DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Xavier D. Urrutia
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Edwards Aquifer Protection Program - Conservation Easement Acquisition for Briseno Ranch
SUMMARY:
Consideration of an Ordinance authorizing payment in the amount of $1,530,156.03 to Texas Heritage Title Company as escrow agent for title on a conservation easement, due diligence and closing costs on a 1,175.144 acre tract of land known as the Briseno Ranch located in Medina County, Texas.
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 purchase of a conservation easement on the Briseno Ranch is located over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge and Contributing Zones in Medina County. The property was initially identified through use of the Scientific Evaluation Team's GIS Spatial Model and subsequent site visits identified favorable recharge features on the properties. The Briseno Ranch is located within the Medina River watershed which combined with faults and fractures contributes to significant recharge of the Edwards Aquifer. The Edwards Aquifer Authority issued a geological assessment of the property confirming that preservation would provide moderate-to-high water quantity and high water qualit...
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