DEPARTMENT: Planning
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Bridgett White, AICP
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Briefing on the Growth and Annexation Policy Update
SUMMARY:
Briefing on the City of San Antonio's process to update its Growth and Annexation Policy that will provide guidance on managing growth and development issues within the City's Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In 2013, the City of San Antonio updated its 2002 Annexation Policy. The Policy provided a framework for annexation and addressed issues in the City's Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). In 2016, the San Antonio City Council adopted an amended Annexation Policy as a component of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan to ensure that the annexation evaluation criteria aligned with the goals of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan.
Since then, the Texas Legislature subsequently enacted laws that affected annexation, ETJ releases, municipal boundary adjustments and other land controls. These laws have significantly curtailed the annexation powers of Texas municipalities.
San Antonio has also seen an influx in the amount of requests for Public Improvement Districts (PIDS) or special districts, Development Agreements and annexations through requests from land owners within the City's ETJ. Property owners and developers are requesting PIDs along with development agreements to secure land use flexibility and to minimize financial risks for their projects.
The current Annexation Policy does not reflect the changes in the state law nor does it provide the guidance necessary to evaluate requests for special districts and development agreements. Therefore, the City hired Economic & Planning Systems (EPS) to recommend an updated annexation policy and overall growth policy for the City's ETJ. EPS has developed a White Paper to summarize and document the major issues related to growth and annexation policy for inclusion in the City's formally adopted annexatio...
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