District 9 Newsletter 

Week of  July 27, 2009
Dear District 9 Residents & Friends, 
 
During the course of the last couple of weeks, my office has received many calls and letters from concerned citizens regarding the Steubing Ranch re-zoning case and the process of zoning.  I think it would be helpful to share with you my thoughts on this case.
 
The Steubing Ranch property is a 389 acre track of land located west of Highway 281, east of Stone Oak Parkway and north of Sonterra Blvd.  When the project is completed, major thoroughfares in the area will be extensions of Huebner Rd to the east and Hardy Oak to the south.  The property owner applied for the Master Planned Community District (MPCD) zoning plan in March 2009.   The City sent out notifications to neighbors within 200 feet of the affected area as per City ordinance.  Many of the residents in the surrounding neighborhoods expressed concerns about this zoning case.  The concerns ranged from potential new bars, nightclubs, auto-repair shops and adult-oriented businesses as well as maintaining the appearance and design characteristics of Stone Oak, building heights and traffic.
 
Over the course of over 10 meetings thus far, staff from my office, the District 9 Zoning Commissioner, City staff and the property owner's representative have worked very hard with the adjacent neighborhoods to find solutions to their issues.  Many concerns have been addressed through deed restrictions with the Home Owner's Associations and modifications were made to the MPCD.
 
Currently, the MPCD site plan has 160 acres designated for open space, multi-family density has been reduced and no areas will be classified as MF-50.  In addition, buffers between single-family residential and commercial areas have been increased from 50 feet to 75 feet on the southern boundary and from 100 feet to 175 feet on the western boundary of the property.  Commercial usage adjacent to the neighborhoods is also now more restrictive.    
 
The City's Zoning Commission's role is to determine the appropriateness of the land use of the property including commercial or residential use, the density, building heights, transition between different types of land use and buffers between the commercial and residential areas.  Therefore, from the land use perspective,  I agree with the Zoning Commission's and City staff's recommendation. 
 
I understand that traffic is a major concern in this area and I share that concern.  The City has missed the opportunity in the past to address some of the traffic issues around the property but we shall not miss the opportunity this time.  I feel that it is appropriate to postpone this zoning case at the City Council level so that we can approach this matter in a more holistic way.  Aside from the traffic situation, the military concern is the other key issue that we must address before I would recommend proceeding with this re-zoning.
 
Going forward, I intend to work closely with the property owner, developer, City staff and other stake holders to find a funding mechanism to accelerate the development of Huebner Rd. and Hardy Oak.  I will also continue to work closely with the military and the property owner to ensure that the military's concerns are addressed.  
As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office if you ever need any assistance. 
 
Respectfully,
Elisa Chan
 
Traffic Light Synchronization Project Underway 
The City of San Antonio Public Works Department's Traffic Signal System Modernization (TSSM) project is up and running and is currently in its second phase of development.  The TSSM is a three-part program that will institute a comprehensive communications network, an advanced traffic control system and better traffic signal coordination.  There is currently a five year timeframe for completion of the project with 250 affected locations per year.  The goals of the TSSM are to maximize flow of traffic, reduce traffic delay, reduce fuel consumption and emissions, reduce crashes, provide for real-time troubleshooting, enable real-time event management and allow for coordination with other agencies. 
 
Councilwoman Chan met with the Public Works Director and TSSM project manager in June to discuss the possibility of accelerating this project in District 9.
 
The graphic shown below illustrates the status of the project in District 9 after Councilwoman Chan's meeting with City staff.  As a result of this meeting, blue dots on the map represent areas of District 9 that will now be completed in Fall 2009 and the green dots denote the areas that will now be completed by Fall 2010.  The construction of the Sonterra corridor will be accelerated as well and is set to be completed no later than Fall 2010.
LightSync