to item number seven, public hearing request for a proposed amendment to the city of Socorro master plan and rezoning of a portion of track 2H1 Block 4, Socorro Grand, located on North Moon Road, City of Socorro, El Paso County, Texas, from A1 Agricultural to R2 Medium Density Residential to allow for a residential development. Mr. Arroyo.

Good afternoon, everybody. We will open public hearing at 5.56.

We currently do have three speakers. The first speaker would be Maria Barroso. Si se puede pasar al micrófono y dar su nombre, por favor. Tiene tres minutos.

Buenas tardes. Buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Maria Barroso. Y inglés un poco, pero es mejor en español. Está bien. Por favor. My first question is, I am 34 years old and I have been living in the 754 Ligio. I think that you know that for me it is very important that you go and try to make us that street that we have been waiting for since we got there. My first question is, when would it be, when would you start?

So that would be a question for the, she's asking when development would start.

Yeah. You can tell her that, you know, right now we can't, it's time for her to speak, so she can, you know, make whatever statement, but then when we develop it, you can ask her questions.

OK. OK, muchas gracias.

Y mi otra segunda pregunta sería, para mí es muy importante tener, mi casa dice que es para negocio de un lado y del otro, del frente y de atrás. Mi casa está en la mera curva y es tanto el frente como atrás donde podríamos ocupar. It's supposed to be commercial. I mean, to make it commercial, I've never wanted to take it away. I know we pay a little more, but I've never wanted to take it away. Because for me, it's very important, if it's commercial on that side, that we could also make a way out on the other side, since now you're going to have the street. When you make the street, it's going to be very important that we can open on the other side.

But this is all residential, correct? So there's no commercial?

Oh, okay.

There's only... Que si podemos... La dirección. La dirección es 754 Eligio Drive. Eligio Drive. Sí, es que a nosotros nos interesaría porque si ya van a ser como para nosotros sería otra calle principal. Podíamos salir por un lado como por el otro y si ya nos queda más cerquita salir por el otro lado pues para nosotros se presenta mejor.

Ahorita, primero tiene que dar su comentario y los demás van a participar también en dar sus comentarios y después esas respuestas se van a contestar por medio del que está el ingeniero. Yes, that's right. Thank you very much.

And if you also have comments about support or not.

No, para nosotros es muy, está muy, muy bien lo que están haciendo y pues se supone que porque nosotros somos ciudad de socorro y nos cobran taxes como ciudad de socorro, no como rancho de socorro. Y para mí está muy bien, tan solo por el terregal que se nos viene de los terrenos donde están fincando, donde ponen, por los ranchos, para que me entiendan, las tierras.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Ya que la van a construir, hasta dónde la van a hacer, desde dónde la van a ampliar, pues. Y porque está muy peligroso ahí en la curva, está un poste, casi viene siendo la mitad y ya ha habido varios accidentes ahí. Si al ampliarlo lo van a hacer quitar eso, es más o menos como la 690, 690, algo así, es la Lillo. Ahí se va a ver luego el poste que está casi muy atravesado. Está muy peligroso esa curva. Y luego porque ahí vive mi hija y ahí no tienen drenaje. Son dos como ranchitos ahí que no hay drenaje. Y siempre lo han peleado ahí que por qué no ha habido. Cuando van a hacer la calle Anshai, dígales que tienen que meter el drenaje, pero no sabemos qué se puede hacer.

Sí se puede. Ahorita también le podemos contestar esas preguntas para los servicios también.

Ok. Tenemos más, pero ya queremos darle la chance a los demás.

Thank you. Thank you.

If you'd like to pass, Carlota Alvarez.

