The City of San Antonio has a new master plan. The City Council today approved three plans known as SA Tomorrow focusing on city growth, environmental sustainability and multimodal transportation.
It took 18 months of planning. The plans have come under fire for not consulting neighborhoods associations, according to some residents. San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor says several amendments added today will make sure all voices are heard.
"So, we included language to make it clear that we were not negating or canceling out any existing neighborhood plans and that would work with the neighborhood association," Taylor says.
Provisions for new developments on impervious cover and a dark skies ordinance for the military were added back in. Before the final vote today District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg attempted to add 17 amendments that would restore items removed by the planning commission, but they were shot down by the council.
"It's better to have a plan than no plan but I think we failed in really making it a plan that has the substantial teeth that the public has been asking for over the last two years," Nirenberg says. "Is it a step forward? Yes. Did we want more? Yes, but we will continue to work on implementation."
The master plan will be updated every five years. The last city master plan was approved in the 1990s and before that the 1970s.
