Posted Feb 10, 2008, 7:31 AM
|
 |
Loving SA 365 days a year
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 3,891
|
|
|
[SA] City planners unveil strategy to address Far East Side growth
Quote:
Communities carving plan to address growth
Web Posted: 02/06/2008 12:10 AM CST
Elaine Ayo
Express-News
In light of rapid residential growth in the corridor north of Interstate 10 East, community members saw the need for a plan for controlled and cohesive commercial growth along the highway, according to a draft of a land use plan for the area.
An update to the area plan passed by San Antonio's City Council in 2001, the new planning document highlights future community needs for commercial centers, parks and looks at complementing the growth occurring in the surrounding suburban cities.
Community members will have an opportunity to look at the future land use plan for the I-10 East corridor from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Alamo United Methodist Church at 4071 N. Foster Road.
The document will go before San Antonio's Planning Commission on Feb. 13 and is tentatively set to go before the council as early as March 6, said Zeke Solis, project manager for the plan.
"For the most part, everybody wants the area to develop properly," said Janice Gangawer, chairwoman of the planning group. "We are the gateway to San Antonio from Houston."
The plan's regional study area covers a roughly 100-square-mile area bound by Gibbs Sprawl Road to Loop 1604 along Seguin Road to the north, the Bexar County line to the east, FM 1346 to the south and Loop 410 to the west. It includes the cities of Kirby, Converse, Schertz, St. Hedwig and San Antonio in addition to portions of unincorporated Bexar County.
Of that area, the plan details a proposed land use plan for 56 square miles of land, with 13 square miles in San Antonio's city limits and 43 square miles in San Antonio's extraterritorial jurisdiction.
According to the planning document, the purpose of a perimeter plan is to suggest a plan for land use as a guide for future growth, although the plan does not signify a specific financial commitment by San Antonio to complete the plan's suggestions nor does it change current zoning designations.
The plan also highlights current issues facing some neighborhoods, such as the Eastgate neighborhood located at the southeast corner of I-10 and Loop 410 East. As the area developed, the neighborhood of about 100 homes was confined to being able to enter the neighborhood at Houston Street and leave the neighborhood at Ackerman Road.
"We're trying to make noise so they know we're alive and we need help," said Sylvia Elguezabal, president of the Eastgate Neighborhood Association.
Overall, the planning team worked to define land uses in San Antonio and its ETJ that didn't conflict with the surrounding suburban cities, as they had in the past. Land zoned for industrial use in San Antonio abutted the primarily residential city of Kirby and created problems for the residents living next to that land, said Reginald Russell, chairman of Kirby's Planning and Zoning Commission and a member of the planning group.
"Our intent is that there is a good chance to catch it early, to catch it before it happens so you have a chance to affect how it happens," Solis said.
|
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/met...e.2c2e982.html
Quote:
City planners unveil strategy for I-10 East growth
Web Posted: 02/09/2008 09:10 PM CST
Wendy Rigby
KENS 5 Eyewitness News
The future of San Antonio is rising in the east. Along I-10, that part of the city continues to expand. Now, the city is sharing its vision of what is still to come, and there’s a new plan to make sure the growth is orderly and community friendly.
New homes and new space for businesses are popping up on San Antonio’s far east side. On Saturday, city planners unveiled an updated plan for the area that includes more provisions for commercial growth, as well as areas set aside for parks.
“We feel it’s important to address the types of land uses, as well as the aesthetics of the corridor,” planning manager Nina Nixon-Mendez said.
The idea is to provide a guide for the next 30 years. Residents like John Beck say that is a good plan.
“If you don’t have a plan, chaos will reign,” Beck said. “So I think you have to put some control measures in place.”
Tony Umphers was concerned his rural property might be annexed by the city, but the latest plan does not include any expansion of the San Antonio city limits.
“We don’t want that,” he said. “You know, we’d rather have Schertz annex us before we had San Antonio annex us.”
The intersection of I-10 and 1604 could become a commercial hub under this plan. In some cases, what was planned as industrial is now listed as business parks to buffer the burgeoning residential developments. Overall, city planners say the blueprint will ensure orderly growth over time.
The land use plan goes before the planning commission on Wednesday. It’ll be presented to the City Council in March.
|
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/met....a80972f8.html
|
Linear Mode