Good afternoon. So my name is Carlota Alvarez. I live on 767 Elegio Drive. And so I have a couple of questions in reference to will our roads be ready for the additional traffic? That's really my question. And so in addressing some of the most profound ones is we do have an irrigation ditch on the right-hand side going towards north. What's going to happen to that irrigation ditch? Because it crosses right behind the Grijalva subdivision. So we do not have the infrastructure on those roads for that additional traffic. We just barely had sidewalks. They were built maybe about a year and a half ago, but we don't have any signage on the streets. We have very few stop signs, and the traffic is gonna carry in through Tito Drive. So how is that axis that's going to become the main axis going to help us in alleviating that traffic that is going to be coming from those new constructions? Again, the sharp curve that my neighbor just spoke about is pretty much a one-way. So how are we going to handle the additional traffic moving from Moon on North Loop towards the north? And then there's a moon road on I-10 that's already connected to Gateway. How are those going to connect, if they're going to connect? Because now we've got to think about additional things like the light post, which we don't have. We have one light post on Elegio. And then my other question is, will a back wall be built for the homes on Elegio that are facing that new residential area being asked to be rezoned tonight? So basically what we wanna know is how that new development is gonna affect us because we don't have sidewalks other than the one that was just recently built that was built really crooked, by the way. There's still material that the constructors left out there from the sidewalk a year and a half ago. So how is it that our development is gonna make sure that we keep up with the new residential? They're gonna be raising our taxes, I'm sure. So then how is it that our subdivision is gonna be headed towards that new kind of building that we want for Socorro? And those are my questions.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. Mr. Arroyo, we don't have no more speakers.

Okay, so we will close public hearing at 6.04.

Moving on to item number eight, considering take action on the request for a proposed amendment to the city of Socorro's master plan and rezoning of a portion of track 2H1, block four, Socorro Grand, located on North Moon Road, city of Socorro, El Paso County, Texas, from A1 Agricultural to R2 Medium Density Residential to allow for residential development. Mr. Ruiz?

Thank you, Edra. Good evening, chair and members of the commission. Diego Ruiz, planner with the city of Socorro. We will continue with the rezoning request for the property located on North Moon Road. Here we have the general information for North Moon Road. The property address is North Moon. Legal description is Track 2H1 Block 4 Socorro Grant. The property owner is FF Development of Texas III LLC. The representative is Jaime Gallo from GECA LLC. Lot size is 7.65 acres. Zoning is A1 agricultural. Current land use is vacant. The request is for approval for rezoning of a property from A1 to R2 medium density residential to allow for a residential development. Staff recommends approval of the rezoning request. Here we have the zoning map showing the tract in blue color. the tract is colored green for A1 agricultural and it is part of the adjacent R2 property to the right. Here we have the future land use map showing the the tract inside the MDR zone, which is a medium density residential. Here we have the aerial image giving some context on the current conditions. Here we have the site pictures. The top two and bottom left pictures were taken from Moon Road, and the bottom right was taken from Ponderosa Road on the north side of the proposed development. Here we have the public notice map depicting the surrounding properties within the 200 feet radius that were provided with this letter required by law. Here's the proposed subdivision with the track that's being rezoned outlined in red. Summary of the request is for approval of a rezoning for a property from A1 agricultural to R2 medium density residential to allow for residential development. And with that, staff and the representative is available for any questions.

Is the developer on the line or is he here?

Okay. Mr. Chair, I have a question for Diego. And I'm sorry if I missed it in your presentation, but did we receive any notices either in favor or against the request prior to the public hearing?

Sorry. We did receive a couple letters that were given to the people that were... Sorry, not letters, we received a call from a resident close to the development that was in favor of the rezoning, and another call that was inquiring about the development.

Thank you. I'd like to just kind of tell the people that came up to kind of answer some of the questions that they had, if possible, is that okay? So, um... So, um... Si alguien tiene riego, se va a quedar el riego, ¿verdad? No se lo pueden cancelar. Okay. Sí, ya no hay. Sí conozco un poco, pues yo crecí ahí. Conozco un poquito el área. Y luego el acceso que enseña nomás va a entrar por latito. Y es una pregunta que le tengo al developer. I'm seeing that the only entrance is going to be through Titor, correct? Because it's not going to be connected to Judge Caldwell right now.

