DEPARTMENT: Planning Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Bridgett White, AICP
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Districts 1, 2, 3, and 5
SUBJECT:
Consideration of an ordinance adopting the Downtown Area Regional Center Plan as a component of the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan.
SUMMARY:
Consideration of an ordinance adopting the Downtown Area Regional Center Plan as a component of the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan. The Downtown Area Regional Center Plan aims to create a realistic and implementable strategy to address projected growth in the Downtown Area Regional Center, one of 13 Regional Centers identified in the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan is one of three growth-related plans addressing how the City of San Antonio’s expected population growth will be balanced with social, economic, and environmental resources. The Comprehensive Plan provides strategic direction for decision making and public investment to prepare our communities for anticipated growth at the citywide level. The major “building blocks” of the Comprehensive Plan include:
• Regional Centers
• Urban Centers
• Corridors
• Neighborhoods
The Downtown Area Regional Center Plan aims to create a realistic and implementable strategy to address projected growth in the Downtown Area Regional Center, one of the 13 Regional Centers identified in the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan. Downtown is the historic and cultural center of the city and home to the world renowned River Walk. It is the center of San Antonio’s traditional economy, anchored by our multi-billion-dollar tourism, education, and healthcare industries. The urban core is revitalizing and experiencing a growth renaissance, supported by the “Decade of Downtown” movement. The City Center is evolving into a vibrant mixed-use area with a range of employment, services and housing, all centered around great historical and cultural destinations. The main topics covered by the Plan include Land Use, Mobility, Amenities and Infrastructure, Focus Areas, Catalytic Projects, Economic Development, Housing, and Neighborhood Priorities.
As success of the Sub-Area Plan depends on broad participation from area stakeholders, Planning Department staff worked with a wide range of community members throughout the planning process. These included neighborhood associations, business and property owners, residents, employers, educational and cultural institutions, public and nonprofit organizations, and other City departments. In addition, a formal Planning Team was created to provide more frequent, in-depth, and consistent advice and guidance through the planning process. The Downtown Area Regional Center Planning Team includes:
• Melissa Alcala, CAST Tech High School
• Zet Baer, King William Association
• Liza Barratachea, San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association
• John Beauchamp, Hixon Properties
• Susan Beavin, San Antonio Conservation Society
• Margie Beecher, Downtown Residents Association
• Matt Brown, Centro San Antonio
• Thomas Davis, Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association
• Steve Graham, San Antonio River Authority
• Corrina Green, Zachry Group
• Ernest Haffner, University of Texas at San Antonio
• Belinda Hartwig, San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
• David Huete, Haven for Hope
• Santiago Jaramillo, VIA Metropolitan Transit
• Elizabeth Kertesz, San Antonio 2030 District
• Mariah Kilbourne, disABILITYsa
• Aubrey Lewis, Denver Heights Neighborhood Association
• Lisa Lynde, King William Association
• Luis Miguel Martinez, AREA Real Estate
• Nicolas Melde, Lavaca Neighborhood Association
• Atiya Mitchell, University of Texas at San Antonio Student
• Ruth Morris, Leadership Organization of Professionals (LOOP)
• Darryl Ohlenbusch, Lavaca Neighborhood Association
• Benjamin Perry, University of Texas at San Antonio
• Janis Ploetz, Urban Land Institute - San Antonio
• Susan Powers, Lone Star Neighborhood Association
• Nicolas Rivard, Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Association
• Jason Rodriguez, HNTB
• Edward A. Romero, Centro San Antonio
• Louis Sanchez, San Fernando Cathedral
• JD Simpson, SWell Cycle
• Lisa Tapp, San Antonio Museum of Art
• Maggie Thompson, San Antonio Riverwalk Association
ISSUE:
A Public Draft of the Plan was released to the public for comment on June 14, 2019 and public input was gathered through August 12, 2019. Comments received were considered for incorporation in the Administrative Draft for the adoption process, which is currently available online: <https://downtown.sacompplan.com/>.
On October 14, 2019, the Planning Department presented the Downtown Area Regional Center Plan to the Planning and Community Development Committee of City Council where the committee voted unanimously to forward the plan to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission received a briefing on October 9, 2019. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on October 23, 2019 and voted unanimously to forward the document to City Council for approval with staff’s recommended edits, which were made available to the public through the Planning Commission agenda website.
The Downtown Area Regional Center Plan is organized around a “Plan Framework” that includes Land Use, Focus Areas, Mobility, Amenities and Infrastructure, Catalytic Projects, Housing, and Economic Development. Each plan framework element includes an overview that provides context and findings, as well as recommendations and implementation strategies.
If adopted as a component of the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan, the Downtown Area Regional Center Plan shall control over any conflict with the Lone Star Community Plan, Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Plan/Eastside Reinvestment Plan, Downtown Neighborhood Plan including the West Neighborhood Update and the River North Update, Guadalupe Westside Community Plan, South Central Community Plan, Alamodome Neighborhood Plan, Arena District/Eastside Community Plan, and Lavaca Neighborhood Plan, where plan areas overlap.
ALTERNATIVES:
City Council can choose not to adopt the Downtown Area Regional Center Plan as a component of the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan. However, this action would delay implementation of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan and would require staff to develop a new regional center plan for the Downtown Area.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance adopts the Downtown Area Regional Center Plan as a component of the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan. There is no fiscal impact associated with the adoption of the Downtown Area Regional Center Plan.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff and Planning Commission recommend the Downtown Area Regional Center Plan, with all staff and Planning Commission recommended revisions, be adopted as a component of the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan, for a 6.4-square mile area generally bound by Interstate Highway 10 and Interstate Highway 35 to the north; Austin Street, Duval, Milam, Cherry, West Boyer, West High Avenue, and Aberdeen Place to the east; Interstate Highway 10, South Presa Street, East Mitchell Street, Parker, School Street, Roosevelt Avenue, Hansford Street, Mission Road, and Theo Avenue to the south; and Interstate Highway 35, Interstate Highway 10, South Flores Street, West Cevallos, Alazan Creek, San Marcos, West Martin Street, and North Colorado Street to the west.