City Master Planner cites Flea Markets Counterproductive to City’s Development Plans
By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2015, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
City of Eagle Pass Master Planner Mitch Wright of Vista Planning recently presented the Eagle Pass City Council with an overview of the City of Eagle Pass Master Plan and certain issues which need to be reviewed to determine if these issues should be included or deleted in the City’s overall master plan for development and growth, including a reexamination of the downtown flea market.
During a marathon City Council workshop held on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, Wright touched basis with the Eagle Pass City Council and administration on many items that had been presented to Council earlier before Wright’s Master Plan presentation.
“I want you to think of stepping back a little bit and looking at the whole picture. My process is, let’s look at the city first. Let’s look at the overall picture. Then we start seeing how some of those things go together. The environment is a habitat that supports the health and biological well-functioning of an individual and the survival of the species,” said Wright.
“We want to think of the city as a habitat for us. We need a healthy habitat. What is our habitat? Is it dull and boring or is it active and vibrant,” added Wright.
“We want the city to have good tourism and education for our kids. We want it to be economically satisfying that offer a lot of opportunity. We want to ask ourselves do we want our city to stay as it is or do we want to change things?” queried Wright.
Wright then asked if the plans are to stimulate the economy or for it to remain as is.
Wright then stated that a master plan was not just about the mechanical aspects but to establish a balance of the overall key pieces to a successful plan that will allow the city to move forward as the long range plan establishes.
“What is your vision for Eagle Pass? It is a vision that we have to develop for the long term.” asked Wright.
Wright’s presentation covered issues such as the economics, social health, tourism, education, elderly housing stock, culture and heritage, trails master plan, master plan mapping for future set ups, and a transportation master plan.
Wright then went into detail of an overview of an on the ground city observation study he conducted to get a better understanding of how the city is set up, including city water sheds, to be able to put together a comprehensive analysis for the City of Eagle Pass master plan.
“It is also important to see in the long term where your city is growing to make sure you have that infrastructure in place,” added Wright.
City Council and Wright discussed directional preliminary planning, visual corridor requirements, landscape ordinances, annexation and other tools vital to a structured growth in the future for city developments.
“There are a lot of things that you can do that are simple and are not complicated. We can get some codes on the book to start moving the city’s image to a more positive and pleasing aesthetically,” said Wright.
“Looking at all the things we need to ask ourselves where is it that Eagle Pass is going? One of the things I see is you want to improve a lot of things. What can we do economically to stimulate the city and start the ball rolling, let’s get the economical trend going first and lets generate income for the city so we can start putting away income for , historical preservation, downtown improvements and many other things,” added Wright.
Wright also suggested that the city begin pushing for more city sponsored events including festivals, music in the streets events, and other tourist inviting activities.
Eagle Pass Mayor Ramsey English Cantu stated he personally feels that the city is not as accommodating to such events and that a strong consideration should be taken to begin pushing for more of these events to establish.
Cantu discussed certain issues with Wright in regards to investing and leveraging assets within the city’s arsenal to accommodate those types of events.
“I’ve seen where there have been people who have wanted to have certain festivals and at time the city has made it difficult for us to accommodate those events when in the long run we should be trying to promote them,” said Cantu.
Wright concurred with Mayor Cantu.
“It’s not always about how much is the city going to get out of this but how much is the community going to benefit from it and how much in the long run are we going to change that mentality of administering and always making it about money,” added Cantu.
Cantu stated that it is understood that there are cost but that he feels that those things need to be looked at to be made better.
Wright then added that it is about assuring a great quality of life in Eagle Pass and the rest will follow with a structured plan.
Wright then presented a suggested use for the downtown area and the banks of the Rio Grande River as possible uses to establish healthy development in that area.
“You have a back of the pickup flea market all the time. You have the back of the stores with junk piles and then you have Ryan Street and a huge barrier (Border Fence). If you were to rotate that around and face the river and animate that street and use it as a parade street, you would have a festival on one side and you would have all the retail businesses making gobs of money,” said Wright.
