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ORDINANCE NO. 019438 AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE RE-ENACTING EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 019035 EXTENDING A DISASTER DECLARATION DUE TO A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the Governor of the State of Texas declared a state of disaster and the President of the United States of America declared a national emergency in relation to COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the Mayor signed a Local Emergency Declaration and requested the aid of the State Government pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 418.108; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to El Paso City Code Section 2.48.020(C), a local state of disaster declaration may not be continued or renewed for a period in excess of seven days except by or with the consent of City Council; and
WHEREAS, City Charter Section 3.10 allows for the City Council to adopt an emergency ordinance to meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the public peace; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, the City Council adopted Emergency Ordinance No. 019035, Extending a Disaster Declaration Due to a Public Health Emergency; and
WHEREAS, since March 2020, El Paso City Council has re-enacted Emergency Ordinance No. 019035 monthly, with the most recent re-enactment taking place on January 30, 2023; and
WHEREAS, despite local COVID-19 cases continuing to decline, the risk of contracting COVID-19 remains and new variants of the virus are expected to arise; and
WHEREAS, as of February 13, 2023, the number of new COVID-19 active cases reported in El Paso is 152 and the cumulative number is 310,349; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to City Charter Section 3.10, every emergency ordinance shall stand repealed automatically as of the 31st day following the date on which it was adopted, but may be re-enacted to continue a Disaster Declaration; and
WHEREAS, Emergency Ordinance No. 019428 which re-enacts Emergency Ordinance No. 019035 is set to expire on March 1, 2023;
WHEREAS, the condition necessitating a declaration of a state of disaster continues to exist.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF EL PASO, TEXAS:
PASSED AND ADOPTED, this 27 day of February 2023.
THE CITY OF EL PASO, TEXAS Oscar Leeser Mayor
ATTEST: Laura D. Prine City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM: Karla M. Nieman City Attorney
APPROVED AS TO CONTENT: Mario M. D’Agostino Deputy City Manager Public Health & Safety
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ORDINANCE NO. 019439 AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE RE-ENACTING EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 019036 INSTITUTING EMERGENCY MEASURES, AS RE-ENACTED, RESTATED AND AMENDED BY EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 019151; AND FURTHER RE-ENACTED AND AMENDED BY EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NOS. 019156, 019169, 019191 AND 019284; PENALTY AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 8.
WHEREAS, by proclamation issued on March 13, 2020, the Mayor declared a local state of disaster for the City of El Paso resulting from a public health emergency; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, the City Council, pursuant to City Charter Section 3.10, adopted Emergency Ordinance No. 019036 to meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the public peace; and
WHEREAS, since March 2020, City Council has re-enacted Emergency Ordinance No. 019036 monthly, with the most recent re-enactment, re-statement and amendment taking place on March 16, 2021, and with the most recent re-enactment taking place on January 30, 2023; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to City Charter Section 3.10, every emergency ordinance shall stand repealed automatically as of the 31st day following the date on which it was adopted, but may be re-enacted if the emergency still exists; and
WHEREAS, a disaster continues to exist and requires that certain emergency measures be taken to meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the public peace; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to re-enact Emergency Ordinance No. 019036, as re-enacted, restated and amended on March 16, 2021 through Emergency Ordinance No. 019151, as further re-enacted and amended on March 29, 2021 through Emergency Ordinance No. 019156, as further re-enacted and amended on April 26, 2021 through Emergency Ordinance No. 019169, as further re-enacted and amended on May 24, 2021 through Emergency Ordinance No. 019191, as further re-enacted and amended on January 31, 2022 through Emergency Ordinance No. 019284, which shall remain in effect for thirty days or until otherwise terminated, re-enacted, or superseded by a conflicting El Paso Local Health Authority order, or state or federal law or order.
AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 019440 RE-ENACTING EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 019241; ALLOWING TEMPORARY USES ON THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY AND PRIVATE PROPERTY BY SUSPENDING VARIOUS CITY ORDINANCES; PENALTY AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 6.