Good afternoon. Jaime Gallo, engineer, GECA LLC, representing the owner. So the access to this subdivision will be through Judge Caldwell, Titor, and then we do have planned access to Moon Road. We are currently in the process of developing a traffic impact analysis to make sure all the roads are can handle the traffic and everything looks favorable so far. And we are working with the city of Socorro staff for hopefully we can do something about the future plans to Moon Road, right? Expansion, parkway and such. Incorporate some of that in here.

Yeah, and the only reason I ask that is because here on one of the sheets it doesn't show it connecting. It just shows it that it stops there. So I'm looking at this piece right here.

If you look at the screen right now, you can see where George Calk, How the World Flows Through. Correct. And then we got access to Tito, and then we got access to Moodle down at the bottom.

And RainCloud.

And RainCloud, right? And RainCloud. OK. So it's all that partial. OK. Yes, ma'am. Right. So that's what the man is, the developer is, he's going to do I'm assuming this is phase one, no?

Correct. So we can only develop the land that we own. Right. We cannot develop outside. So if there's where there's not a road right now and there's future plans for a road, that's why we do have alternate access. And our traffic impact analysis will account for that to make sure that At the current condition, the roads that we can build, the accesses that, all the roads you see here will be built. Wherever there's no access, we'll barricade that off for future development. But we are doing a study to make sure that the roads we'll have present day will satisfy the volume of traffic. And of course, it'll only get better as you develop around this area and give more access to all this area.

Correct. When do you foresee you starting development on this if it passes?

Well, with your help and quick approvals, we should be able to get started on construction at the beginning of the year.

Beginning of next year? Correct.

Probably take about six to nine months by the time we get all utilities, asphalt, rock walls, and everything. Right.

So, eso empezaría en construcción más o menos empezando el otro año, el 27. Correct, that would be.

um um Excuse me. If we want to hear them respond, do we need to open public hearing or can we just bring them up to the podium?

So you're wanting to answer their question or you're wanting to call them up?

We can call them up, right, and we don't have to open a public hearing.

We just call them up to see what he's... Yeah, yeah, the public hearing's over, but, you know, if they want to, if you want to, you can recognize them to speak, but they may need to come up and say they may have the answer.

Instead of having, that way we don't have to open up.

Right, but you don't have to necessarily entertain people, it's up to the chair.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Right there where that property ends is where this development will begin to build the moon road. But where is this park going to be? My current A is the current fact of your subject. Correct. And your property. So yeah. Okay. It's a good list.

okay okay so i have a question okay so the end of moon road right now at the end of moon road there is a barricade right there where you can't go past that you're saying that that's where it's going to stop that's where this development begins and then you can have your cursor so that's this rezoning Okay.

And then this development extends.

Okay, but I'm talking about the road.

Yes.

Moon road is right now where it stops. Is that where it's going to stop? And the development is over here.

Right now where it stops is where this development begins.

Right. But the road is not going to continue is what I'm asking. Yes, it is. But is it going to continue now, or are we looking at the future?

When they develop.

When they develop, it's going to go. Okay, so we're going to go up Moon Road to the development, and then off of Judge Colwell, it's going to be an out to come up to Moon Road.

Moon Road.

Moon Road.

To the right of the cyclone, that top connection, that top road is Rainbow. No, to the right.

Right, I'm talking about the other direction.

Right, right now, that road is Rain Club. And that's where you're going to connect to the existing Rain Club.

The road underneath is Judge Paul Club.

Right, right.

If you go down to the next road down, that's Judge Paul Club. It will extend. You can connect to the right to the level at the end. And if you go left,

and follow that road, you can see where it connects to Moon.

