The City of El Paso, Texas, home to the United States (U.S.) Army's Fort Bliss, anticipates substantial growth over the next five years and beyond. This anticipated growth is largely due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decisions made in 2005, and several recent Army actions designed to restructure and increase existing troop numbers. Fort Bliss is one of the nation's largest Army training installations with over 1.1 million acres of land, extending northward into Doña Ana and Otero counties in New Mexico (see Figure 1.1-1 located at the back of this document). In order to address a potential increase of over 20,000 soldiers at Fort Bliss and 4,000 at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) over the next five years, the City of El Paso, utilizing assistance from the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), is preparing a Regional Growth Management Plan (RGMP). The RGMP is a collaborative effort between the City of El Paso, El Paso County, Fort Bliss, located in Texas, the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County located in New Mexico.

1.1 El Paso in Transition
El Paso, with a metropolitan area with over 748,000 residents, is about to embark on a very significant period of growth. For over 130 years, Fort Bliss and El Paso have grown together, each experiencing dramatic changes resulting from changes to military mission requirements, but none that will rival those anticipated over the next five years.

El Paso is also one of the largest metropolitan areas located on an international border. Adjacent to Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, the two cities form an urban area of almost 2.2 million persons. Daily traffic and trade across the border, sharing of workforce, and the surge in border maquiladora industries in Juárez, have a strong influence on the local and regional economy. Because of this proximity, the character of El Paso is interwoven with the culture of Mexico and the Spanish language.

To prepare for the newly arriving troops and their families, the Army will spend over $4 billion for construction projects on Fort Bliss. El Paso has recognized that it too must make major investments to maintain the quality of life for existing and new El Paso residents. That investment effort is already underway.

Recognizing the nature of changes to come, the city has financed and installed critical water infrastructure over the past few years. The city is currently constructing a multi-lane connector to alleviate major traffic congestion around the Main Post of Fort Bliss. To prepare for a large increase in school-aged children, El Paso has also created a school construction bond pool of over $800 million. These expenditures demonstrate El Paso's commitment to meeting the challenges of BRAC-driven growth.

1.2 Fort Bliss Planning and Mission Changes
Three military installations: Fort Bliss, Holloman Air Force Base (AFB), and White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), contribute significantly to the local economies of El Paso, Texas, and Doña Ana and Otero counties, New Mexico. For several decades, these installations have served as important regional economic drivers. Over the years, each installation has experienced changes to mission profiles in response to national needs, resulting in fluctuations in military and civilian personnel. These variations often result in ripple effects to the economies of communities in the area and the region as a whole.

Recent BRAC actions and other Army decisions in response to national interests will bring a new influx of troops to Fort Bliss and to a lesser extent, WSMR. While historically, the region has experienced the downside of BRAC decision making, such as the removal of the 3rd Cavalry from Fort Bliss in the mid-1990s and replacement with an air defense mission, recent decisions are programmed to bring substantial increases in troops with a change to a heavy armored, ground-intensive mission. The most recent projections for Fort Bliss increase soldier levels from about 9,300 in 2005 to as many as 16,800 in 2008. Including family members, this represents a 2005 population of about 25,000, growing to approximately 40,000 in 2008. In a metropolitan area with a current population of about 748,000, such increases will cause a surge in growth accompanied by an array of challenges and opportunities for El Paso and the surrounding region.

1.3 Regional Growth Management Plan Purpose and Process
Recognizing that rapid growth brought about by BRAC actions can have profound and sometimes disadvantageous impacts on communities, the DoD Office of Economic Adjustment provides funding to qualifying communities for the purpose of planning their future and implementing plans such as this RGMP). A Regional Growth Management Plan is intended to provide a roadmap for meeting the challenges of growth.

The RGMP considers regional issues and focuses in more depth on the local issues and processes for the City and County of El Paso and other locally focused planning entities. Figure 1.3-1 (located at the back of this document) shows the extent of the City of El Paso and its Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ)-an area within five miles of the corporate boundary within which the city has subdivision authority. Figure 1.3-2 (also located at the back of this document) displays the current regional population distribution.

While tremendous opportunities exist for economic stimulation in El Paso in the form of new citizens, new businesses, new cultures and an increase in tax revenues, there are also tremendous potential challenges facing the city to meet the needs of new residents and their families. These range from providing adequate housing and schools to the expansion of utility and road networks. Some challenges are regional in nature and need solutions that benefit from a regional approach (such as long-range transportation networks). Others, such as housing and water system infrastructure, tend to be local in effect and solution. These varying spheres of impact will influence the type of planning actions and coordination needed to implement solutions effectively. In any event, there will be immediate difficulties to make capital investments before the growth-driven economic engine provides a self-sustaining revenue flow. There are also hard decisions to make about "how to grow".

The RGMP evaluates a range of feasible growth scenarios projected to the year 2025, quantifying population, employment, housing and utility needs and other key planning factors. By comparing those projected futures to a future without BRAC changes, the RGMP will provide a clearer understanding of what is needed to sustain and improve El Paso as it grows. It also provides some guidelines and steps for moving forward.

The development of this RGMP is an effort of community involvement and community decision making. This time of great changes is an ideal time for the residents of El Paso to decide the future of their city, how it will grow, where it will grow, and what the future will bring. It is El Pasoans, not others, who must decide how much investment to undertake to achieve their vision; where investments in the future must be made; what municipal services and amenities are needed; and where development will occur and what it will look like. During the process, El Pasoans will identify the changes they believe are most important to guide city leadership as it works to prepare for and receive the future. Working with the community, city leaders, and Fort Bliss leadership, the RGMP will present an action plan that reflects these priorities.