consistently with the Mayor and City Council members to brief them on the progress of the plan. In addition, reports have supposedly been sent regularly to the City Manager and to the Economic Development Administration. The El Paso Downtown redevelopment Plan Does not go without controversy however. Opponents say they are for revitalization of downtown but criticize the Paso Del Norte Group plan for several reasons: The plan includes the use of eminent domain to transfer land to private developers. The opponents believe this violates Texas laws prohibiting the use of eminent domain for commercial development. The plan includes about of the historic heart of the Segundo Barrio, the oldest neighborhood in El Paso, to build a "big-box retail store." The predominantly working-class Mexican American neighborhood played a crucial role in the history of immigration, the Mexican Revolution, the Cristero War and the renaissance of the Chicano movement in the 60s and 70s. The opponents argue that none of the residents, business owners, or community groups within the "redevelopment zone" in the Segundo Barrio were consulted before the area was charted as a place for the proposed strip malls and parking garages. The plan will forcibly relocate about 1,800 residents. The plan was carried out in a secretive and non-inclusive manner for two years by the Paso Del Norte Group members who kept their membership list secret until May 2006. Opponents do not believe the PDNG group is truly representative of the El Paso population that is overwhelmingly Mexican American. Opponents question the decision of El Paso City Council representative Robert "Beto" O'Rourke to not recuse himself from voting on the Paso Del Norte Group downtown plan. O'Rourke is the son-in-law of the real-estate developer Bill Sanders. They argued that this was a conflict of interest and filed a complaint to the City's ethics commission. On October 11, 2006 the Ethics Commission voted the opponents has not met the burden of the conflict-of-interest charges. Supporters argue that downtown properties are not paying their fair share in property taxes, and that El Paso's downtown is generally under-performing. Opponents argue that the PDNG has been exaggerating these claims since many business district outside of downtown pay even less in taxes than the downtown businesses do. Various protest groups have formed to combat the implementation of the plan including most prominently the Land Grab Opponents of El Paso which has announced that it