Okay, so it will connect to Moon when they start developing. Correct. Okay, so I think the question that one of them had was the width of the road, of Moon Road, because it is a very tight curve when you're going down Moon Road. So I think if we are connecting, and how many dwellings do we have here? That's a lot of residential areas that you're gonna develop. There is no way that you're gonna be able to handle the city road right there on Moon Road to connect to North Loop. No way. I mean, I go down that road just to go see my brother, and you have to really slow down on the curbs because two cars do not fit there. Two cars do not fit there. So if we're looking at this to come out to Moon Road, then we need to look at developing Moon Road. I understand there's funds, but when will we get those funds to ensure that Moon Road is expanded to handle the traffic, not to go through the neighborhoods, but to hit the main road, Moon Road, to come up to I-10 or to go down to North Loop. There's no way that you're gonna be able to handle that traffic. It's just, it's gonna be a lot of traffic. So, I mean, it's something for us to look at so that we could develop this road so when this development goes up is that the residents from the existing neighborhood that is already there will be able to go in and out like they do now without more traffic trying to meet. You have one road, I guess standard, I don't know, 22 feet, if that, by the drainage ditch that runs alongside, that goes into the neighborhood. It's a very narrow road. And I understand what the young lady was saying is that the traffic, we won't be sustainable there. So it's something that either city has to look at it and ensure that that road right there is gonna sustain the new development that we're looking at. Because then you're trying to direct all the traffic basically to go out the other direction to hit on the other side.

Right, so it shows two of them. It shows to rain cloud and to Judge Caldwell, right? So to Judge Caldwell, we'll go out to all the way to Nuevo Hueco Tanks Road. So hopefully it'll direct traffic towards that way instead of Moon Road.

That is correct.

Very valid concerns that are being addressed with the traffic impact study. The traffic impact study also looks at the phasing, right? What can we build now? And what will the city or somebody else build year 10, year five from now? And it'll address your concerns as far as the volume of traffic through here, what improvements are necessary, four-way stops, stoplights, whatever is necessary. So we are working with your staff on that.

Yeah, I think the concern would be the infrastructure that we currently have would have to be upgraded in order to handle a new development on the opposite side.

Yes ma'am, all that is being worked on.

I'm sorry? To the traffic? Okay, we'll go ahead and just, that you're just on this one, we'll go ahead and recognize you just for this one question.

So I'm all for their development, okay? This is not a bad one. If we talk about Judge Caldwell, the out of that subdivision is good because we can do out and then north towards Nuevo Hueco Tanks?

Correct.

Towards I-10 or towards North Loop. But on the coming down, you gotta do a U-turn. right in front of the the wings place and that u-turn creates so much traffic because we can't get into our subdivision on a straight shot right we're going to come down wherever we go times do the u-turn and then back up to george george cobra so that will be included but but that that i think that's completely separate to this that that's that's a major street that belongs to like but that city something that the city can help us out with when it comes to access to that subdivision that's being built right right and then

yeah perfect because that was something that also happened with epcc the access to that so it could probably happen for ours thank you thank you thank you okay okay mr david any questions i'm just i'm curious um raincloud and judge caldwell are there is there already a completed subdivision there yes so that connection is ready to go it's judge caldwell and tito and rain cloud are all accessible right now that's not it's not vacant land in other words right okay and then um i think you referenced earlier that you're talking to the city right now regarding an agreement or whatever on the expansion of moon road correct did i

Correct. The city staff expressed that there's plans for Moon Road. There's grant money out there that they're working on. So we are working with them to see what we can do to help that along. Okay.

And I guess I would ask you to be willing to work with the city in expanding all the way to plan to the Park Pond B, both corners along Moon Road, from Pond A to Pond B, or just to Judge Caldwell Road? on Moon Road, and I'm not exactly sure how that works, but I'm trying to get an idea of what you as a developer would be willing to, what are we gonna see when the plat comes in, and how much are you gonna?

So if you bring up the plan again, please. So the challenge there is that Moon Road requires, I believe, 80 foot of right of way, that's the ultimate plan, correct? Currently the developer only owns about 36 to 40. The property lines through here, they move in and out. So in order to get Moon Road full width developed, we need to get the other property owner, the future developer to the south of this to dedicate land, dedicate their half of Moon Road.

that make sense yeah so you guys are already dedicating your your we're dedicating our half we're dedicating our half right but we cannot dedicate another property right so okay okay and no go ahead i'm sorry um and then between this subdivision and north loop right because i know what you're talking about right that door is there anything right now that you can tell us any talks on that part

Just what I already described, the Complete Streets Project.

