Hold your horses people, wait til all the information comes out before you start lighting your torches and finding your pitchforks.
I still have questions about the ballot language and the ordinance language but that is sort of irrelevant at this point because the vote on Tuesday was a first step, not a last step.
Now the city can start negotiating with the property owners for the parcels of land that they are wanting for the arena.
Personally I think they are doing a terrible job of getting the facts out to the public and media, but the reality is this is really the first step and not the last. I think the city needs to clearly articulate what their plans are for each parcel of land and explain how many property owners, commercial and residential, we are actually talking about here.
Eminent domain isn't at play yet. They are attempting to buy the property first. So there is a good chance that the homeowners especially, are going to make a bit of a profit. Maybe a handsome one.
Eminent domain doesn't happen until much later in the process and only after a land owner has declined the offers. Its very litigious to actually engage in eminent domain. I don't know if the city is really looking forward to that big hassle.
At that point, the property owner is given fair market value for their property.
But that is a long way away and frankly not even likely.
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The Rail Yard
There is a reason I think the rail yard would be a terrible location for the arena.
In my next post I'll explain why I think its a terrible idea and why thousands of El Pasoans would be screwed in the process.
------------------------------------------
History
Lets keep some things in perspective here. Its been known that there was going to be an arena in the downtown area since its passed several years ago. That isn't a new thing.
Historical designations should've been made then, but the history folks keep getting caught with their pants down. And that surprises me considering those history folks seem to focus on the downtown area and ignore the other parts of town.
Remember when a Trost building was torn down in Fabens a while back? Where were the history people then? Because it wasn't a building in downtown, they didn't even know it was a Trost building or move to do anything about it until after the property was sold to someone else and torn down.
Ooops.
I still have questions about the ballot language and the ordinance language but that is sort of irrelevant at this point because the vote on Tuesday was a first step, not a last step.
Now the city can start negotiating with the property owners for the parcels of land that they are wanting for the arena.
Personally I think they are doing a terrible job of getting the facts out to the public and media, but the reality is this is really the first step and not the last. I think the city needs to clearly articulate what their plans are for each parcel of land and explain how many property owners, commercial and residential, we are actually talking about here.
Eminent domain isn't at play yet. They are attempting to buy the property first. So there is a good chance that the homeowners especially, are going to make a bit of a profit. Maybe a handsome one.
Eminent domain doesn't happen until much later in the process and only after a land owner has declined the offers. Its very litigious to actually engage in eminent domain. I don't know if the city is really looking forward to that big hassle.
At that point, the property owner is given fair market value for their property.
But that is a long way away and frankly not even likely.
-------------------------------------------
The Rail Yard
There is a reason I think the rail yard would be a terrible location for the arena.
In my next post I'll explain why I think its a terrible idea and why thousands of El Pasoans would be screwed in the process.
------------------------------------------
History
Lets keep some things in perspective here. Its been known that there was going to be an arena in the downtown area since its passed several years ago. That isn't a new thing.
Historical designations should've been made then, but the history folks keep getting caught with their pants down. And that surprises me considering those history folks seem to focus on the downtown area and ignore the other parts of town.
Remember when a Trost building was torn down in Fabens a while back? Where were the history people then? Because it wasn't a building in downtown, they didn't even know it was a Trost building or move to do anything about it until after the property was sold to someone else and torn down.
Ooops.