INFILL COMMUNITY PLANS

El Paso City Code tit. 21, ch. 21.40

in effect

El Paso City Code § 21.40.010 Instructions.

21.40.010 - Instructions. A. Upon direction by city council, and in conformance with the comprehensive plan, the planning division may prepare, or have prepared on its behalf, infill community plans to guide further development infill community plans shall be prepared in a process of public consultation. B. Infill community plans are intended to regulate, at minimum, at least five acres. The community type shall be based on existing conditions and intended evolution in the plan area. C. Infill community plans shall include a regulating plan consisting of one or more maps showing the following, and demonstrating their compliance with the standards described in this chapter. 1. transect zones (Section 21.40.030); 2. Civic Zones, including civic spaces and Civic Buildings (Section 21.40.040); 3. Special districts, if any (Section 21.40.050); 4. A thoroughfare network, existing or planned (Table 3A, Table 3B); 5. Special requirements, if any (Section 21.40.070); 6. A landscape plan, if any; 7. A signage plan, if any; 8. A lighting plan, if any; D. Infill community plan submittals shall also include additional information required by this chapter, such as: 1. Identification of pedestrian sheds and community types; 2. Requests for warrants or variances, if any. E. Upon rezoning of an area as a SmartCode Zone, all parcels within the zone shall be marked as such on the zoning map of El Paso. Within the SmartCode Zone, the approved infill regulating plan and this title shall become the exclusive and mandatory zoning regulation, and its provisions, as altered by approved warrants, variances, and adjustments, shall be applied in their entirety property owners within the plan area may submit building scale plans under Chapter 21.50 in accordance with the provisions of this title. Building scale plans requiring no variances shall be approved administratively by the CRC, except where development is for apartments or mixed-use residential development that meet all minimum requirements set forth in Chapter 21 (SmartCode) and Section 20.10.363, no building scale plan shall be required. (Ord. 16945 § 2 (part), 2008) (Ord. No. 17441, § 12, 4-26-2011; Ord. No. 17542, § 17, 4-26-2011; Ord. No. 019816, § 3, 11-18-2025)

El Paso City Code § 21.40.020 Infill community types.

21.40.020 - Infill community types. A. Infill regulating plans shall encompass one or more of the following infill community types. The allocation percentages of Table 14a do not apply. B. Infill TND (traditional neighborhood development). 1. An infill TND shall be assigned to neighborhood areas that are predominantly residential with one or more mixed use corridors or centers. An infill TND shall be mapped as at least one complete standard pedestrian shed, which may be adjusted as a network pedestrian shed, oriented around one or more existing or planned common destinations. 2. The edges of an infill TND should blend into adjacent neighborhoods and/or a downtown without buffers. C. Infill RCD (regional center development). 1. An infill RCD should be assigned to urban core areas that include significant office and retail uses as well as government and other civic institutions of regional importance. An infill RCD shall be mapped as at least one complete long or linear pedestrian shed, which may be adjusted as a network pedestrian shed, oriented around and important mixed use corridor or center. 2. The edges of an infill RCD should blend into adjacent neighborhoods without buffers. D. Infill TOD (transit-oriented development) overlay. 1. Any infill TND or infill RCD on an existing or projected rail or bus rapid transit (BRT) network may be re-designated in whole or in part as with a TOD overlay and permitted the higher density represented by the effective parking allowance in Section 21.50.090 B.4. 2. A proposed TOD overlay shall be clearly indicated on an Infill regulating Plan and shall be subject to approval by the City Council concurrently with approval of, or amendment to, a SmartCode Zone. E. Infill RCD-airport (regional center development). 1. An infill RCD-airport should be assigned to urban core areas that are within one mile of the airport terminal, or along the Montana BRT route. An infill RCD-airport shall be mapped as at least one complete long or linear pedestrian shed, which may be adjusted as a network pedestrian shed, oriented around an important mixed use corridor or center. The RCD-airport may contain one or more standard pedestrian sheds in combination with a long or linear pedestrian shed. 2. The edges of an infill RCD-airport should blend into adjacent neighborhoods without buffers. (Ord. 16945 § 2 (part), 2008) (Ord. No. 17542, § 18, 4-26-2011; Ord. No. 17787, § 5, 5-15-2012; Ord. No. 17898, § 1, 10-30-2012)

El Paso City Code § 21.40.030 Transect zones.

21.40.030 - Transect zones. A. Transect zone standards for infill regulating plans have been calibrated by means of a survey of exemplary existing and intended conditions, as identified in a process of public consultation and were later adopted into this title by city council. B. After approval into a SmartCode Zone by the city council, landowners in each transect zone may obtain building scale plans that include any of the elements indicated by Chapters 21.40 and 21.50, except where development is for apartments or mixed-use residential development that meet all minimum requirements set forth in Chapter 21 (SmartCode) and Section 20.10.363, no building scale plan shall be required. (Ord. 16945 § 2 (part), 2008) (Ord. No. 17542, § 19, 4-26-2011; Ord. No. 019816, § 3, 11-18-2025)

El Paso City Code § 21.40.040 Civic zones.