The Complete Street Project.

Funding for a study to address improvements, full-scale improvements, not just for the road, but for pedestrian access, transit, and that is new. We've already identified the... the engineer who's going to lead that project. We are just right now pending the schedule for the meetings that we will have with the public and stakeholders to develop that feasibility study for that complete street for Moon Road, but it currently only extends from Sapporo Road to where it currently ends. So this is coming in and adding an additional several feet to the area, even though it's not a part of it, being a part of the process will hopefully help us to get that part that they are developing to the standard that we're proposing in the plan. And hopefully that can accelerate us being able to get funding to complete the street. So right now, all we have money for is for a study.

okay so you just i'm sorry so you just said that we have funding that will take us to where it actually stops on right now where that subdivision ends and the barriers are okay that's the currently where moon stops okay so up to there you're saying we already have funding for the study yes for this study okay

So we're in the initial stages of putting the study together. Funds are available for the study. Correct. And you mentioned all the way from Socorro to where it stops right now, which is the corner of the new proposed subdivision. Okay, and then you're trying to incorporate with a developer and trying to get everything together.

Bring them in so they can be a part of the study and see what really can get done with what they can contribute, and we'll see when the other body, the other owners come in, maybe they're not far behind, to go ahead and develop the other side of the movement.

So something like this, if you could just give us an idea. How long does this process take? Like a study, for example, and then... We understand, but I'm just trying to get an idea. I'm guessing five years, 10 years, two years, one year. What's the timeline, I guess?

No, for just the study, I should know the answer to that, and I apologize. It shouldn't be more than a year.

More than a year. But after the study comes in, now we're pending funds and so on.

For the construction. And then the construction. Okay.

Okay. Can you put this one up?

This one right here.

That one. Okay. I'm trying to go back to what we've seen in the past and the master plan that was all back in there. So everything in the light brown and the, I guess it'd be brown, right, or orange, all that's already R2. And so a portion of the new subdivision is already R2. This parcel never got rezoned. And so I'm curious as to why it wasn't included in.

Change of ownership.

Change of ownership. So that we never look.

The one that was rezoned was rezoned as a part of the other plans for East Lake Valley. And their plans changed. And now this property has been sold. And these are the new owners. And they're moving forward with their own plans.

And again, this vote is just to rezone that little partial. That's all it is.

To make it identical to what's adjacent and around and the whole thing.

Right. And so I have a question for the developer, just out of curiosity. So this map right here, so you have it color coded. Ms. Rodriguez, can you speak into the mic? So tell me what is, what are the brown and the yellows and your, I guess your greens are your ponds, but what is the brown signify? Are those?

Oh, that's our coding for the size of the lot. For the size of the lot.

So those are bigger lots.

Yeah, they're slightly bigger. We try to keep all the lots about the same size, but it's impossible, right? You're fitting shapes into various little corners here. So that's all that is.

Okay, but all these homes will be residential homes?

Single-family residential homes.

Okay, that's all I have.

Any other questions?

No.

No? Okay, so I want to make a motion to approve.

I second.

I have a motion made by Andrew Arroyos to approve, second by Yolanda Rodriguez. All those in favor of the motion?

Aye.

Any nays? Any of C motion carried moving on to item number 9 public hearing request for the proposed amendment to the city of support of master plan and the zoning of track to block 23 support of grand located. At the 1, 0, 5, 4, 0, so for the road city of support in Paso County, Texas from C to general commercial to our to medium density residential. to allow for a quadruplex. Mr. Arroyos?

Good afternoon, we will open public hearing at 6.32.

At the moment, we don't have any speakers.

So we will close public hearing at 6.32.

Thank you. Moving on to item number 10, considering take action on the request, proposed amendment to the city of Socorro's master plan and rezoning of track two, block 23, Socorro Grand, located at 10540 Socorro Road, city of Socorro, El Paso County, Texas, from C2, general commercial, to R2, medium density residential, to allow for a quadruplex. Mr. Ruiz?

