There are problems in Master Plan Land - or maybe that's the way it is designed to work... It shouldn't be a surprise that some see the Master Plan as a guide to land and development speculation while others see it as a guide needing considerable community input in its maturation. These matters are currently being debated at City Council. There are concerns for what happens to the residents whose neighborhood turns commercial, matters of adequate infrastructure (especially transportation - not considered in detail in the MP), and rate of growth (25,000 or bust!). "Consistent with Boerne's Master Plan" simply does not justify rushing to turn everything 'red' (as in the red commercial zones indicated in the MP). Let's remember that the MP is based on community values: Check 'em out!
Vision and Goals
1. Maintain small town look and feel
2. Preserve identity and uniqueness
3. Sidewalks and shoulders, pedestrian protection
4. Natural resources as an economic resource
5. Green space and heritage, include in developments
2 comments:
Good points. Although the Master Planning process was pretty much a resounding success, one weakness might be showing up- an imbalance between final decisions made by the MP Committee and input on the fine tuning from citizens. How actively were folks near School St. engaged in the final zoning discussions? Perhaps the commercial designation might not have been made there. I am not even sure that Gould Evans was pro all the commercial designation, the majority of the Committee ruled on some of these issues. So, listening to citizens about these matters is a good idea and is in keeping with the goals. It's not as if there is going to be a shortage of commercial activity along I-10 from now on- but older residential areas are shrinking here.
Recent debate in the community has centered around he matter of a rezoning of property on South School Street. Those in favor of the commercial rezoning argue that it is consistent with the Master Plan and denying is tantamount to betrayal of the Plan. The rezoning was requested by an investor who admits he wants the rezoning to be able to resell the property for more money – essentially mining the Master Plan for profit, without a plan for the property other than this.
BT has long been a supporter of the notion of Master Planning. Here is our Position Statement on this: BoerneTogether supports responsible growth consistent with comprehensive master planning that represents the interests of all citizens of Kendall County.
The BIG TOPIC is “How does the council interpret the Master Plan”? We say, “Growth policies and supporting ordinances should originate from citizen desires for growth, not private financial interests of developers and others”.
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