Vol. 28, No. 2 Newsletter of Horizon Communities Improvement Association, Horizon City, Texas Summer 2004 Mid-way through 2004 we are anticipating the realization of sev- eral long-standing projects. And each successful venture creates op- portunities for further advances. There is no shortage of local news. The imposition of a morato- rium by the Town Council has generated widespread op- position, but in the longer term we do not expect the move to have a significant im- pact one way or the other. Several major new developments are about to break ground and should not be affected. Our changes-to-covenants initia- tives are continuing, even though you will no longer see the tables and instructions which have been a fea- ture of these newsletters for the last three years. From here this program will be managed by letters to indi- vidual owners in targeted units. Many have already voted for the changes, and we continue to en- courage others to do so. We are also close to inviting ex- pressions of interest from develop- ers for our first attempt at lot as- sembly, in Horizon View Estates Unit 24. So much hangs on this ini- tiative. When successful this will Projects realized See GM, Back Page After several years of complacency, the Town of Horizon City has been spurred into action by the area’s unrelenting growth. The Town has finally realized it is ill equipped to handle the growth within its boundaries, let alone the demand for services coming from the growth outside. The Town decided to place a four month moratorium on all new subdivisions, to give it time to get new plans and new regulations into place. A legal challenge was commenced by local builders and developers but it now looks like the mora- torium will be lifted voluntarily. The Council has already made the changes to its ordinances which it believes will ad- dress its major concerns. HCIA was concerned about the mes- sage a moratorium might send to people who are thinking of moving here from El Paso. The actions of the Town suggest major infrastructure problems. This is not the case. The Council concerns largely boil down to road and traffic issues which we believe are overstated. The new ordinance amendments will see local developers paying more towards the cost of roads and other infrastructure. It remains to be seen what sort of impact this might have. The Town of Horizon City was incor- porated in 1988. The Town was originally limited to four square miles. This has now increased to about six and a half square miles. But the annexations have failed to keep up with the growth. More local resi- dents now live outside the Town than within it. Growth has Mayor, Council concerned In Texas, land development outside of incorporated areas is largely unregulated. That is how the area’s original developer, Horizon Sales Corporation, was able to subdivide so much land without provid- ing roads or water. It was House Bill 1001, in 1995, which belatedly introduced sub- division control, but only in Mexican bor- der counties. There is still no zoning con- trol or building regulation in unincorpo- rated areas. Consequently the more municipal ar- eas try to regulate growth and impose costs on developers, the more likely de- velopers are to move outside their boundaries. The development still cre- ates demands for municipal services, and increases traffic on municipal thor- oughfares, but produces no compensat- ing revenue. As a result attempts to im- pose impact fees could well be counter- productive. Planned projects Meanwhile, local growth continues un- abated. Last year there were some 550 new water connections in the Horizon area. At present there are over 1,700 new lots approved, applied for, or already un- der construction, almost 1,000 within the Town, the rest outside. At present growth rates it could take the market 3 years to absorb this number. But the reason we have so many builders and developers coming to the area is because they have run out of land in East El Paso. A sharp See GROWTH, Next Page
Transcript
Vol. 28, No. 2
N e w s l e t t e r o f H o r i z o n C o m m u n i t i e s I m p r o v e m e n t A s s o c i a t i o n , H o r i z o n C i t y , Te x a s S u m m e r 2 0 0 4
Mid-way through 2004 we areanticipating the realization of sev-eral long-standing projects. Andeach successful venture creates op-portunities for further advances.
There is no shortage of localnews. The imposition of a morato-rium by theTown Councilhas generatedwidespread op-position, but inthe longer termwe do not expectthe move to havea significant im-pact one way orthe other. Severalmajor new developments are aboutto break ground and should not beaffected.
Our changes-to-covenants initia-tives are continuing, even thoughyou will no longer see the tables andinstructions which have been a fea-ture of these newsletters for the lastthree years. From here this programwill be managed by letters to indi-vidual owners in targeted units.Many have already voted for thechanges, and we continue to en-courage others to do so.
We are also close to inviting ex-pressions of interest from develop-ers for our first attempt at lot as-sembly, in Horizon View EstatesUnit 24. So much hangs on this ini-tiative. When successful this will
Projects realized
See GM, Back Page
After several years of complacency, theTown of Horizon City has been spurredinto action by the area’s unrelentinggrowth. The Town has finally realized itis ill equipped to handle the growth withinits boundaries, let alone the demand forservices coming from the growth outside.
