El Paso City Council to consider handing over land around wetland park for concrete plant

Adam Powell, El Paso Times

The El Paso City Council could be poised to hand over land surrounding the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park for the establishment of a permanent concrete batch plant.

During its meeting Tuesday, May 7, the City Council is set to vote on whether to rezone the land surrounding the Rio Bosque from Ranch and Farm to Light Manufacturing, which would clear the way for Jobe Materials to operate a permanent concrete plant just outside of the wetland park.

Currently, Jobe Materials operates a temporary facility in the same area providing concrete mix for a public works project — the change in zoning would mean that the facility would be there in perpetuity.

Jobe Materials is currently occupying the land at $4,000 per acre, about 10% of what it would be valued at if rezoned for industrial use, and would not be required to pay the difference if City Council approves the plan, according to a blog post from The Rewilding Institute.

A Rio Grande cottonwood grows on the banks of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. The native species were reintroduced as part of the restoration.
A Rio Grande cottonwood grows on the banks of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. The native species were reintroduced as part of the restoration.

The land is currently owned by El Paso Water, which is requesting the rezoning for Jobe Materials to readily provide concrete for ongoing El Paso Water developments in the area.

"If City Council approves the change, it would set a bad precedent," read a newsletter from UTEP's Center for Environmental Resource Management, which oversees the Rio Bosque park. "It would potentially encourage other incursions into the open space corridor east of Rio Bosque in the future."

But UTEP is hardly the only one speaking out against the proposal — at least 11 El Pasoans have also voiced opposition to the proposal, according to the backup for Tuesday's agenda, while only one has written in support of the plan. Even the city's Planning Commission held off on approving the plan when it took it up on Feb. 22, 2024.

And while most City Council members have taken a wait-and-see approach to the plan, West-Central city Rep. Josh Acevedo offered staunch criticism of a move that would substantively encroach on one of the area's only wetland parks.

A Newtropic conmorant rest on a branch on the bank of the Rio Del Bosque on an early morning in July 2022.
A Newtropic conmorant rest on a branch on the bank of the Rio Del Bosque on an early morning in July 2022.

"I am really concerned with proposed potential projects around Rio Bosque in recent weeks ... ," Acevedo wrote in a text message. "For this particular project, I am hearing concerns from community members, including several people that wrote emails in opposition to this rezoning.

"The plan to rezone this area also failed to garner enough votes for a recommendation for approval by the city Planning Commission," he added, "so I feel that we should not move forward with this proposal."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso City Council to decide whether to protect land around park

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