The Boerne City Council unanimously approved an updated district city map last week with some major districting changes to the downtown Boerne landscape.
But councilmembers have made it clear this will have little impact on how they operate. However, these changes may drastically impact the city council elections landscape, as hundreds of residents may find themselves in a new district.
The districts in Boerne were required to be redrawn after an imbalance in district populations became clear after the 2020 Census Bureau numbers were released. Before the districts were redrawn, District 2 had a population of 5,164 and District 4 had a population of 2,123 when the new census numbers were released.
The maximum deviation between the most populous district in the city and the least populated is required by state law to be below 10 percent but as close to zero as possible, and the former district populations had far exceeded that limitation. The new district map now falls well within the deviation limitation and successfully keeps each sitting councilmember in his or her respective district, which was another goal the city council had in its redistricting efforts.
Downtown Boerne, which predominantly was housed in District 4, now has been split more equitably between Districts 2, 3 and 4. District 2, which previously remained east of downtown, will now cut through the middle to the city, following Highway 46 and hitting School Street. District 2 now houses areas of downtown stretching from Esser Road to School Street, keeping south of Farm-to-Market Road 474 and north of Highway 46 and reaching School Street while staying south of West San Antonio Street and north of Theissen Street.
In exchange for the loss of downtown jurisdiction, District 4 has expanded east, taking in the Trails at Herff Ranch, The Ranches at Creekside and the Ranch at Cibolo Creek subdivisions. District 4 boundaries now remain east of Main Street, going north to Theissen Street and south to Roosevelt Avenue.
District 3 experienced some of the biggest changes in its boundaries, as previously it was contained in the northwest end of Boerne, sitting west of Main Street and running to West San Antonio Avenue and Rosewood Avenue. With the updated map, District 4 will represent the historic homes and modern developments in the The Flats of Boerne. Additionally, the newly redrawn District 4 now will encompass the developing area west of Highway 87 and east of Old San Antonio Road – previously housed in District 5 – which includes many of the commercial and residential developments popping up along Old San Antonio and at the Highway 87 and Interstate 10 intersection.
This boundary change significantly has increased the commercial property encompassed by District 3, which already housed both The Dienger and Best Western Inn & Suites, commercial businesses east of Main Street to Rosewood Avenue and the commercial businesses along Johns Road. Now, District 3 will maintain those commercial properties and include the Days Inn, Walmart, Walgreens, Jaguar of Boerne and the growing number of commercial properties surrounding those areas.
Despite the significant increase in commercial property in his district, District 3 Councilmember Quinten Scott said he didn’t foresee many additional challenges but just a few more projects to keep track of. He clarified that while the city is broken up into districts, he works to with all residents of Boerne in mind.
“We divide up the city because we have to,” Scott said. “We have a responsibility to do that. Our requirements are to make these districts. I work for the city and the people of Boerne, not just my district.”
Scott said he didn’t expect much to change from the increase in commercial property other than requiring more meetings as the SoBo District is built out. The SoBo District is a live-work-play district in the city’s master plan with higher-density, multifamily housing, retail, restaurants and entertainment.
While District 3 had some significant changes, the district narrowly kept the section of West Blanco Road where Main Plaza and the proposed waterworks terrace sits. This is a development that Scott has worked on heavily, maintaining a close partnership with the private group that initiated the multi-tiered improvement to the former city pool.
The waterworks terrace project is intended to make the space where the city pool used to be across West Blanco Road from Main Plaza a more useable and community-oriented space. Design proposals including covered and uncovered seating, parking changes, a splash pad, a stage, public art and other features was presented to Boerne City Council last year and adopted into the city’s parks plan. Scott has been a driving force behind the city’s efforts to see the project come to fruition.
Even though the waterworks terrace was almost cut out Scott’s district, he made it clear he would have continued his efforts to see the project come to fruition. Scott said he was a champion for the municipal pool put in at Boerne City Park when the city partnered with the Boerne Family YMCA even though it didn’t fall in his district.
“They would not lose me as the champion or the advocate for that if it was not in my district,” Scott said of the waterworks terrace efforts. “I’m working for the city regardless of where a particular project may be.”
District 5 lost some jurisdiction, with its eastern boundary moving in from Old San Antonio Road to west of Highway 87 – otherwise known as Main Street. District 1 remained virtually unchanged by continuing to stay at the northmost end of the city. But the district now encompasses all areas of the city a north of West Frederick Street along Main Street.
District 4 Councilmember Bryce Boddie, who described the new districts as a “whole new world,” said while it’s good for the council members to think at-large when voting, he also said it’s good for them to consider what’s important to them in specific areas of the city. He said the introduction of new and developing subdivisions in his district presents new challenges, but he said it might be beneficial to have more council members share the downtown landscape.
“I think it will be good for the city in that everyone has to participate form downtown out,” Boddie said. “It gives council people the opportunity to have a piece of downtown so we’re representing the people more equitably. I think that’s a good thing.”
Living in downtown, Boddie said it’s important to him to maintain the downtown residential landscape, saying the neighborhoods in the heart of the city are very different from those he acquired, like Herff Ranch or The Ranches at Creekside. He said he will continue to advocate for maintaining the downtown residential landscape even though his district has shifted to the east of the city, saying he still has a chunk of downtown in his district.
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