This fall, the City of Alpine photographed my back yard over my fence and cited me. My offense: the slides on my RV were open.
Nobody lives in it. It isn’t hooked up to water or power. It sits behind my fence, on my property, in nobody’s way. I use it for storage and freezer space my 910-square-foot house doesn’t have.
I lived in that RV for years. I bought this house so I could finally live in a house and keep my RV in a fenced back yard. That was the entire reason. Before I bought it this spring, I went to City Hall in person and asked if I could keep my RV in the back yard. I was told yes.
Now I’m told city code requires every slide closed, because in the past some people have lived in their RVs. But my bed works fine with the slides in. Closing them doesn’t stop anyone from living in an RV. It only blocks the freezer and storage, the things I actually use it for.
When I asked why I couldn’t get an exception, the answer was that if they let me keep my slides open, they’d have to let everyone. Yes. Exactly. They should. Punishing every RV owner in town because a few people once lived in theirs is like telling every homeowner to board up their kitchen when they’re not cooking, because someone once cooked meth in one. If someone is living in an RV, the burden should be on the city to prove it. Banning something harmless for everyone just because it makes enforcement easier isn’t fair, and it isn’t right. Enforce the rule against living in RVs. Leave the rest of us alone.
City staff also told me a variance isn’t meant for a situation like mine and would almost certainly be denied. The fee is $500, nonrefundable. So the answer to a resident who did his homework and is hurting no one is: pay $500 for a no.
I’m paying it anyway. Not because I expect a yes, but because I want it on the record that a law-abiding resident asked to use his own property on his own land and was told no.
This isn’t the first time. Months after I bought my house, it was appraised at 66 percent more than I had just paid for it. The notice was sent to the wrong address. When it came back undelivered, it sat for more than a month, until the window to protest had closed. I got it fixed, but only because I was paying attention and went down there in person.
Now picture an elderly widow, or someone in the middle of cancer treatment. They would never have caught it. They would simply have paid taxes on a value 66 percent higher than the price they paid. Maybe it was carelessness, maybe it wasn’t. Either way, a system that only works for people who catch its mistakes isn’t working for the rest of us.
And since I arrived, the water has gone out, because, as the mayor has said publicly, many of our wells date to the 1950s and ’60s and nobody started replacing them since the 1990s.
This is Texas. People ought to be able to use their own property behind their own fence without being treated like a problem to manage. The city has real work to do: wells, pipes, water. Photographing quiet residents’ back yards shouldn’t be on that list.
There’s a simple fix, and I’m asking City Council to adopt it: allow RV slides out in the fenced side or back yard of an owner-occupied home, with no utility hookups, registered and road ready, and nobody living in it.
If you own an RV, or you’ve been told no for using your own property, or you’re just tired of a city that minds everyone’s business but its own, stand with me. City Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month, 5:30 p.m., 803 W. Holland. One resident at the podium is a complaint. A full room is a message.
Luke MacNeil
Alpine
On behalf of The Chinati Foundation/La Fundación Chinati, I extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who made the 39th annual Chinati Weekend so memorable. In 1986, the artist Donald Judd founded Chinati as a place for art, architecture and land to exist in a coherent context. Reflecting on this past weekend, I’m reminded of another essential part of that context: community. As we celebrate our 40th year and approach a major restoration project, I’m grateful to those who continue to come together in support of Judd’s vision.
This Chinati Weekend celebrated the opening of Richard Long: ROCKS RIVER, the first exhibition dedicated to new work by the artist in Chinati’s 40-year history. While many are familiar with Long’s work Sea Lava Circles, which Donald Judd installed on a former tennis court near Chinati’s Arena, ROCKS RIVER includes four new works that further our understanding of Long’s practice. This exhibition relied heavily on the assistance of many, including Josh Edwards, Joe Esparza, Denise Hooker, Tim Johnson, Ethyn Maki, and Bryon Schroeder. Additionally, ROCKS RIVER is generously supported by the Chinati Foundation Director’s Circle, and Heather Pesanti and David Booth.