Thank you, Ada. Good evening, Chair and members of the Commission. Diego Ruiz, planner with the City of Socorro. We will be continuing with the resounding request of property located at 10540 Socorro Road. The general information is the property address is 10540 Socorro Road. The legal description is being a portion of Track 2, Block 23, Socorro Grants. The property owners is Raul Herrera and Anita H. Luna. The representative is Anita H. Luna. The lot size is .33 acres, which is 14,374.8 square feet. The zoning is C2, general commercial. The current land use is residential. The future land use, suburban residential. And the summary of the request is for approval of the rezoning of a property from C2 General Commercial to R2 Medium Density Residential to allow for a quadruplex. Staff recommends approval of the rezoning request. Here is the zoning map depicting the property in pink, signifying the commercial zoning. And Yeah. This is the future land use map showing the property outlined in red and the future land use designation is rural residential. Here we have the aerial image outlining the property in red, depicting the property located around the intersection of Socorro and Bovee Road. Here we have site pictures. All of the pictures were taken from Socorro Road, also showing the proposed rezoning of signage that was placed 10 days prior to the meeting. Here we have an aerial photo showing the existing structure from 1988. out circled in red. Here we have the public notice map showing the surrounding properties that were notified in a 200 foot radius. Here are the public notice letters that were provided. And we also received letters in support of the rezoning. There were three layers in support of the request. And I believe those were provided for you. And here is the site plan, depicting the current conditions of the property. Some of the requests for approval were rezoning of a property from C2 general commercial to R2 medium density residential to allow for a quadruplex. And with that, staff is present for any questions.

So do we know if they're going to demolish the buildings to build the quadruplex?

No, it's already a quadruplex. They're just rezoning it because right now it's a commercial zone. They're trying to rezone it to make it allowable for a quadruplex, for an existing quadruplex.

It is on the historic corridor, so they would need to go through a process with the Historic Landmark Commission to be able to demolish the building.

Got it.

Okay, so the alternative is to change the zoning from commercial to an R2 because the buildings are already there? The buildings are there. They're not gonna add more buildings. No.

It's already a quadruplex. It's already been used as a resident, but it was under a commercial zoning.

They just wanna be in compliance, in other words. Correct.

So it's just a compliance thing, okay.

I don't have any questions. I don't know if anybody else does.

I don't either. No questions.

No? Okay. I'd like to make a motion to approve. Second.

I have a motion made by Andrew Arroyos to approve. Second by Isidro Torres. All those in favor of the motion?

Aye.

Any nays? Any abstain? Motion carried. Moving on to item number 10. 11, I apologize. Considering take action on the proposal Moving on to item number 11. And at this time, staff is requesting to delete items since it was presented at previous meeting of July 21st. Do I have a motion?

So moved. Yes, I make a motion to postpone. To delete. I'll second this motion.

Motion was correct. Can we just correct the motion?

yes to delete oh to delete okay i make a motion to delete item second i have a motion made by andrew arroyos to delete item second by isidro torres all those in favor of the motion all right any names any of same motion carried moving on to item number 12 considering take action on the approval of a final plat for the ohanas being a portion of track 1x now known as track 1x1 lane clark survey number 293 and a portion of lot 17 block 6 cielo del rio unit 2 amending plaid and

