Wolff warns of suburban sprawl ‘nightmare'
By John W. Gonzalez
jgonzalez@express-news.net
Published , Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wolff said parts of Northwest Bexar County San Antonio
The somber comments came during a Commissioners Court discussion of the census data released last week — and the county's ongoing struggle to keep pace with development in unincorporated areas of Bexar County, whose population grew to 1.7 million in 2010.
Commissioners agreed to seek 100 percent “pass-through” state funding to widen Culebra Road
(FM 471) from FM 1560 to Kallison Lane. The vote to seek the $12 million was followed by speculation that other traffic arteries in that area, including Talley Road, will need upgrades — but there won't be as much state funding available.
(FM 471) from FM 1560 to Kallison Lane. The vote to seek the $12 million was followed by speculation that other traffic arteries in that area, including Talley Road, will need upgrades — but there won't be as much state funding available.
“All of a sudden, a city the size of Waco
He cited data showing most of the county's home building activity will be centered in the area bounded by Culebra and Potranco roads and Loop 1604 and Texas
“I think it would be wise for us to look in a more comprehensive way at these areas,” Wolff said.
“Ten years, 20 years from now, we're going to have a nightmare out there. It's not just transportation. It's the whole idea of how you provide services to people out there that are certainly not paying the taxes to get them,” the county judge said.
The dire forecast reflects two key factors, Wolff added.
“The city apparently is not going to annex anymore, and we can't provide the services without the revenue that the city would have,” Wolff said.
Consequently, he said, “we may need to be looking at the idea that perhaps they (suburbs) should be incorporating to be able to have the tax base to provide services, whether its transportation, libraries, police protection, etc.”
Wolff instructed county planners to step up their analysis of the census data to help commissioners brace for more growth.
“All this calls into question our support for suburban sprawl and the danger of staying down the same road we've been on,” said Commissioner Tommy Adkisson.
“We have one school district where they can't open schools quickly enough, and another school can't close them quickly enough,” said Adkisson, adding, “I want to emphasize mass transit as part of the solution.”
Commissioner Paul Elizondo agreed it's time to prepare for more sprawl.
“I always have the feeling we're behind the curve, behind the growth,” he said.
Bigger S.A. belies challenge: Making it better
By Robert Rivard/Express-News
Updated , Saturday, February 19, 2011
The 2010 census figures are rolling in, so it won't be long before weary travelers at airport luggage carousels will watch looping videos that announce San Antonio
Beyond such superficiality, the numbers in all likelihood also will confirm the obvious: San Antonio
Suburban sprawl means more traffic and fewer recreation options for residents, more fossil fuel consumption and worsening air quality, more risk to the aquifer recharge zone, and more cookie-cutter gated communities and commercial strip centers demanding police, fire and other essential services.
It's the developmental equivalent of the city's obesity epidemic.
Has anyone thought about the implications for any number of exurban commercial shopping centers along San Antonio
The inner-city population, meanwhile, is declining. And there lies the challenge for Mayor Julián Castro as he prepares to share his road map for the SA2020 initiative.
One could summarize his challenge in one word: money. But a more thoughtful analysis points to two big challenges.
One is the immediate threat to the city's schools and social services resulting from the Republican plan to balance the 2011-12 state budget solely through funding cuts. Everyone is going down in this scenario if Gov. Rick Perry and Republicans in the Legislature prevail, but inner-city residents will be hit the hardest.
Such cuts will decimate programs that really do work and make a big difference. More inner-city children will suffer abuse and neglect and be denied foster care, while fewer adults will be prosecuted; more teens will give birth to children they cannot parent; increased class sizes mean lower test scores and school ratings; more high school students will drop out and fewer graduates will be able to afford or finance college tuition.
Match those trends against the mayor's SA2020 goals.
The second challenge for the mayor is convincing professionals to stay or move downtown or into one of the well-preserved neighborhoods that ring the downtown area. Affordable housing is still abundant in these neighborhoods in contrast to other cities the size of San Antonio, where such close-in historic housing is often available only to the highest-paid professionals.
The mayor needs that influx of professionals to grow the core city tax base and to attract the proverbial H-E-B, along with other commercial and cultural entities that would improve the quality of life for inner-city residents. College-educated professionals will not stay or come unless they see improved public schools.
If I were editing an April Fool's Day edition, I might lead with a story about Castro promoting a new bond initiative to import a few thousand young, artsy college grads from Austin, along with the requisite food trailers and good music. They'd love Luminaria and working at Rackspace.
But there's nothing funny about San Antonio
