Southwest Community Association

Jan 03 - Heatherwilde Estates Update

Jan 19, 2003

Update on low-income apartment complex here called Heatherwilde Estates
(Prepared by Carole Abitz, Jan 10, 2003.) The more we dig, the more we learn, the more this stinks - the more we feel OUR RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED. TELL YOUR NEIGHBORS.

What: Heatherwilde Estates is a 176-unit affordable apartment complex on 15 acres of land along Old Pearsall Road next to Sky Harbour subdivision. (Between Sky Harbour & Loop 410, on the same side as Texaco & McDonald's). Dallas developers would make at least $2.8M up front. The Housing Authority of Bexar County (HABC) is a partner in this project.

Reasoning Against Project: Because it would be property tax-exempt, current property owners would have to pick up the additional costs of the children in the complex who would be added to our schools. Because of the lowest of the low income mixes decided by the developers we believe this development will further destabilize our area, further lowering the value of our homes. We know of no other project in the entire state with such low income-mixes.

Recap: Developer requested a zoning change from Commercial (C-3R) to Multi-Family (MF-25). The Zoning Commission unanimously denied the request on Oct 1, 2002. That same day, our Councilman (Martin) flip-flopped from being against it to being in favor of it. Developers have since told the city they don't need a zoning change. In a Nov 27th letter, their legal firm threatened to sue the city if the city did not agree. They withdrew their request for a zoning change, in a Dec 6th letter. With the threat of a lawsuit and the withdrawal of the zoning change, the issue was not taken up in Open Session of Council on Dec 12th as scheduled, but was instead discussed in Closed Session. By law, in a Closed Session discussion, we can not find out what was said or who said it. The result of the Closed Session was a resolution to direct the city to resubmit the zoning change request for MF-25 for the developer.

Dec 19th City Council Meeting: We turned in a petitions against the project with 1,178 signatures. Despite all of the opposition voiced to Council, with no discussion, Council voted unanimously to do the work of the developers and
resubmit the zoning change request. We go back to the Zoning Commission on Jan 21st, and back to Council on Jan 23rd -for the final decision. Issues: Integrity of City Council and City doing the work for the developers.

Dec 20th: I attended a HABC meeting where the Heatherwilde representative said they were "OK on zoning". I was not allowed to speak to correct that, even though I tried. Since then, we've become aware of Texas Local Government Code, paragraph 392 which spells out rules for county Housing Authorities. Specifically:
- 392.015, says county housing authorities can NOT operate within city limits unless they have a resolution from Council specifically stating there is a need for them in the city limits. We don't believe they have that.
- 392.053, specifies the requirement for the authority to hold a public meeting about the proposed housing project before the site for the project is approved (that would have been in 2001). Further it says that the authority may not authorize construction of the housing project or obtain a permit, certificate, or other authorization required by a municipality or other political subdivision for any part of the construction or the housing project if that meeting was not held. Such a meeting was NOT held, yet the developers are already staking the property and turning the soil with heavy equipment.
- 392.054, specifies notices of such a meeting must be in place 30 days ahead of time - and gives further criteria. Such was NOT done. Because state laws were NOT followed, we've asked the Housing Authority of Bexar County to withdraw its partnership in the Heatherwilde Estates project immediately. We've also notified all County Commissioners of the law violation and asked them to remove HABC from the partnership. Issues: State laws violated. Our rights have been violated. Lack of proper County oversight. Lack of proper City oversight. Inegrity of County officials.

Don't Give Up! Many people who believe this whole process has been outrageous, worked through the holidays to help us, including our new State Representative, Ken Mercer. Through Divine Providence Church, the COPS organization may be getting more involved. If you get discouraged, think of all the work other people are doing for us and think of how we'll have to live with the results of this project for the next 50 years if it happens. However, we can't depend on others to carry the load for us, we all need to stand up and MAKE NOISE! Here are some ideas; all are important.
1. Attend the Tue, Jan 21st Zoning Commission hearing (1 PM in City Council Chambers). If you need transportation, call 623-4965. If you are willing to speak, we can give you ideas on what to say.
2. Attend the Thu, Jan 23rd City Council meeting. This meeting is critical so we need a large turnout If you need transportation, call 623-4965. With enough people, we'll be able to cover all the points we need to make. If you are willing to speak, we can give you the words. However, if you really don't want to speak, we still need you to give your time over to someone else to speak. We'll all stand together on this.
3. Continue getting signatures on our petitions and we'll turn more in to Council on Jan 23rd. With about 12,000 people over 18 in our area, many more signatures are possible. If you go house-to-house, get every adult in the house to sign. People can also sign our petition at the Quarter Horse Liquor Store, 5550 Old Pearsall Road, open daily until about 9 PM. (You don't have to buy anything.) We'll need all petitions back by Wed, Jan 22nd so we can total the signatures and make copies. Call me (623-4965) if you have questions or need more blank petition forms.
4. Contact Councilman Martin telling him to vote AGAINST this project. Tell him you expect him to represent the citizens of this area, not the Dallas developers. Phone: 207-7058 or 834-3443; FAX: 207-7027; e-mail: "emartin@sanantonio.gov".
5. Prior to Jan 21st, call District 4's rep on the Zoning Commission, Henry Avila. Tell him to vote against any zoning change that would enable construction of Heatherwilde Estates. 932-9800.
6. This critical decision is now for all Council members to decide. Explain the situation & issues to your co-workers, friends, and relatives who live in other Council districts. Ask them to call their Council member telling them to vote AGAINST this project. Council members' names and numbers are in the blue pages of the SBC Yellow Pages.
7. Contact Mayor Ed Garza telling him to vote AGAINST this project. He previously said publicly that he would kill this project; ask why he hasn't. Phone: 207-7060, or his Chief of Staff, Melissa Havrda 207-7-83; FAX: 207-4077; e-mail: "mayoredgarza@sanantonio.gov". He's just starting a segment on WOAI Ch4 called "Ask Ed". Watch to see how you can get your questions in; then DELUGE the station by Jan 20th asking Ed why he hasn't kill Heatherwilde Estates as he promised. You can also ask him face-to-face on Wed, Jan 15th, at the Central Library 7 - 8:30 PM.
8. Write a letter to be printed in the Your Turn section of the Express-News.
9. Because of HABC's failure to follow state law, call County Judge Nelson Wolff asking for proper COUNTY OVERSIGHT (335-2626). Tell him you don't think HABC should have worked behind our backs. Tell him about all of the signatures AGAINST this project. Call our County Commissioner Robert Tejeda (335-2611). Thank him for his oppostion to this project. Explain the county's failures to your co-workers, friends, and relatives who live in other parts of the county, ask them to call their Commissioners about this issue. (Commissioners names and numbers are listed in the blue pages of the SBC Yellow Pages.
10. On the Internet, this information is posted on our website as the January Newsletter. You can "copy" and "paste" it to work up your e-mails to others. Website: "www.neighborhoodlink.com/sat/southwest" 11. Call or write the newspaper, radio, and TV stations - ask them why they are not investigating this situation - are they discriminating against us because we live on the southwest side of town? Our quality of life is at stake.
12. Don't forget the next SWCA meeting, Mon, Jan 27, 6:30 PM, Sky Harbour Elem School. One of our guest will be an HABC board member.