in addition to the city of socorro el paso county texas miss rodriguez thank you yadira good evening once again judah rodriguez planning with the city of socorro the next item on the agenda item number 12 and this is the johannes for requesting the final plat approval Let's proceed with general information and our review of the property. The property is on Stockyard and Cielo Blanco Drive. The legal description is being a portion of Track 1X, now known as Track 1X1, Lee Clark Survey Number 293, and a portion of Lot 17, Block 6, Cielo del Rio Unit 2, and Mandy Platt, in addition to the City of Socorro, El Paso County, Texas. The property owner is Fong Nguyen, represented by Alfonso Perez from ADP Engineering. The lot size is 1.58 acres. The zoning, it's R3, high density residential. Currently used vacant. And summary is request of approval of a final plot for the Ohanas, and staff recommends approval for this final plot. This is a zoning map where the subject property is outlined in yellow, shaded in orange, indicating our three high density residential zoning, in which also the zoning designation for most of the surrounding properties. This area of view shows the subject property outlined in yellow. The property is currently vacant and is located along Cielo Blanco Drive near Stockyard Road and the city's boundary. We have some pictures of the property taken in Cielo Blanco Drive and Stockyard Drive. followed by the final plat that was submitted by the applicant, identifying the legal boundaries, dimensions, and the overall shape of the property. The Ohanas is proposing eight residential lots and one public pond. Once again, to summarize this request, the request is for approval of a final plat for the Ohanas. And at this time, staff, it's available to answer any questions you may have.

So, remember we passed this one on the preliminary not too long ago, nothing changed?

Actually, it was presented to Planning and Zoning in March, and it was approved by City Council March 19.

And nothing's changed from then? No, sir. Okay, no questions.

No questions.

Nope.

Nope, okay. I'll make a motion to approve.

Second.

I have a motion made by Andrew Arroyos to approve, second by Isidro Torres. All those in favor of the motion? Aye.

Aye.

Any nays? Any abstain? Motion carried. Moving on to item 13, planning and zoning, commissioners report. Commissioners?

I have something to say. I'm going to, my next meeting in October, the first one that we have in October, will be my last meeting. I'm gonna have to go into surgery for my eye so right now i can kind of see half of you guys and so it's going to take me a while to recover for it so i'm going to go ahead and pass the baton to someone else and so i wanted to give you an opportunity to start looking for a new candidate but i will make the the first one that we have in october so that you still have hopefully a chance to go out and start your your new your new hunt. I want to thank everybody for the opportunity. It's been a good run, almost four years. I hate to give it up, but I think it's time to give it up to someone else that can carry the torch. I want to thank you.

We will miss you. I know.

I know.

I'll still come around. We really appreciated having you on the board, and it's really sad to hear you say that you won't be joining us.

I'll be sitting out there now.

Okay, then we won't be back.

We won't be back.

Thank you.

We might convince you to come back. I know, I know.

Maybe afterwards, you know? I'm going to go to public comment and protest. No, it's all been good. Thank you, guys.

Thank you.

Ms. Rodriguez, you will be missed, and thank you again.

Oh, I know. I'm going to miss all of you guys.

Yes. Any commissioners who would like to or have any additional report? I will be moving on to item number 14, planning and zoning, department report. Ms. Guimito?

I only have one update. The project for Moon Road, railroad tracks safety improvements, that was supposed to only be a couple of days of closure, and it turned into almost gonna be a whole month of closure. So they identified a lot more work that needed to get done, so that is why that work has been extended. Oh wow, I'm glad I haven't gone down that road. Thank you.

I have a quick question for you. I know that you had talked about Cirio Socorro going into the for the trash pickups to that?

Yes, the survey is still available on our social media. the council did direct staff to pursue the possibility of us opening and running a solid waste department. So the first step in that was a feasibility study, which is currently taking place. And we're looking for feedback from the public through the social media QR code that'll lead you to a survey. So we encourage everyone to participate in that survey.

So if we were to have any comments as far as like, if you guys did not to put the trash cans on the right-of-way, that could be, could that be a comment?

Yes, so I don't know if you were aware, but that was brought to code enforcement's attention and we did reach out to, the city did reach out to Lower Valley Water District, where they were not allowed to have the larger bins in the right-of-way, they were told that they needed to remove them. And so Lower Valley Water District did start notifying their customers that they wouldn't be offering that anymore.

That's awesome, thank you.

City did receive a lot of complaints, but so far they're still following through on that.

Thank you guys for doing that. Yeah, enforcing that ordinance. It's just sad to me when you drive down and you just see a whole bunch of blue containers. Yep. in front of our neighborhoods. I have nothing against them having a four yarders or six yarders or whatnot, but to me, if you're gonna have that, you should have some kind of insert inside their lot to where they can be inside their lot, not on the right of way. But anyways, that was just a comment that I'd like to throw out there.

