Plan El Paso, the City of El Paso's Comprehensive Plan, provides the basis for El Paso's regulations and policies that guide its physical and economic development. Plan El Paso establishes priorities for public action and direction for complementary private decisions. Plan El Paso contains illustrative plans, diagrams, maps, and pictures to make its concepts clear and accessible to City officials, residents, developers, community groups, and other stakeholders.
The Comprehensive Plans below provide flexible frameworks that can be updated, revised, and improved upon over time to stay relevant to the issues the City must confront as well as the ambitions the City chooses to pursue. This plan can serve as a tool to evaluate new development proposals and direct capital improvements and to guide public policy in a manner that ensures that El Paso continues to be the community that its citizens desire it to be.
Plan El Paso Volume I: City PatternsPlan El Paso Volume II: Community Life
The Historic Preservation Office (HPO) reviews any proposed modification to the exterior of a building or site located within one of our nine historic districts or independent historic structures. Owning a designated property does not mean you cannot update some of the building’s dated elements. If your building is a locally designated landmark or resides within one of our historic districts you are required to have proposed changes that affect the exterior of your property reviewed and approved by either the Historic Landmark Commission or Administrative Review approval by the Historic Preservation Office.
Typical reviews conducted by the HPO include landscaping, painting, re-roofing, repair of walks, driveways, fences, and replacement of windows and doors. The city’s preservation program recognizes the need for contemporary and economical use of historic buildings and the design review process was put in place to balance the historic qualities with the demands of today. Many successful projects have resulted from the collaboration of the Historic Landmark Commission and property owners, and the more you know about the process before beginning your project, the simpler it will be. To verify if your building is locally designated please contact Providencia Velazquez at (915) 212-1567.
On May 30, 2017, City Council adopted an Ordinance amending the Infill Development section of Title 20, Section 20.10.280. The amendment adds new location and design criteria for Infill Special Permits. It also includes new regulations and standards that govern how they are reviewed.
The City of El Paso defines Infill Development as "any development activity, including but not limited to new construction, renovation, addition, rehabilitation or redevelopment, associated with vacant or underutilized parcels within existing, largely developed urban areas".
The purpose of the City’s Infill Development Incentive Policy is to provide financial incentives to develop vacant and underutilized properties within the City limits, in accordance with the standards established within Title 20. The City recognizes there may be physical and monetary challenges to developing such parcels and as such, have provided financial incentives to make it economically-feasible to do so. As an additional source of financing to assist in funding a project, the City not only seeks to develop vacant and underutilized lots, but also to promote high-quality development. To be eligible, projects must meet the ‘Eligibility Criteria’ section of the Infill Development Incentive Program Policy.
Please contact Karina Brasgalla, (915) 212-1570, for more information regarding Economic Development and the Infill Development Incentive Program.
Applications for Infill Development may be solely to provide for modifications to Zoning requirements, Economic Development incentives only, or for both. Contact our Economic Development Department to find out if your project is eligible.
Specific requirements within Section 20.10.280 can be found within the approved Ordinance and an Infill Checklist assist in understanding if your project meets the requirements. There is also a Policy Guide to supplement the Ordinance and provide additional clarification and visualization of the code requirements as well as reference material found in the Ordinance.
What do the new requirements include?The new requirements for Infill Development pertain to the following items:
Location CriteriaDesign Requirements
Special Permit ApplicationChecklistOrdinancePolicy GuideInfill Area GIS Map