Council rejects Marshall Road annexation, rezoning
Web Posted: 12/07/2007 12:17 AM CST
Josh Baugh
Express-News
The City Council killed plans Thursday to annex and rezone nearly 20 acres atop a sensitive section of the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone and build a transit center, handing a second victory this week to environmentalists and sending a clear message to area developers.
"Bravo! This was a good decision," said Elyzabeth Earnley of Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas, an environmental agency that fights to limit impervious cover over the aquifer. "This was a victory for San Antonio."
District 9 Councilman Kevin Wolff said he'd worked nearly a year on the project, which would have extended Marshall Road west and south from U.S. 281 to connect with Stone Oak Parkway, and construct a public library and a 572-space parking lot for a VIA Metropolitan Transit Park & Ride.
Wolff, who'll resign later this month from his council seat to begin a bid for the Precinct 3 job on Commissioners Court, said he'd continue to work to add those services to his district.
"At the same time, we're all very concerned about what's happening over the recharge zone," he said.
And the extension of Marshall Road is imperative, he said, to help alleviate traffic congestion in the area — something that's only getting worse.
The attorney for Darren Casey Interests — a development company that planned to buy the land and sell most of it to the city and VIA — said his client's goal was to spur the completion of Marshall Road. Attorney Bill Kaufman said his client will continue to facilitate the road extension.
"We've agreed to look at alternate ways of developing Marshall Road," Kaufman said, adding that it's on the city's Major Thoroughfare Plan and eventually will be built.
And Thursday's council action, Kaufman said, didn't derail Darren Casey's plans for Tacara, a 58-acre mixed-use development of retail, residential and office space.
The southern side of Tacara, which would have access from Stone Oak Parkway, can be developed without Marshall Road. But that road extension is imperative for the development of the project's northern side.
On Tuesday, the San Antonio Water System's board of trustees, which includes Mayor Phil Hardberger, rejected an agreement to provide water for Hills of Castle Rock, a proposed high-density subdivision in Medina County.
Opponents feared pollution from runoff, along with an on-site wastewater treatment plant that would feed a creek and dump into the aquifer a few miles away.
Hardberger, who was outspoken against the Hills of Castle Rock, also strongly opposed the city paving over 65 percent of the 20-acre site on the recharge zone near Marshall Road.
Responding to questions from concerned residents, both Hardberger and Wolff said there would be no more attempts to construct a Park & Ride or library on that site.
"I think the mayor is sending a very loud and clear message," Wolff said. "We're going to be very cautious with our actions over the recharge zone."
After Wolff made a motion Thursday to indefinitely pull the cases from the council agenda, Hardberger thanked him for considering the bigger picture.
"I think you've made the right decision," the mayor said. "I appreciate your thoughtfulness to reach beyond the immediate needs."
District 8 Councilwoman Diane Cibrian vowed to help find suitable land in District 9 for a VIA transit facility and library.
"It is very challenging to do our zoning, but we fight every single day to protect the Edwards Aquifer. ... By pulling this item, Councilman Wolff has placed the environment of the recharge zone as a critical element for this community," Cibrian said.
Though the council stopped the contentious proposal, it OK'd two other rezoning requests Thursday in the immediate area: 22 acres for a movie theater at the southeastern corner of U.S. 281 and Marshall Road, and nearly 70 acres for a hospital at U.S. 281 and Sonterra Boulevard.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/met...D.2de1f33.html
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