The City of San Antonio says a proposal first reported by News Radio 1200 WOAI earlier this week to voluntarily annex a huge chunk of fast growing northwest Bexar County from Boerne Stage Road to the Kendall County line, as well as an area at Loop 1604 and Highway 90 in west Bexar County, will be a 'win-win' for local military bases, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
City Council today is expected to call for a vote of people who live in the areas, following a law passed in the 2017 Legislature that bars cities from annexing residential property without the vote of the people who live there.
The City fought hard against that propsoals.
But City officials say under the law, even if the people in the areas vote against annexation, which is the expected outcome, the City will still be granted 'the authority to extend military base protections to those areas.'
“This is about protecting our military - not adding territory to the City of San Antonio,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “Many residents in these areas have made clear that they do not wish to be annexed by the City, but before we can extend our land use protections to those areas, we must first give voters a choice. Whatever they decide, it is a win-win for the military. When the full picture of our community’s relationship with the military is taken into account, calling an election for annexation within a five-mile radius of these bases makes sense.”
The City has long struggled to balance major residential and commercial growth along I-10 in far northeast Bexar County, and the needs of the Army at Camp Bullis to continue to have an are suitable for training of med-evac pilots, a course which generally requires dark skies.
Similarly, the Air Force has become concerned about encroachment of residential and commercial areas near Lackland AFB.
“The military is not against development; they want compatible development,” said Maj. Gen. Juan Ayala (USMC Ret.), director of the of City’s Office of Military and Veterans Affairs. “For example, the growth in recent years on the Northwest side did not encroach on Camp Bullis’ mission because the City required builders to use down-lighting, materials that attenuate sound and to preserve trees. The goal now is to make sure those same protections exist in areas that are not part of the City of San Antonio, especially as the growth takes off in unincorporated areas near Camp Bullis and Lackland.”
The City says after Council approves a November election on annexation in the effected areas, City officials will begin notifying homeowners of the election. If the residents approve annexation, even with the windfall in new property and sales tax revenue, the City says the need to provide services like police, fire, and streets to the newly annexed areas will mean the annexation would be a net loss to the City budget over the coming decade.
The plan, if annexation is approved, is to have 'limited purpose annexation,' without property taxes or city services, for the first three years, but allowing the city to impose zoning and other restrictions in the areas. Full annexation, with property taxes collected and city services provided, would begin in Fiscal Year 2023, under the plan.
A successful annexation would also lead to some 60,000 additional residents being added to the city when full annexation is effective in 2023.
FACTS ON AREAS FOR CONSIDERATION
Camp Bullis and Camp Stanley:
Size: 22.39 square miles (14,332.46 acres)
Est. Population: 18,780
Number of Single-Family Housing Units: 7,223
Fiscal Impact: The net ending balance to the City is projected to be $8.4 million. Over the 20-year period, property tax collected is estimated to be $383.7 million and sales tax generated is $11.6 million. The cost to provide services to the area is projected to be $386.9 million, including street maintenance and the addition of two fire stations, two engine trucks, one ladder truck, two EMS units and 23 police officers over the course of the 20 years.
Lackland Air Force Base and Medina Annex:
Size: 20.27 square miles (12,973.96 acres)
Est. Population: 40,205
Number of Single-Family Housing Units: 15,048
Fiscal Impact: The net ending balance to the City is negative and projected to be -$196.6 million. Over the 20-year period, property tax collected is estimated to be $331.4 million and sales tax generated is $7.5 million. Additionally, the cost to provide services to the area is projected to be $535.5 million for public safety services and street maintenance, including the addition of two fire stations, two engine trucks, one ladder truck, two EMS units and 68 police officers over the course of the 20 years.