I also want to thank the many artists who participated in Chinati Weekend: artist in residence Will Boone for sharing his work in many forms throughout the weekend; Sharon Van Etten for a beautiful evening at the Crowley Theater; and Jeanhee Yu, MarfaMUST, and the many artists in Marfa who opened their studios and exhibited work throughout the weekend. I’m grateful to the individuals and teams who supported these artists: Fatima Anaza, Travis Bubenik, Ross Cashiola, Chris Dyer, Nate Freeman, Will Floyd, Zeke Hutchins, Christine Jackson, Randy Kennedy, Pat Keesey, Sir Nicholas Serota, Rigo Zamarron. Finally, I’m indebted to the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation for co-presenting a talk on artists’ writings, and to those who joined me on stage: Mirsini Amidon, Rainer Judd, Randy Kennedy, and Francine Snyder. We sincerely hope you enjoyed this year’s programming.
Chinati Weekend 2026 was supported by our wonderful Board of Trustees: Douglas Baxter, Gabriel Catone, Lee Baumann Cohn, J. Patrick Collins, Chad Dayton, Miguel Fernandez, Mack Fowler, Franck Giraud, Sam Hamilton, George Kelly, Courtney J. Martin, Anthony Meier, Heather Pesanti, Noelle M. Reed, Annabelle Selldorf, Richard Shiff, José Noé Suro, Annabel Thompson, Steven Volpe. Additional support was provided by Siete Leguas Tequila, RG | NY, Aesop, Rambler Sparkling Water, Tejas Brewery, and the City of Marfa.
Chinati would like to extend a special thanks to YEYES Libamex Food Co. and Brian Espinoza for two remarkable meals on Friday and Saturday nights. Thank you to Monika Bernstein and INDUSTRIHAUS, Big Bend Coffee Roasters, Rob Crowley, Faith Gay and Cactus Liquors, Paul Graybeal and Moonlight Gemstones, the MiLO Collective, and the Wild Mare for your time and service throughout the weekend. Saturday night’s benefit dinner provides essential funding for Chinati programming, and we’re grateful to the Moody Foundation, Heather Pesanti and David Booth, Miguel Fernandez, Bob and Nora Ackerley, and Nancy and Rod Sanders.
Thank you to Tim Crowley and the Crowley Theater, Marfa Public Radio, and Rainer Judd, Flavin Judd, Richard Griggs, and the entire staff at Judd Foundation for their collaboration throughout the weekend. Chinati is grateful to our members and friends, including those in Marfa, Far West Texas and beyond: Jeanie Capps-Lytle, Mark Cash, Joe Cashiola, Crawford Marginot and the MISD junior class, Marella Consolini, Janet Enriquez, Naomi Francis, Daniela Fernandez, Susan Flusche, Melissa Firmin, Rutger Fuchs, Rachel Gomez, Griselda Hinojos, Jessica Hinojos, Joe Jimenez, Alex Marks, Eliseo Martinez, Carlos Morales, Linda Ojeda, Riley O’Brien, Curtis Pittman, Sara Pittman, Andrew Ramirez, Erika Reyes, Jose Salgado, Norma Salgado, Samuel Salgado, Francisco Soto, Dimetrey Stewart, Stacy Tucker, Sarah Vasquez, and Amy White.
Sharing Chinati would not be possible without our staff, whose hard work and dedication continue to inspire me. Many thanks to our exceptional visitor services staff, docents, and guards: Shea Carley, Kathie Compton, Al Davis, John Ehrke, Katy Rose Elsasser, Kyp Hinojos, Alex Kamelhair, Pat Kessey, Kat McKenna, Suzanne McLeod, Dillon Orr, Chelsea Quinlan, and Prepney Torres.
Thank you to colleagues for their many months of preparation, which made this weekend possible: Maritza Bautista, Michael Carnes, Alberto De Leon, Rowdy Dugan, Micah Francis, J.D. Garcia, Hannah Goldfarb, Regina Gutierrez, Sandra Hinojos, Christine Jackson, Ruben Jauregui Jr., Miguel Leyva, Ethyn Maki, Rhonda Manley, Stephen Martin, Janelly Pereira, Ben Shurley, Bogna Skwara, Rachel May Smith, Katherine Vaughn, and Kirstyn Wright.
As we begin a major restoration of the Artillery Sheds, I’m especially grateful for our community in Marfa and beyond. We are grateful for your support, which has allowed Chinati to persist for the past 40 years.
I look forward to welcoming you back to Chinati soon.
With appreciation,
Caitlin Murray, Director
