DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Xavier D. Urrutia
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Edwards Aquifer Protection Program - Conservation Easement Acquisitions
SUMMARY:
Consideration of the following ordinances associated with two conservation easements totaling 542.13 acres over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge and Contributing Zones.
A) An ordinance authorizing payment in the amount of $751,789.35 to Mission Title Company as escrow agent for title on a conservation easement, due diligence and closing costs on a 412.43 acre tract of land known as the Blackwell Ranch located in Uvalde County, Texas.
B) An ordinance authorizing payment in the amount of $275,393.80 to Mission Title Company as escrow agent for title on a conservation easement, due diligence and closing costs on a 129.7 acre tract of land known as the Germer Ranch located in Uvalde County, Texas.
These ordinances, necessary under the Proposition 1 Edwards Aquifer Protection Venue funding project, also authorize the execution of necessary documents to accomplish said acquisitions.
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 2005 Proposition 1 program was an extension of the initial voter-approved Edwards Aquifer protection endeavor and was extended by voters in 2010 and renewed again in 2015. Changes in state legislation allowed watershed protection activities to expand outside of Bexar County.
The proposed purchases of conservation easements on the Blackwell Ranch and Germer Ranch tracts are locat...
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