Kendall County Commissioners moved an item from executive session to open discussion Monday, publicly announcing their support for modifications to an ETJ interlocal agreement between the city of Boerne and the county.
Commissioners agreed to wait until their January 22 meeting to sign the agreement, which gives the county more voice in, and protection from, unbridled growth in the city’s EJT.
“I’m personally ready to sign it right now,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Chad Carpenter said. “It’s exactly what we’ve been working toward, but out of respect I will wait two weeks.”
The waiting period was requested by County Judge Shane Stolarczyk and Precinct 3 Commissioner Richard Chapman. Discussion at the January 8 meeting was moved from executive session into open session -- meaning the documents being discussed had not been made public.
Hence, none of the affected parties within the county had seen or spoken to the agreement, which is why commissioners agreed to wait before casting their votes.
At the heart of the matter is the Boerne Major Thoroughfare Plan (MTP), a formal planning document developed by the city to provide for an efficient and appropriate thoroughfare system if an undeveloped piece of land is proposed for development.
The City of Boerne created its first MTP in 1974 and has updated it several times since. Many of the lines from the 1974 MTP have not become roads because the land was not developed.
According to Chris Shadrock, Boerne director of communications, only one road first laid out in the 1974 MTP has ever been built with public funds the Herff Road extension, which was built by Kendall County after receiving approval in a countywide vote in 2011.
“As we have seen in recent years, several large, multi-generational ranches near Boerne have been sold,” Shadrock said. “Those new owners have the ability to develop their properties because Texas is a property rights state.”
Because the City has the MTP in place, Shadrock said, when a property has changed owners or uses, the city has been able to require the developers to either set aside right-of-way or build roads and sidewalks that are part of the overall thoroughfare plan.
County residents swarmed commission meetings, voicing objection to the MTP. They saw development, or roadway, lines that crossed their properties, land they feared would be lost as the city and county growth continues.
“I’d like to thank the city of Boerne for their efforts,” Stolarczyk said. “I know this has been a long process. From where we started, we were very far apart.
“Over time, the new mayor, the new council, the city manager, have really worked together, to come to the middle and find something that works for both of us,” the judge added.
After pulling the item out of executive session, commissioners dissected the changes from a previous draft. Precinct 2 Commissioner Andra Wisian read two significant changes that commissioners were pleased to see included in the agreement.
A section under “City Responsibilities” states the “city agrees it shall not enforce its subdivision regulations, including the regulation of subdivision plans, within the city’s ETJ.”
Another key phrase in the agreement reads, “The lines shown for potential future connectivity outside city limits will not be applicable in the ETJ.”
“That particular item is the one of most significant concern to the community,” Stolarczyk said. “That specifically addresses the Boerne thoroughfare plan and whether those lines on the map have any enforceability.
That particular language “protects the residents living there, to eliminate the concerns that have been voiced,” Stolarczyk added.
Another section, 3.4, allows the county to have a say in any future developments, and assess impact costs.
“As commissioners, we whine a lot of times about not having statute that supports us,” Wisian said. “This gives the county a way to have a seat at the table when we do have development.”
She said the county will now have an avenue to deal with development in the city’s ETJ, in terms of the costs of – and reimbursement for – such factors as firefighting, law enforcement, roadways and water service.
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