El Paso adopted Plan El Paso in 2012 and overlays a SmartCode-based form-based code in select districts, encouraging walkable transit-supported development around Sun Metro Brio bus rapid transit corridors and downtown.
Plan El Paso, the city's comprehensive plan, won national planning awards for its emphasis on transect-based, mixed-use neighborhoods. Title 20 incorporates SmartCode form-based zones T3 through T6 in designated areas including downtown, the Mesa Brio corridor, and the Montana corridor. The form-based code regulates building form, frontage type, and street wall instead of pure use separation. Conventional Euclidean zoning still governs much of the city. Mapping decisions are handled by City Plan Commission with City Council adoption. The Brio bus rapid transit lines, operated by Sun Metro along Mesa, Alameda, Dyer, and Montana, anchor several form-based districts.
Building outside an approved frontage type or form-based standard can block permit issuance and certificate of occupancy until variance, design review, or compliance is achieved.
El Paso, TX
El Paso, sitting in the Chihuahuan Desert with summer highs frequently above 100 degrees, addresses urban heat through Plan El Paso land-use guidance, tree p...
El Paso, TX
El Paso's Bike Plan guides expansion of bike lanes, shared-use paths, and the Playa Drain Trail network, with bicyclists treated as vehicles under Texas Tran...
El Paso, TX
Title 20 form-based districts along Sun Metro Brio bus rapid transit corridors allow higher density, reduced parking minimums, and mixed-use building types w...
See how El Paso's specific plans overview rules stack up against other locations.
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