“You already have the asset on the ground, you need to deconstruct it and make something out of it,” added Wright.
“You need to put in an ordinance in the books that says all that stuff of the back of a pickup can’t be sold here anymore,” said Wright.
Wright’s presentation clearly shows a vision of a master plan for the City of Eagle Pass to elevate economic development through all aspects, including setting up boundary lines for future growth and development which in turn will accommodate an invitation for more touristic opportunity.
On this important note, Wright stated that the city should consider setting a proactive ordinance addressing the downtown flea market issue which is seen as counterproductive to the city’s plans of developing a more sound structured master plan for growth by many stake holders especially in the downtown area.
The City of Eagle Pass currently has a Flea Market Ordinance in place but it have been heavily criticized on many occasions by downtown business owners and merchants who vocally expressed their displeasure and concerns over the lack of supervision and enforcement of the City of Eagle Pass Flea Market Ordinance.
Merchants have stated that the Flea Market operators continuously break the ordinance set in place by not adhering to many of its regulatory amendments and that the city loosely regulates said ordinance. Downtown merchants opine that the City is selectively enforcing the Flea Market Ordinance, generally more non-enforcement than enforcement.
A major issue regarding the City’s non-enforcement of the Flea Market Ordinance is the exploitation of a loophole in the language of the ordinance which Flea Market operators are now using to operate a seven days a week flea market instead of only on Mondays and Fridays to the severe economic and financial loss of downtown merchants. Downtown merchants allege the City Council and Administration have been notified but they have not done anything to enforce the Flea Market Ordinance.
“They found a loophole and they are taking full advantage of it. We understand that those persons have a necessity but we as merchants pay our taxes and pay employees and every dollar counts and when you don’t have regulatory practices things go awry. We hope that the city addresses this issue because it is unfair. They then have the nerve to come by and ask if we would like to participate in the Main Street restoration program. How are we as business owners going to invest into fixing up our buildings if two blocks away you have the remnants of what could be seen as a second hand set up that should not intermingle with legitimate businesses? We own the buildings down here. We don’t pay a $10 dollar fee and set up from the trunk of our cars and it’s not fair,” said a Downtown Merchant which requested anonymity.
Another business owner who asked to remain anonymous stated his concern and emphasized that the flea market vendors are not being obligated to pay taxes on their sales and that now it is out of hand as they are setting up on a daily basis. “It is affecting my business because many of those vendors are selling merchandise that we legitimate businesses have on stock and that is a big issue. I hope that the city takes care of the issue now. ”
Two other downtown merchants interviewed by the Eagle Pass Business Journal stated that they do see benefit from the flow of flea market patrons but that they do see that the city must find a balance on addressing the concerns of all involved in the matter. “They can’t sit back and ignore it and we do hope they strike a balance especially with all the planning of making the area a better area of mainstay economic development as seen through their Main Street Program.”
“I do benefit from the flea market patrons and see an influx during the days they are set up. But if a larger group of my counterparts are being affected negatively then I wouldn’t want that because we all pay our taxes and invest whatever money we have to invest and in all fairness I understand their concerns,” said a Downtown Merchant.
Unquestionably, Eagle Pass downtown merchants oppose the Rio Grande and Ryan Streets Flea Markets because it is affecting their sales and profits, represents unfair competition, and is an eyesore to tourists and attracting quality events and investments to Eagle Pass. Downtown merchants hope the City Council and Administration finally has the courage to enforce its own Flea Market Ordinance.
Clearly, the City of Eagle Pass has a tough decision to make, as stated by their Master Planner Mitch Wright of Vista Planning: “We want to ask ourselves do we want our city to stay as it is or do we want to change things?”
The City of Eagle Pass has not updated its City Master Plan since 1995, more than 20 years ago. A new, revised City Master Plan is gravely needed to guide the City’s present and future growth and economic development. The cost to revise the City Master Plan was $15,000.