The Town decided to place a four monthmoratorium on all new subdivisions, togive it time to get new plans and newregulations into place. A legal challengewas commenced by local builders anddevelopers but it now looks like the mora-torium will be lifted voluntarily. TheCouncil has already made the changes toits ordinances which it believes will ad-dress its major concerns.
HCIA was concerned about the mes-sage a moratorium might send to peoplewho are thinking of moving here from ElPaso. The actions of the Town suggestmajor infrastructure problems. This is notthe case. The Council concerns largelyboil down to road and traffic issues whichwe believe are overstated.
The new ordinance amendments willsee local developers paying more towardsthe cost of roads and other infrastructure.It remains to be seen what sort of impactthis might have.
The Town of Horizon City was incor-porated in 1988. The Town was originallylimited to four square miles. This has nowincreased to about six and a half squaremiles. But the annexations have failed tokeep up with the growth. More local resi-dents now live outside the Town thanwithin it.
Growth has Mayor,Council concerned
In Texas, land development outside ofincorporated areas is largely unregulated.That is how the area’s original developer,Horizon Sales Corporation, was able tosubdivide so much land without provid-ing roads or water. It was House Bill 1001,in 1995, which belatedly introduced sub-division control, but only in Mexican bor-der counties. There is still no zoning con-trol or building regulation in unincorpo-rated areas.
Consequently the more municipal ar-eas try to regulate growth and imposecosts on developers, the more likely de-velopers are to move outside theirboundaries. The development still cre-ates demands for municipal services,and increases traffic on municipal thor-oughfares, but produces no compensat-ing revenue. As a result attempts to im-pose impact fees could well be counter-productive.
Planned projectsMeanwhile, local growth continues un-
abated. Last year there were some 550new water connections in the Horizonarea. At present there are over 1,700 newlots approved, applied for, or already un-der construction, almost 1,000 within theTown, the rest outside. At present growthrates it could take the market 3 years toabsorb this number. But the reason wehave so many builders and developerscoming to the area is because they haverun out of land in East El Paso. A sharp
See GROWTH, Next Page
HCIA Update, Summer 2004 Web Site: horizoncommunities.com
GrowthContinued from Front Page
Dirt work is becoming a constant sight in the community.These machines are operating less than a half mile up theroad from the HCIA Building in Horizon.
Before one house is complete, the foundation framingbegins on the next. The housing in the background is alongAshford St.
acceleration in the growth rate is there-fore possible, though it may not neces-sarily be sustained over the longer term.New commercial development continuesto change the urban landscape, now thatthe local population has reached the criti-cal threshold.
The 1,700 projected residential lots in-clude 90 in the first stage of the Land ofTexas development. The master plan forthis development envisions an additional1,100 lots over the next five to sevenyears. HCIA first began negotiations withLand of Texas, a European based consor-tium, in the early 90’s. Some memberswill recall the group’s presentations to ourannual meetings several years ago. Theseplans are finally coming to fruition.
This will be Horizon’s first experi-ment with the concept of New Urban-ism. Land of Texas feels it must offersomething different to be able to selllots in our highly competitive environ-ment. The concept attempts to revivethe positive features of traditionalneighborhoods, which are missing inmost modern subdivisions. The domi-
nance of the car is reduced, more ser-vices are provided within walking dis-tance, and the environment is made at-tractive enough to make people want towalk. The initial costs to the developerare higher, but the investment has paiddividends in other cities. This will bethe first real test of the concept in ElPaso’s desert environment.
In preparing its plans Land of Texasheld extensive consultations with thelocal community. It persuaded the Townto adopt a special ordinance to providefor such a master planned development.HCIA has worked very closely with thedeveloper, to assist with the planningand the timely provision of infrastruc-ture. A three way agreement betweenHCIA, Land of Texas and Clint Inde-pendent School District (Clint ISD) willalso see a new middle school con-structed within twelve months. Theschool is urgently required to accom-modate the explosive school age popu-lation. HCIA is donating the land. Inreturn Clint ISD is contributing to theconstruction of new roads which willprovide access to the property. Land ofTexas already pays assessments toHCIA, and its new residents will be-come members of the association.
Your 2004billing statement
The 2004 billing state-ment will look much as ithas in past years. One newfeature allows you to fill inyour e-mail address onyour payment slip, if youhave e-mail. The HCIABoard is presently consid-ering changes to theAssociation’s By Laws toallow future notices andaccounts to be sent elec-tronically, for those whowould prefer this mode ofcommunication. So if youhave e-mail, and are com-fortable with it, please fillin your e-mail address inthe space provided.
