DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Xavier Urrutia
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Edwards Aquifer Protection Program - Conservation Easement Acquisition for Laurel Canyon Ranch
SUMMARY:
This ordinance authorizes payment in the amount of $967,273.98 to Texas Heritage Company as escrow agent for title on a conservation easement, due diligence and closing costs on an approximate 549-acre tract of land known as the Laurel Canyon Ranch located in Medina County, Texas for the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program, a Proposition 1 Edwards Aquifer Protection Venue funded Project as approved by voters in November 2010. This ordinance also authorizes the execution of necessary documents to accomplish said acquisition.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The purpose of the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program is to obtain property rights by fee simple purchase, conservation easements or donations of land over the sensitive zones of the Edwards Aquifer. This program was initiated in May 2000 when voters approved Proposition 3, 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. Proposition 3 ran from 2000 through 2005 and was limited to Bexar County.
The Proposition 1 program is an extension of the initial voter-approved Edwards Aquifer protection endeavor and was extended by voters in 2010 and renewed again in 2015. Due to a change in the state legislation the scope was narrowed to watershed protection and activities expanded outside of Bexar County.
The proposed purchase of a conservation easement on the Laurel Canyon Ranch is located over the Recharge and Contributing Zones in Medina County. This property initially was identified through use of the Scientific Evaluation Team's GIS Spatial Model and subsequent site visits identified previously undocumented faults, limestone exposures, and other favorable recharge features on the property. The Laurel Canyon Ran...
Click here for full text