City Council agrees to rezone nearly 500 acres near Frost Bank Center, favoring mixed use over heavy industrial, following strong neighborhood advocacy.
SAN ANTONIO — The impassioned pleas to City Council went on for more than an hour Thursday, as people who live near the Frost Bank Center argued to change the zoning classification for almost 500 acres of land near Gembler Road and Frost Bank Center Drive.
The move is called a Large Area Rezoning, and it includes a change to the Arena District / Eastside Community Plan.
The United Homeowners Improvement Association pushed the measure forward.
The goal of the effort was to phase out “I-2,” or Heavy Industrial District zoning adjacent to their homes, in favor of more compatible land uses.
The group is made up of people who live in Willowwood Estates, Meadowview Park and Meadowview North neighborhoods.
Jacquelyn Ali, who has lived in the area for decades, told council they have endured heavy truck traffic, noise, dust and air pollution in a neighborhood where most of the homes pre-date their heavy industry neighbors.
“Our families live with constant noise and environmental hazards that were never intended for residential neighborhoods,” Ali said, adding the danger zone includes an elementary school where the children are exposed daily to diesel fumes and unsafe traffic conditions.
Military veteran Cliff Cedeno said the area was established in 1963, and there are numerous original residents still advocating to live out their days in a safe environment. Cedeno said the zoning changes that created the threat were no accident.
“It was a decision that placed industry above humanity and profit above people,” Cedeno said, adding the problems are obvious.
“Diesel trucks blocking sidewalks. Gas tanks stacked besides homes. Black dust on windowsills, laundry lines and air conditioning vents. That’s not economic growth,” Cedeno said, adding “That is environmental racism written into the city zoning.”
Cedeno told the council this is a concern for basic human rights.
“We held open meetings and every business was invited, every one of them,” Cedeno said, but he claimed they never showed and have now threatened residents with lawsuits if the change effort moved forward.
Resident Jesse Medeles passionately told the group: “50 years of injustice. 50 years of racism. 50 years of failed leadership. 50 years fighting for basic human rights. 50 years of being ignored and forgotten. 50 years of discrimination. Today we say no more!”
Medeles brought graphics to illustrate his points, sharing photos of what he said was human waste escaping from one firm and choking dust blowing in the wind from another, calling the situation corrupt, and demanding that buffer zones are needed.
Slowly approaching the podium with the aid of a walker, Doloris Williams told the council she is the neighborhood matriarch everyone calls “Mama Dee.”
“For 62 years I’ve been living on the corner of Belgium Lane,” Williams said, adding “I smelled the potties… and now with these big trucks coming in I can’t hardly get out of my garage.”
Williams went on, “Please help us. I am 92 now and I want to be living very comfortable on Belgium Lane.”
Neighborhood President Alonzo Jones said his parents bought a home in the area in 1964, the year he was born, and he has been a part of the area his entire life.
Jones said, “We want to have the same quiet, dust-free and pollution-free neighborhood that all of our owners and everyone strives to have.”
Vietnam veteran Oscar Vicks said he traveled the world fighting for the American way of life and he is astounded that he came home and has had to fight for justice.
“They’ve been messing with us for fifty years!” Vicks said.
Several business representatives in the impacted zone expressed concerns about restrictions on their operations.
A spokesman for Crown Enterprises, a firm that owns property on Gembler and Belgium Roads, expressed frustration with not being able to use their land for the reasons the parcels were purchased.
“In real estate, you pay what you can use the property for and it is zoned heavy industrial and we paid that price,” he said, adding they only found out about proposed changes at the end of July.
City staff said 454 notices were sent out regarding the proposed changes. Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez pointed out that there were 111 responses in favor of the change and only 12 in opposition.
When it came time for council to make a decision, the group erupted into applause when they got what they came for.
There were eight affirmative votes. Only District 9 representative Misty Spears cast a nay vote. Marc Whyte was not present at the time.
Of the victory, President Alonzo Jones said preserving the character of this legacy area is a dream come true and he says many people would like to see an area that resembles the Pearl developed, with shops and services that would benefit everyone. It’s a goal he said is possible.
“We think that once they see the drive that we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to bring to the east side and our community, we think they will be more than apt to come and join us in bringing their businesses over here,” Jones said.
Of the impact on the area of the recently approved Prop A, Jones said they don’t want to wait for promises that may or may not be fulfilled.
“We have been waiting on promises for decades, and at this point those promises we can’t wait on anymore,” Jones said.
Cedeno added that it’s a good time to be optimistic.
“The return on investment here on the east side is big and it’s even bigger right here now that Prop A with San Antonio Rodeo got approved and we’re working really, really hard with them to beautify this whole area and make this a destination for tourists and families to come back here and have a good time,” Cedeno said.
“This project never started off with trying to push anybody out. It started by businesses who were disrespecting the neighbors of the UHIA with toxins, fumes, gasses and just a bunch of nuisance and things that were affecting people’s livelihoods here,” Cedeno said.
“We are going to do what we can as a neighborhood to advocate and show city developers that this is a neighborhood worth investing in,” Cedeno said.
In the meantime, Cedeno said, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.
“I think that we can all sleep better at night knowing that these businesses are not allowed to do the toxic pollution that they’ve been used to getting away with for decades,” Cedeno said.
The entire Zoning and Land Use session of the City Council, with full remarks from everyone involved is available online.
To review this item on the agenda, scroll through to the 48:00 minute mark where Items 7 and 8 are discussed.
Here is a map of the area served by the United Homeowners Improvement Association.