If you have any ques-tions on this year’s bill,please do not hesitate tocall us on our toll-freenumber:
No sooner had the Eastlake interchangebeen completed last year, than the TexasDepartment of Transportation (TxDOT)commenced work on a major upgrade ofthe eastern section of El Paso’s Loop 375.Widening and grade separation at inter-sections has already significantly reduced
travel times, making this route more at-tractive as El Paso’s major by-pass. TheHorizon area benefits from being easilyaccessible to both this road and Interstate-10. Future local arterials will also con-nect directly to the loop road, thus reduc-ing dependence and congestion on the
Interstate.Within the area TxDOT is also respond-
ing to local needs. Darrington Road, ouroriginal major north-south connector, re-cently underwent widening and a majorupgrading. Traffic lights are planned tomanage the rapidly increasing conflictsat the Horizon-Eastlake intersection, andstreet lighting has been approved for Ho-rizon Boulevard.
New infrastructure projects
New map,new look
HCIA is presently having a newprinted map of the area prepared. The1998 map is now completely out ofdate, another measure of the spectacu-lar local growth. This time indeed weare planning a small print run only. Weenvision the map will need to be con-tinually updated to keep pace.
The map will also serve as a mar-keting tool and incorporates attrac-tive graphics and the new area mar-keting logo. The logo was developedas an umbrella concept. It can be in-
A storage unit facility is being constructed is at the corner of Eastlake Blvd. and LandisCurlee Dr. The land in the background, being developed by Land of Texas, will eventu-ally have close to 1,200 homes and businesses.
Realty signs pop up in areaswhere dirt work and constructionhave yet to begin.
This logo has been designed as part of an overall campaign to “brand” theHorizon community. Our website, www.horizoncommunities.com, has beenupdated and branded with the logo.
corpora ted in to adver t i s ing andsignage by local business and devel-opers, and will help sell the area aswell as the individual product. Thelogo is already displayed on new re-cycling depot signs and appears onthe cover of Horizon’s new localphone book.
Those members who have Internetaccess are also asked to take a lookat our updated websitewww.horizoncommunities.com. Thevastly improved graphics also incorpo-rate our new logo and marketing mes-sage. We are presently working on up-dating our members’ web pages.
HCIA Update, Summer 2004 Web Site: horizoncommunities.com
HCIA14200 ASHFORDHORIZON CITY, TEXAS 79928
1-800-729-4242
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open the way for a major expansionof this program. It will mean the firstreal prospect of our non-residentmembers being able to sell their landsince House Bill 1001 came into ef-fect in 1995.
This newsletter is timed to coincidewith the mail out of our annual billing.It is four months late due to the timetaken to get our computer systems in
GMContinued from Front Page
order. The delinquency date for the bill-ing has been moved back to give every-one adequate notice. The mail out will bestaggered through the month of Augustand you will have until October 10 to paywithout being charged interest.
This newsletter includes a report on thehighlights of our 2003 annual meeting.Our 2004 annual meeting is planned formid-November.
Finally, I regret to advise that I shall beleaving HCIA. My wife will be taking upnew employment on the East Coast, forc-ing us to leave El Paso. Rest assured I
have not lost any of my enthusiasm forthe project. I remain convinced of thelong-term success of the Horizon area.Joe Hernandez will be taking over thereins of the association. I wish Joe welland thank the HCIA Board for all thesupport they have given me. I am surean injection of new blood can only ben-efit the association and its members. Alot has been achieved in the last threeand a half years and there is greaterpromise ahead.
Vince MurphyGeneral Manager
Water authority president addresses annual meetingOur 2003 Annual Membership Meeting was held at the Emerald Springs
Conference Center on March 4. The meeting was addressed by Ken Osmond,President of the Horizon Regional Municipal Utility District (HRMUD).This is the new name of our local water authority. Mr. Osmond spoke aboutthe MUD’s recent bond approval and the projects which are planned toensure Horizon maintains its superior rating from the State of Texas. Heassured the audience that Horizon has abundant water for projected growth.The HRMUD has a 20 year plan in place to expand water and wastewatersystems as needed.
Michael J. Ramos was elected to fill Place #1 on the HCIA Board ofDirectors. The remaining vacancy on the Board of Directors was alsofilled recently by the return of Christopher Smith, a former Presidentof the association. He helped guide HCIA through the difficult early1990’s. He left several years ago to concentrate on other projects butnow has the time again to give HCIA the benefit of his considerableexperience and expertise. Christopher SmithKen Osmond