21.40.040 - Civic zones. A. General. 1. Infill regulating plans should designate civic space zones (CS) and civic building zones (CB). Civic spaces are public sites permanently dedicated to open space. Civic zones are designated on infill community regulating plans; property designated as a civic zone must also be assigned to a transect zone. 2. A civic zone may be permitted if it does not occupy more than twenty percent of a pedestrian shed, otherwise it is subject to the creation of a special district. See Section 21.40.050. B. Civic space zones (CS). 1. Civic spaces shall be generally designed as described in Table 13, their type determined by their transect zone. C. Civic building zones (CB). 1. Civic buildings shall be permitted on civic building zones reserved in the infill regulating plan. 2. Civic buildings shall be subject to the requirements of Chapter 21.50. (Ord. 16945 § 2 (part), 2008) (Ord. No. 17542, § 20, 4-26-2011)

El Paso City Code § 21.40.050 Special districts.

21.40.050 - Special districts. A. Areas that, by their intrinsic size, function, or configuration, cannot conform to the requirements of any transect zone or combination of zones shall be designated as special districts by the planning division in the process of preparing an infill community plan. B. Special districts that do not have provisions within this title (see Section 21.80.220, Table 16) shall be excluded from the SmartCode Zone and governed by the standards of the existing zoning. (Ord. 16945 § 2 (part), 2008) (Ord. No. 17441, § 3, 10-26-2010; Ord. No. 17542. § 21, 4-26-2011)

El Paso City Code § 21.40.060 Pre-existing conditions.

21.40.060 - Pre-existing conditions. A. Existing buildings and appurtenances that do not conform to the provisions of this title may continue in the same use and form until a substantial modification occurs or is requested, at which time the consolidated review committee (CRC) shall determine the provisions of this section that shall apply. B. Reserved. C. The modification of existing buildings or the improvement of thoroughfares is permitted by right if such changes result in greater conformance with the specifications of this title. D. Where buildings exist on adjacent lots, the CRC may require that a proposed building match one or the other of the adjacent setbacks and heights rather than the provisions of this title. E. Reserved. F. The restoration or rehabilitation of an existing building shall not require the provision of: (a) parking in addition to that existing, or (b) on-site stormwater retention/detention in addition to that existing. Existing parking requirements that exceed those for this title may be reduced as provided by Tables 10 and 11. (Ord. 16945 § 2 (part), 2008) (Ord. No. 17542, § 22, 4-26-2011; Ord. No. 17787, § 6, 5-15-2012)

El Paso City Code § 21.40.070 Special requirements.

21.40.070 - Special requirements. A. An infill regulating plan may designate any of the following special requirements, which if approved shall then be enforced at the building scale plan stage, except where development is for apartments or mixed-use residential development that meet all minimum requirements set forth in Chapter 21 (SmartCode) and Section 20.10.363, shall be enforced prior to issuance of building permits: 1. A differentiation of the thoroughfares as A-grid and B-grid. Buildings along the A-grid shall be held to the highest standard of this title in support of pedestrian activity. Buildings along the B-grid may allow automobile-oriented standards. The Frontages assigned to the B-grid shall not exceed thirty percent of the total length of frontages within a pedestrian shed. There is no limitation on the B-grid within SD5. 2. Designations for mandatory and/or recommended retail frontage requiring or advising that a building provide a shopfront at sidewalk level along the entire length of its private frontage. The shopfront shall be no less than seventy percent glazed in clear glass and shaded by an awning overlapping the sidewalk as generally illustrated in Table 7 and specified in Chapter 21.50. The first floor shall be confined to retail use through the depth of the second layer. (Table 17d.) 3. Designations for mandatory and/or recommended gallery frontage, requiring or advising that a building provide a permanent cover over the sidewalk, either cantilevered or supported by columns. The gallery frontage designation may be combined with a retail frontage designation. 4. Designations for mandatory and/or recommended arcade frontage, requiring or advising that a building overlap the sidewalk such that the first floor façade is a colonnade. The arcade frontage designation may be combined with a retail frontage designation. 5. A designation for coordinated frontage, requiring that the public frontage (Table 4A) and private frontage (Table 7) be coordinated as a single, coherent landscape and paving design. 6. Designations for mandatory and/or recommended terminated vista locations, requiring or advising that the building be provided with architectural articulation of a type and character that responds visually to the location, as approved by the CRC. 7. A designation for cross block passages, requiring that a minimum eight-foot-wide pedestrian access be reserved between buildings. 8. Designations for mandatory and/or recommended forecourt frontage, requiring or advising that a portion of the façade is close to the frontage line and the central portion is set back for cafes or vehicular drop-offs. The forecourt frontage designation may be combined with a retail frontage designation. (Ord. 16945 § 2 (part), 2008) (Ord. No. 17542, § 23, 4-26-2011; Ord. No. 17898, § 2, 10-30-2012; Ord. No. 019816, § 3, 11-18-2025)

Source: City of El Paso, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/el_paso/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT21SMCO_CH21.40INCOPLFetched: 10/28/2026