Southwest Community Association

Update on Heatherwilde (& other housing projects)

Nov 18, 2003

Just last week, we learned the multi-millionaire developers of Heatherwilde Estates, requested that City Council waive the charges for water and sewer connectivity to the site! Our understanding is that the Council committee to review that request has recommended approval! In fact, when Councilman Perez (who was out of town) contacted them to ?“register opposition to the waiver?” (at our request) his staff was told that those things were ?“consistently approved?” and if he asked for disapproval it would be ?“setting a bad precedence?”.
Questions: 1. Since when is it a ?“bad precedence?” to have wealthy developers pay the costs for their projects instead of having the residential tax-payers and rate-payers pick up the charges?
2. Is our Councilman supposed to represent the developers, district residents, or just work to make other Council members ?“feel good?”?
Call Councilman Perez, 207-7058, to express your opinion.
Just in the past two weeks we learned of yet another affordable multi-family housing project proposed at 5600 Old Pearsall Rd (close by Divine Providence Catholic Church). Apparently, this project was ?“approved?” by the San Antonio Housing Finance Corporation, which is an arm of the San Antonio Housing Authority. Councilman Perez was not aware of this project either. We will continue to work with him to learn the details and find out what can be done about it. Do you feel like our area has a big Bull?’s?–Eye on it? If we don?’t want to be saturated with such projects, we all have to get involved.