L. GONZALEZ
1. If the government creates some sort of regulation policy that renders your property lessprofitable because it demands that you begin to produce/conduct business differently,then should they be responsible for giving the citizen not only some sort of financial assistance, but also some technical direction as to how you should modify your production processes so that you can once again increase your land/business value? Or is this left to the individual? If itis left to the individual, then we have yet another level of diffusion to deal with when it comes to policy decision and implementation in the U.S.
2. Asstated above andthroughout this weeks readings, there isan obviousgap between the policiesgenerated by our government and how they are implemented by the states. Is this healthy public administration or shouldlocalities and regions beguidedby federal and state actorswith "area-specific" strategies?Wouldthis not seem more "corporate strategic" as it would force a team of states, localities, and regions to work towardsimproved city development with a clear, specific goals in mind? Do regional and local cultures really make that great of a difference thaturban development cannot be guided more centrally, and therefore, perhaps more successfully?
3.If the federal government decided to provide more hands-on, intensified development efforts throughout the cities in the U.S., how would El Paso respond? Would our border culture hold us back in that many businesses conceive of El Paso as a city where low labor wages areour norm, and therefore,do not want to make the investments necessary to really develop the economy?
4. If takings and regulations are created and enforced by states/localities, what issues might El Paso city enforce regulations on that other Texan cities would not? What is our most city specific issue that we direct attention to while other cities do not? Do we have one issue like this?
M. PICARD
1. Given the complex context in which a metroplex such as El Paso must develop, what would be the issues to consider if attempting to create an agency that could effectively coordinate and guide urban and regional development in a metropolis that includes three state governments, two federal governments and three or four county governments?
Is the fact that the local power to regulate is evolving in opposite directions at the present one of the main hurdles? (I.e. states are currently seeing a loss of their power to regulate in the U.S., while local governments in Mexico are slowly increasing their regulatory capacity.
Levy talks about the tendency of courts to diminish the regulatory capacity of state in 2000; has this tendency continued since then and, if so, how has it affected policymaking in our local government here in El Paso? Conversely, Cd. Juarez -and Tijuana- have, to some extent, led the onset of fortifying county capacity to regulate its own urban destiny, by being some of the first larger urban counties to gain political "independence" from federal government. Has this tendency affected policy in their urban counterparts?
A. RODRIGUEZ
So are there any exceptions to the Takings Clause?, can an individual property owner simply say "No"? What are the guidelines so that a governmental entity cannot take your land away?
Whatis thesituation withASARCO and the Takings Clause?, what is the status of that organization? Since changes in the environment permit changes in the general law to protect the public interest,are they nowbeing held accountable for the pollution which they did in the past?
E. HARRISON
Given that zoning laws have been in place for so many years, how is it that colonias exist and continue to grow in numbers?
Additionally, would it be possible for the owners of the property where colonias have been established to be subject to takings in order to further prevent the nuisance associated with colonias? (i.e. no building codes, no clean water, health hazzards associated with the lack of proper sewage lines, etc)
A URQUIDI
Peña writes about the emergence of “administrative deconcentration” where federal governments grant some administrative and planning function to a sub-unit while maintaining some degree of control through regulation and financial links. Does this paradigm adhere to the constitutional principles of countries like Mexico and the U.S. What have been the benefits of this deconcentration? What have been the problems? Might this someday lead to bi-national municipalities creating their own zones of influence (e.g., El Paso/Cd. Juarez & Seattle/Vancouver)?
D RAMSEY
1. In a society in which social concerns are a must and a fixation in almost any governmental undertaking- How has the planning community responded and are there new areas of study in planning coming forth due to these impacting concerns?
2. The readings slightly addressed the instances in which the politics of zoning can reduce the availability of afffordable housing and increase flow of the public to certain areas which results in profit. How does the planning community view this type of planning? Is it the planners responsibility to investigate and review a plan from a perspective that encourages fair and equal treatment of citizens? Or do they limit their
participation the planning process to merely "getting the job done".
1. In the case of the Towne Centre Project that is proposed for the Farah building in El Paso, since it's
an outside developer that has an interest in the project is the City of El Paso overstepping its
boundaries in using a TIF instead of something like development exaction?
B LUCERO
2. Can Smart Growth policies lead to over regulation and thus choke a cuty with traffic and congestion such
as that experienced in Austin, TX?
3. Do you think that the reason a project like the DCL (Dedicated Commuter Lane) was able to pass through all the bureaucratic loopholes because it was in the business best interests.