Yeah, I like the ones in my neighborhood to get picked up. Because they're still there. And I think the most important thing that people don't understand is that I did go in and do that survey, okay? Is that, like we, we have two trash cans because we do not have a recycle bin. Even though we throw stuff in a recycle area, you know, for us, we have an extra trash can. But it's such an inconvenience to have to go and dump it, you know? because it's not open all the time. So I did answer that survey, but those trash containers, I get them only when I trim my oleanders because it's a lot, and then I have it picked up. But to have those in our neighborhoods, they do look bad, and most of them are sitting on top of the sidewalk. So that would be neat if we can get those picked up.

Thank you. One question. I have a question regarding that. Is the city thinking of taking over the trash collection, right?

That is the plan.

Is the city gonna contract out to the private sector?

That'll come out of the feasibility process. One, is it cost effective? What is the most cost effective way to provide the service that the citizens want to see. So we're evaluating what they currently receive, finding out what they want, how much is that gonna cost? Can we cover that? Does it make sense to go through a third party? So that will come from the feasibility study. Do we buy the trucks and hire the workers and run the department ourselves? The city of Socorro can do it. We are very successful in the transit department, providing that transit service, and it could be just as successful if we run the solid waste. But we did wanna do our due diligence and go through that feasibility study first.

so so uh mr arroyos had mentioned the solid waste is this something that that the city has looked at to put um dumpsters where instead of going all the way to the city landfill and paying a fee over there would the city ever consider to do something like what they have on Pendale Road that we can't use because we live in Socorro?

If you're referring to the citizen collection sites?

Yes.

Yes, so that's another thing that's in the study. There's some things that, again, the feasibility study may tell us that we can start with certain things and then build on that. We already have a recycling Center, maybe we can expand on that, or at what point can we start expanding on the services that we start off with, and then phase growth from there. Do you also see the benefits to these citizens' collection sites? They are very, they are convenient, and well, you've seen the ones that I, with the times I've visited, the ones in El Paso.

Well, I think also is that you wouldn't have our citizens of Socorro dumping on our drainage areas, empty lots, because right now they don't want to go to the city dump because it costs them money to go dump it there. And so if we did have something like that that we could provide for the residents, that would be probably more cost effective because the city employees don't have to go around and picking up the trash that everybody else dumps everywhere. So that would be an opportunity.

Another opportunity would be to go after grant funding for cleanups and awareness campaigns and all of this. That would be awesome. Surveillance. Sometimes the dumping, illegal dumping, could help be curbed by more surveillance. Specialized officers to try to go after those cases. That would be great.

I have another question. Totally unrelated. Sort of, but now that you mention illegal dumping, the parcel over here down North Loop on the right side, that at one point there was like a thousand dump loads of dirt on there. I don't remember the, I think on this side of Bauman, I think, or on the other side of Bauman, in the fire department. Was that illegal dumping, to dump the dirt there?

No, it was a developer who was building in the rear, Sunset Valley. Sunset Valley.

So he dumped the dirt on there, right? There was a bunch of piles of dirt, like dump trucks. I mean, it was a lot of dirt.

And then he used the dirt because it's no longer there, no?

Well, no, he spread it. He spread it out.

It looks like he used it to fill, that's what I think. I think he dumped it there, and I think he used it to fill.

But that wasn't illegal dumping for the city's concern?

That was his property.

It was his property, so it didn't matter.

It was his development.

All right.

I think I'm talking about the same one as you, but.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah someone that has a park right in the front yeah, yeah Okay, just curious Thank you Thank You miss Camino moving on to item 15 considering take action on the German of this meeting Do I have a motion make a motion to adjourn? I have a motion made by Andrea Royals to adjourn. Second by Isidro Torres. All those in favor of the motion?

Aye.

Any nays? Any abstain? Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6.53. Thank you all for coming.