In February, council approved the first reading for the rezoning of the property, which the developer plans to use for townhomes. The first reading was approved with the stipulation that the project include a trail.
Resident Bill Edmonds was one of many residents who spoke in opposition of the rezoning March 7, claiming the area is not suitable for a project of that nature.
“This might be the right time for Schertz to do this; however, it is not the right location,” Edmonds said.
While the second reading was scheduled for the March 7 council meeting, the developer requested the item be tabled until the April 4 meeting.
According to planner Emily Delgado, as of the start of the meeting, the city received 80 responses from citizens outside of the buffer area opposed to the rezoning request, 54 opposed responses from residents inside the buffer area and 33 in favor of the rezoning.
Due to owners of 29.63% of the land in the area being in opposition of the request, a supermajority vote was triggered, meaning six out of seven council members would need to approve the rezoning.
Prior to the start of the meeting, the applicant for the project requested the item be tabled until the April 4 scheduled meeting.
According to Delgado, the applicant would like to use the extended time to work with homeowners associations on potential reviews as well as receiving feedback from the council.
Some of the residents who spoke during the meeting suggested the area be established as a public improvement district.
According to the city of Schertz Public Improvement District Policy, “A PID may be created and utilized to construct qualified public improvements and/or reimburse a portion of the developer’s actual and documented costs required for public improvements to serve the development.”
Council Member Michael Dahle said he supports a public improvement district; however, the issue is time sensitive.
“Time is of the essence,” he said. “There are a lot of challenges ahead. I certainly appreciate the applicant willing to continue to meet and discuss and hopefully find a resolution that everyone can live with.”
Council Member David Scagliola said he is impressed with the effort of residents, and he is pushing for a compromise.
“I think there is a win-win solution in here,” he said. “A walking trail and security are not mutually exclusive. We can have both, and that is something I’d like to push for.”
The entire meeting can be watched here.
