Providing private park facilities to satisfy required parkland dedication or fee requirements.
El Paso City Code § 19.20.090
in effect19.20.090 - Providing private park facilities to satisfy required parkland dedication or fee requirements.
A. Private Park Facilities. Where park areas and recreational facilities are to be provided in a proposed single family, duplex, or multifamily development, the required parkland may be satisfied provided that the following criteria are met:
1. Facilities shall be privately owned and maintained by the future residents of the subdivision or by the owner of a rental facility.
2. Private ownership and maintenance of such areas and facilities shall be adequately provided for by recorded written agreement, conveyance, or restrictions;
3. The use of such areas and facilities shall be restricted for park and recreational purposes by a recorded covenant, which runs with the land in favor of the future owners of property and cannot be amended or removed without the consent of the city council;
4. The areas, improvements and facilities wishing to receive credit shall be reasonably similar or comparable to what would be required to meet public park and recreational needs of this chapter.
B. Recreational Facilities. No credit shall be given for recreational facilities other than the land upon which those facilities are located as defined in this chapter.
C. Size of Park Areas. Open turf or play areas and/or park recreational areas may be of any size provided that a total of one quarter (¼) acre total functional park space to meet the recreational needs of residents is provided. Functional park space areas may include parks, child play areas, multi-purpose courts, and other similar facilities. However, swimming pools, community, recreational or exercise buildings, and similar facilities shall not be eligible for credit. Any open turf or play area used for parkland dedication credit shall be commonly accessible by all residents and not be used in calculating minimum landscaping requirements in Title 18, any required zoning condition such as a landscaped buffer, be part of any required set back, any yard (front, side, rear) for any single-family home requirement placed as a condition to detailed site plan approval, or any other building code requirement.
D. Credit Calculation.
1. One acre of private parkland shall count as credit for one-half acre of the required parkland dedication. The parkland requirement may be satisfied in its entirety by providing private parkland which meets the criteria in this section.
2. If the required parkland dedication cannot be completely satisfied by providing private parkland, any remaining requirement can be satisfied as follows:
a. Through the dedication of public parkland.
b. Through improvements to existing parkland in the same park zone, provided that if the improvement costs are above $50,000.00 a developer participation agreement is entered into and complies with the provisions of the state statute that governs developer participation agreements or if below $50,000.00, a developer's agreement is entered into.
c. Payment of fees.
E. All private parkland dedication and improvements, improvements to existing parkland, or fees in lieu of dedication, or in combination shall require the approval of the city plan commission upon the affirmative recommendation of the director of parks and recreation.
F. The director of the parks and recreation department in the annual report required in 19.20.120 G. shall report the amount of private park land accepted for credit by the city plan commission at the time of plat approval.
(Ord. 16882 § 2(part), 2008) (Ord. No. 17238, § 1, 11-17-2009)
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=TIT19SUDEPL_ART2SUST_CH19.20PAOPSP_19.20.090PRPRPAFASAREPADEFEREFetched: 10/28/2026