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, El Paso City Council adopted Emergency Ordinance No. 019035 extending the City’s Disaster Declaration due to a Public Health Emergency; and
WHEREAS, since March 2020, El Paso City Council has re-enacted Emergency Ordinance No. 019035, with the most recent re-enactment taking place on January 30, 2023; and
WHEREAS, Governor Abbott has similarly renewed the State’s COVID- 19 Disaster Declaration, with the most recent extension taking place on January 30, 2023; and
WHEREAS, El Paso City Charter Section 3.10 allows City Council to adopt an emergency ordinance to meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property, or the public peace; and
WHEREAS, the El Paso City Council desires to support restaurants and similar establishments in their efforts to safely operate during the COVID-19 pandemic by further facilitating outdoor service and dining opportunities; and
WHEREAS, on October 11, 2021, City Council enacted an Emergency Ordinance Instituting Emergency Measures to Allow Temporary Uses on the Public Right of Way and Private Property by Suspending Various City Ordinances (“Emergency Ordinance No. 019241”); and
WHEREAS, City Council re-enacted Emergency Ordinance No. 019241, with the most recent re-enaction taking place on January 30, 2023 (Ord. No. 019430) (“Re-enacting Ordinance”); and
WHEREAS, City Council desires to re-enact its October 11, 2021, Emergency Ordinance No. 019241, which shall take effect immediately, and remain in effect until March 30, 2023 until otherwise terminated, re-enacted, or superseded by a conflicting El Paso Local Health Authority order, or state or federal law or order.
PASSED AND ADOPTED, this 27 day of February, 2023.
Oscar Leeser Mayor
APPROVED AS TO CONTENT: Yvette M. Hernandez, P.E City Engineer
ORDINANCE NO. 019441 AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE EXTENDING EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 019333 AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ASSIGN PERSONNEL AND RESOURCES TO ASSIST IN ADDRESSING THE HUMANITARIAN AND PUBLIC SAFETY CRISIS RESULTING FROM A MASS MIGRATION THROUGH EL PASO
WHEREAS, on May 23, 2022, the Mayor and City Council of the City of El Paso (the “City”) passed an Emergency Ordinance No. 019333 “Authorizing the City Manager to Assign Personnel and Resources to Assist in Addressing the Humanitarian and Public Safety Crisis Resulting from a Mass Migration through the City of El Paso”; and
WHEREAS, thousands of migrants from Latin America gathered at or near the U.S.- Mexico border in hopes that President Biden will ease immigration restrictions that will make it easier to enter the United States; and
WHEREAS, on April 1, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) announced the repeal of the Public Health Services Act, 42 U.S.C. §265 (“Title 42”), which was expected to allow for the inflow of migrants from the southern border; and
WHEREAS, federal litigation ensued to enjoin the CDC from repealing Title 42 on the intended date of May 23, 2022; and
WHEREAS, on June 30, 2022, a United States Supreme Court ruling allowed the President to end the Migrant Protection Protocols, which would allow for the inflow of migrants from the southern border; and
WHEREAS, Title 42 was struck down by a federal court with the parties agreeing that the injunction would end on December 21, 2022; and
WHEREAS, on December 27, 2022 the United States Supreme Court issued an order allowing the injunction to remain in place until further review of the case can be carried out; and
WHEREAS, the Biden administration has announced the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023 possibly ending all use of Title 42 as a mechanism to control the border; and
WHEREAS, the Southwest had 221,181 land border encounters in the month of December, 2022; and
WHEREAS, the El Paso sector of CBP had 55,747 land border encounters in the month of December, 2022 and a total of 162,603 encounters for federal fiscal year 2023; and
WHEREAS, in the month of February2023, approximately 1,500 migrants have been arriving weekly; and
WHEREAS, when the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (“CBP”) Central Processing Center is over capacity and NGO space is unavailable, that is when the potential for street releases arises; and
WHEREAS, CBP has released many migrants onto downtown streets leaving many migrants without shelter; and
WHEREAS, in response to the street releases, the El Paso City-County Office of Emergency Management (“OEM”) reallocated twenty-nine COVID-19 Operations staff to assist as migrant shelter surge staff, and on May 17, 2022, this staff began orientation training at Casa del Refugiado, the NGO’s largest hospitality site; and
WHEREAS, OEM has created a job specification, for general disaster operations to include humanitarian relief duties to hire and assign staff to assist with NGO capacity with over 40 staff currently assigned; and
WHEREAS, the El Paso City Charter Section 3.10, allows for the adoption of one or more emergency ordinances to meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property, or the public peace; and
WHEREAS, Section 121.003 of the Texas Health & Safety Code states that a municipality may enforce any law that is reasonably necessary to protect public health; and
WHEREAS, Section 122.006 of the Texas Health & Safety Code provides home-rule municipalities express authority to adopt rules to protect the health of persons in the municipality, including quarantine rules to protect the residents against communicable disease; and
WHEREAS, OEM continues to provide COVID-19 isolation and quarantine hotel support to migrant shelters, expanding operations when outbreaks occur in congregate shelter facilities; and
WHEREAS, OEM has provided isolation and quarantine services to over 2,708 migrants in close coordination with NGOs since April 2020; and
