SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The census shows the San Antonio metro area is growing.
You have probably noticed the apartment and homes being built to accommodate new arrivals, but that growth is stretching some communities including a neighborhood near Friedrick Wilderness Park. Now there is fight between growing development and flourishing park in that neighborhood.
The sounds of nature around Friedrick Wilderness Park on San Antonio’s north side have been replaced with the sounds of development.
“When we first moved out here, deer would have babies in my front yard,” said Sage Gibson of the No More Apartments movement. “That doesn’t happen anymore.”
Gibson has lived next to the park for more than a decade. When she first moved in:
“It was all parkland and all ranches,” she said.
Now Heuermann Rd. which borders the park looks a lot different with apartments and other buildings growing up in the surrounding area.
“Five car dealerships, a middle school, a dog resort, a toddler school and there’s three huge construction companies, a roofing company, a crane company that building highway,” Gibson said.
There is one piece of undeveloped land on Heuermann Rd near the park. Likely not for much longer. It is in the process of being sold for apartments. Yet there is a battle over its zoning with community members like Gibson fighting for fewer living spaces.
“It’s kind of irresponsible because this is just like a little three block neighborhood and it really can’t handle the traffic or the density,” she said.
Gibson said she is not against apartments, just opposed to adding more to an already crowded area. Heuerman Road is a curvy, two lane road.
“Went from a car maybe every five to 10 minutes to probably 50 every five minutes,” she said.
Traffic has picked up on the road and in the park. Hiker Tim Pearson is a park regular and has noticed the difference.
“There’s a lot more usage, a lot more people out on the trails,” he said. “The parking lot is already pretty packed.”
Zoning for the piece of land near Friedrick Park has not yet been finalized. Right now, part of the land closest to the park is zoned for 25 units per acre for low density multifamily housing according the the city's Development Services Department. The rezoning being considered would lower the density to 18 units per acre to limited density multifamily housing. Still, some in the surrounding community like Gibson believe even though there would be fewer apartments built, it is still too many.
“Everybody needs a place to live, but the fact is they’re putting them all in one spot,” Gibson said.
KENS 5 reached out to the city council person for this district, Manny Pelaez, several times for an interview about density in this area. He refused to speak with us but provided this statement:
“I understand neighbors may have concerns about a new development in their neighborhood, but I do want to assure them that the City of San Antonio has strict requirements and standards in place which all developers must follow to ensure the city’s infrastructure is properly designed and maintained.
My office has the authority to advocate for certain public infrastructure improvements such as roads, sidewalks, and drainage. If there are any problems, challenges, or issues—I want to hear about them. I encourage all my neighbors to reach out to us. By sharing their concerns with us, we can work with the appropriate City department to investigate and find potential solutions.
Neighbors can reach us by calling 210-207-0943 or emailing council.district8@sanantonio.gov. Neighbors can also call the City’s Development Services Department at 210-207-1111 or go to sanantonio.gov/dsd to learn more about how the department coordinates land and building development throughout San Antonio.
Furthermore, the City keeps a close eye on all developments and new construction, and I encourage those who may suspect issues to report them to the City by calling 3-1-1.”
– District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez
Input about the zoning change can also be sent to Mirko Maravai, the planning coordinator for land development and zoning for the City of San Antonio at Mirko.Maravi@SanAntonio.gov.
Gibson said she knows the land will be developed, she just wants to see it filled with fewer living spaces like town homes or single-family homes.
City council is scheduled to consider the rezoning on January 27, 2022.