DEPARTMENT: Office of EastPoint & Real Estate
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Mike Etienne
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT: Edwards Aquifer Protection Program - Conservation Easement Acquisitions
SUMMARY:
Consideration of the following ordinances associated with three conservation easements totaling 2,789 acres over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge and Contributing Zones.
A) An ordinance authorizing payment in the amount of $5,587,248.05 to Alamo Title Company, as escrow agent for title on a conservation easement, for land, due diligence and closing costs on an 822-acre tract of land known as the McNeel Ranch located in Bexar and Medina Counties, Texas.
B) An ordinance authorizing payment in the amount of $2,384,678.82 to Garner Abstract and Land Company, as escrow agent for title on a conservation easement, for land, due diligence and closing costs on a 645-acre tract of land known as the Cypress Roots Ranch located in Uvalde County, Texas.
C) An ordinance authorizing payment in the amount of $1,128,608.95 to Mission Title Company, as escrow agent for title on a conservation easement, for land, due diligence and closing costs on a 1,322-acre tract of land known as the Urso Ranch located in Uvalde County, Texas.
This ordinance, necessary under the Proposition One Edwards Aquifer Protection Venue Project, authorizes the execution of documents to accomplish said acquisition.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In May of 2000, voters approved the first program, a 1/8-cent sales tax venue up to $45 million, for the acquisition of lands over the Edwards Aquifer, for parks and watershed protection. That program, referred to as "Proposition Three," ran from 2000 through 2005, was limited to Bexar County and acquired more than 6,500 acres as Natural Areas for the City of San Antonio.
The current program is an extension of that initial endeavor, although the scope was narrowed to watershed protection and, due to a change in the legislation, funds cou...
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