Dear Friends and media,
David Crowder of El Paso Inc published a report this past weekend on the County’s ongoing effort to create a National Register Historic District in our downtown and the counter-effort by Kemp Smith law firm to prevent that from happening. According to Crowder:
“El Paso County is trying to establish two large National Register historic districts covering Downtown and Segundo Barrio to encourage preservation and give hundreds of property owners access to federal and state historic tax credits that could cover up to 45% of the cost if they want to restore their properties.”
Wow, that sounds really scary, right? We should all be trembling in our shoes…
Kemp Smith recently sent a second letter to downtown property owners, this time signed by both Mark Osborn and Gene Wolf, pointing to the controversial City ordinance which they claim will regulate them–even though a City attorney explained at the last City Council meeting that the ordinance will have zero impact on properties within the proposed historic district. The law firm also suggests that the County’s project will hinder the City’s “Arena” project and that the County has failed to be transparent about what they are doing. Really?
One can only hope that our local media will discover the true agenda of Osborn, who claims that his firm is doing this work for free.
Meanwhile, other major Texas cities have long enjoyed the benefits of National Register districts in their downtowns and are years ahead of us.
Enjoy your day.
Max