An effort to divide tracts of land and secure acreage for a municipal water tower for Fair Oaks Ranch was denied Monday, but the door was left wide open for a future try.
Kendall County Commissioners Court spent 6.5 hours meeting on Monday, during which they took up the request for “relief from maximum density” on a proposed land-split deal on Amman Road north of Fair Oaks Ranch.
A motion to deny the waiver request for the property failed to pass due to a split 2-2 vote.
The city of Boerne, which owns the property, was requesting a waiver from a Kendall County regulation to subdivide a 10-acre tract of land into three tracts – one of which would have been available to sell to Fair Oaks Ranch as the location of Fair Oaks Ranch’s planned water tower.
Fair Oaks Ranch Mayor Greg Maxton and City Councilwoman Laura Koerner addressed the commissioners, speaking in favor of Boerne’s request for relief on the property.
“The city council of Fair Oaks Ranch unanimously supports this request,” Maxton said. “The city of Boerne owns the property and submitted the request, but your consideration and your decision today has an impact on the residents of Fair Oaks Ranch.”
The division of land, he said, would allow Fair Oaks Ranch to acquire about three acres of the property, which “will be used exclusively for an elevated storage tank to support the water utility of Fair Oaks Ranch.”
He said the construction of a water tower “is a requirement for our city’s water utility, to ensure the public health and safety of our residents.”
Commissioner Andra Wisian made a motion to deny the city’s variance request.
“Given that this part of the county has a scarcity of water, given that we have an increased danger of wildfires … our county residents are very concerned about more dense development,” Wisian said. “Given that they only have their county commissioner’s court to protect them (and that) the city of Boerne can move ahead with its plan and that the city of Fair Oaks Ranch can lease the land … without the variance, I thereby move to deny a request for relief from a maximum density of six acres.”
Precinct 4 Commissioner Chad Carpenter joined Wisian in opposing the variance.
Commissioner Christina Bergmann, Precinct 1, joined Precinct 3 Commissioner Richard Chapman, Precinct 3, in voicing support for the effort.
“We as a county have citizens in Fair Oaks Ranch. It’s our job to protect those citizens as well,” Bergmann said. “If this would go through today, this would help you get your citizens (and) TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) taken care of and … get the safety and welfare of your citizens, done sooner than later.”
However, the motion to deny died as County Judge Shane Stolarczyk recused himself from voting, citing potential conflict as his wife, Kimm Keller, is the Fair Oaks Ranch municipal judge, leaving the commissioners deadlocked 2-2.
The motion made was to deny the relief request, but it failed – meaning the city of Boerne could again file for a variance, since the refusal died because of the split vote.
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