WHEREAS, beginning in late August 2022, the El Paso sector experienced a surge of over 2,000 migrants presenting themselves daily to CBP, primarily made up of unsponsored single adults from Venezuela, resulting in over 1,000 street releases by CBP; and
WHEREAS, due to this high volume, the number of refugees and asylum seekers released to the NGO and the City’s Migrant Welcome Center, was over 1,000 on a daily basis; and
WHEREAS, on September 7, 2022, the City and OEM stood up a migrant Welcome Center to assist with transportation assistance providing services to over 19,300 migrants through October 20, 2022, and
WHEREAS, there were over 40,000 community releases to local NGOs and the City during this period; and
WHEREAS, the City’s Welcome Center has sponsored 294 charter buses with 13,900 unsponsored migrants aboard to New York City and Chicago as final destinations; and
WHEREAS, Sun Metro buses have transported upwards of 4,800 migrants to the El Paso International Airport (“EPIA”), bus stations, the Welcome Center, and shelters; and
WHEREAS, the City has provided over 39,000 meals to migrants at the local facilities, and for travel aboard the outbound charter buses; and
WHEREAS, the release of mass groups of people without access to potable water, food, or shelter exposes the migrants and El Paso residents to the origination and spread of potential and actual disease; and
WHEREAS, in response to the number of migrants arriving at the border, on January 5, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security created a humanitarian parole program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua similar to the program already available to Venezuelans; and
WHEREAS, on January 8, 2023, President Biden visited the border to assess the situation in part because the number of migrants has gained the attention of the media and national leadership; and
WHEREAS, there are significant public safety and security concerns related to the wave of migration, including but not limited to the risk to injury or loss of life with migrants in El Paso streets with little or no resources on days that reach hot or cold temperatures and the inherent risks that come with increased demand on local shelters; and
WHEREAS, for these reasons, the City is faced with the imminent threat of widespread injury or loss of life resulting from a surge in transient migrants traveling to the region during an ongoing global pandemic; and
WHEREAS, there is the potential for loss of property for both residents and migrants due to those who would take financial advantage of this wave of migrants; and
WHEREAS, the Director of Aviation has the authority, as granted by the El Paso City Council, to manage the day-to-day operation of EPIA and to ensure that those operations are conducted in compliance with the rules and regulations regarding airports under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 22 of the Texas Transportation Code, and Title 14 of the El Paso City Code, as well as federal, state, and local health and safety regulations to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of all occupants and travelers making use of EPIA facilities; and
WHEREAS, EPIA in recent past, became saturated with migrants awaiting air travel and could need to take measures to preserve the health and safety of its customers, employees and the public, as well as measures to secure its facilities as the demand for air travel increases exponentially; and
WHEREAS, the City of El Paso is home to 4 of the 28 international ports of entry between Texas and Mexico; and
WHEREAS, based on mass migration events in the recent past, the City anticipates significant delays at the international ports-of-entry to include trade; and
WHEREAS, the potential encampment of large groups of migrants on City rights of way, parks and other City property poses safety risks to migrants and citizens alike; and
WHEREAS, in awaiting the due support of the federal government, the City finds that the expenditure of public funds for staff to coordinate resources and supplies, serve as shelter surge staff and transport migrants released in the City of El Paso accomplishes a valid public purpose of protecting public infrastructure, and protecting the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of El Paso; and
WHEREAS, in order to protect the health of persons in the municipality, the City Council wishes to continue to assist the local NGO with surge staff, coordination of resources and supplies, and transportation in light of the continued high number of community releases; and
WHEREAS, OEM and the City will continue to prepare and evaluate the need for mass emergency sheltering in anticipation of the eventual repeal of Title 42 and other regional migration surges that may impact the El Paso region; and
WHEREAS, this Ordinance shall remain in effect until otherwise terminated, re-enacted, superseded by a conflicting ordinance, El Paso Local health Authority Ordinance, state or federal law, or repealed automatically as of the 31st day following the date on which it was adopted unless re-enacted pursuant to City Charter Section 3.10.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL PASO:
PASSED AND ADOPTED, this 28 day of February, 2023.
Notice is hereby given that, during a regular meeting of the City Council held on March 14, 2023, the Mayor has approved and the City Council has passed the following Ordinance:
ORDINANCE 019443 An Ordinance amending Title 9 (Health and Safety), Chapter 9.48 (Public Swimming Pools and Spas), Section 9.48.010 (Purpose) of the El Paso City Code.
ORDINANCE 019444 An Ordinance granting to Jessica Soto Prado and Hugo Prado DBA PS Ads a non-exclusive franchise for waste containers on sidewalks and other city property.
Laura D. Prine, City Clerk
Pursuant to Section 3.9A of the El Paso City Charter, the following Ordinances were properly introduced at a Regular Council Meeting on March 14, 2023:
PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD ON MARCH 28, 2023 FOR ITEMS 1 TO 4.