DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Homer Garcia III, Interim Director
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Edwards Aquifer Protection Program - Conveyance of Cibolo Vista Tracts 1 and 2 to Edwards Aquifer Conservancy and Conservation Easement Acquisition
SUMMARY:
Consideration of an ordinance authorizing the conveyance of 151.688 acres of land known as Cibolo Vista Tracts 1 and 2 to Edwards Aquifer Conservancy, a non-profit organization supporting the Edwards Aquifer Authority, and authorizing the acquisition of a conservation easement on Cibolo Vista Tracts 1 and 2 from Edwards Aquifer Conservancy.
These actions also authorize the execution of necessary documents.
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.
In May 2019, the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program acquired Cibolo Vista Tracts 1 and 2 in fee simple from Morgan's Wonderland Camp for preservation of Edwards Aquifer water quantity and quality and to complement The Nature Conservancy's 2,765-acre Cibolo Bluffs Preserve located adjacent to the properties. Following the City's acquisition of the properties, the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) submitted a proposal to the Council-appointed Conservation Advisory Board requesting consid...
Click here for full text