Stalled

The countywide transportation committee made less progress finalizing its list of project and policy recommendations Tuesday as the conversation turned back to eminent domain and where the committee stands on the controversial issue.

When a project was brought to the Kendall County, Boerne and Fair Oaks Transportation Committee to extend Adler Road to the Esperanza neighborhood, committee member Jonah Evans said he spoke with a family member who owns the property east of Farm-to-Market Road 474 which the connection would need to run through. Evans said the

Evans said the family member has no intention to develop the land, stating they are in fact in the process of establishing a conservation easement on the property. But he was unopposed to the road being developed if the land should ever be sold to a developer – something that isn’t expected to happen in the foreseeable future. Then, a series of amended motions

Then, a series of amended motions to essentially leave the project on the city’s major thoroughfare plan and a back and forth on the committee’s stance on eminent domain ensued.

Committee member Bobby Balli, of Fair Oaks Ranch, attempted to move the project forward, noting the committee does not support the use of eminent domain, but fellow committee member John Kight took issue with the limiting language.

Kight said the committee shouldn’t add a stance against eminent domain to project recommendations because there could be a road with one gap that will never be developed, so the city may need eminent domain to complete the “short gap.” Further, Kight said there are landowners who obtain conservation easements so a road can never go through it. He said this was done to “hurt the city rather than help.”

This comment from Kight received some angry exclamations form a couple of audience members.

In response to Kight’s comments, Balli reminded him local municipalities, including the city of Boerne, can employ eminent domain whether the committee voiced its opposition or not. Evans reminded committee members that 500 people showed up to voice their opposition of the Kendall Gateway Study, making it clear the “land grab approach” wasn’t supported.

“We’re not judge and jury,” Balli said. “We’re just advisory. The city and county can do whatever they want.”

Kight recalled his time as a county commissioner when landowners would approach him and swear their land would never be developed. Now, he said many of those rural pieces of land are big subdivisions.

Committee Co-chair Don Durden said in the past, when a greenfield road landed on a thoroughfare plan, it indicated that land was up for grabs by municipalities. He said the committee wants to avoid vehement opposition form the county, as was experienced during the Kendall Gateway Study, so how the committee words the recommendations is how it can “hone their knife.”

Committee Co-chair Bob Manning said the panel is expected to review a policy that would address greenfield roads – new roads through undeveloped land – and he understood the policy would state the committee is not supportive of eminent domain. However, he said some committee members would like to see this opposition to eminent domain added to specific projects to “hammer down” on their stance.

Committee members Ben Eldredge and Tim Bannwolf have been working to draft a policy to outline the committee’s view on eminent domain. After several committee members sought to lean on the policy to cover all projects rather than opposing eminent domain in a project recommendation, Eldredge noted the policy may not have the backbone the committee expected. Eldredge suggested Bannwolf seems to support keeping eminent domain as a potential solution, mirroring Kight’s stance.

In the end, the project recommendation moved forward as one that would follow the city’s thoroughfare planning. So, should the land be developed, a road could be built.

After the discussion on eminent domain dominated more than half the allotted meeting time, the committee moved through five more projects, and four were knocked off the list as duplicates.

One recommendation arose that has been heavily discussed by the committee and Boerne City Council: A Blanco Road diet. Committee members and city council members have favored narrowing the now four-lane road to three lanes, with one lane each way and a center turn lane.

Committee member Bryce Boddie said a committee still exists to talk about this, but he said even restriping the road is costly. Further, he said the road had just been repaved before the conversation about narrowing the number of lanes arose.

Blanco Road is owned by the Texas Department of Transportation, and during a regional planning meeting last month, TxDOT representatives stated the state agency is looking to expand all of its two-lane major roads to four lanes. This was noted by the committee members, but Durden said the agency also prioritizes safety, and he said policies and moods change.

In the end, the recommendation was moved forward to neither a long-nor short-term list, but moved forward for “future consideration” by the city.

Committee members Ben Eldredge and Tim Bannwolf have been working to draft a policy to outline the committee’s view on eminent domain. After several committee members sought to lean on the policy to cover all projects rather than opposing eminent domain in a project recommendation, Eldredge noted the policy may not have the backbone the committee expected.