Encino Creek Homeowner's Association

The Yates Land

The Status of the Yates Property as of 2002

The property bordering our subdivision behind Bubbling Creek has been home to a herd of living lawnmowers for quite a few years now. Some of you may have even had a chance to see some of these cattle up close in the past – especially since they have been known to frequent our subdivision on more than one occasion. The property, approximately 1,000 acres, is held in a number of trusts controlled by the Yates family. Recently, the Yates submitted a proposal for development of this land. It is believed that their motivation for submitting the proposal was to “grandfather” their property, so that their future development plans won’t be subject to any new legislation that may be enacted.

The east end of the Yates property is on Bulverde Road. Portions of Bulverde Road have already been zoned for light commercial development, some of which have already begun operations. Part of the City of San Antonio’s city planning philosophy is that commercial areas be placed within “buffer” zones of multi-family housing developments first; and then beyond the multi-family housing, single family homes, such as our own subdivision. Due to this philosophy, and the commercial development on Bulverde Road, the development plan submitted by the Yates indicates that multi-family housing units will be constructed in the area of their property bordering our subdivision.

The Encino Creek Homeowners Association Board of Directors Vision Statement includes an objective of striving to improve its property value – which is why we will need to monitor the development of the Yates property closely. Most people would agree that it would be best for our subdivision, if the area in question had to be developed, be developed as single family homes. However, based upon feedback from District 9 Zoning Commissioner Jim McAden, it appears unlikely that any zoning, other than multi-family unit zoning, will be approved by the City Council.

What does that mean for the Encino Creek homeowner? It means protecting our property values by negotiating with the developer to keep the intrusion of the multi-family units to a minimum. The issues we will want to negotiate for will include (but are not limited to) such items as which trees should be preserved, the placement of parking lots, the type and direction of lighting, along with architectural features such as building heights and balcony placement.

Why will the developer want to negotiate with us? Because we can affect the ease with which they can have the Yates property re-zoned. The land is currently zoned Temp R1, which is the standard zoning for undeveloped land annexed by the City of San Antonio. In order for the property to be developed according to the plan submitted by the Yates, it will need to be re-zoned. The area bordering our property will need to be zoned R3, for multi-family units. As part of the re-zoning process, residents within an established distance from the area to be developed will receive notices of the proposed re-zoning. The notices will ask if we approve of the proposal or not. Although the City Council could still approve the re-zoning whether we agreed with it or not, that would be unlikely. Does that mean we could prevent development of the area indefinitely? Probably not. But the fact that we could hold it up at all, and the City’s desire to make everyone happy, would motivate the developer to work with us to find a suitable arrangement.

Although the “grandfathering” of the property will prevent any new legislation protecting trees from applying to the Yates land, it has been suggested that we contact the City Arborist, Debbie Reed. The objective will be to identify the trees on the Yates property that we all feel are worth preserving, and ask her to aid in our negotiations with the developer. Please inform a board member if you have a tree of particular interest to you on the Yates property. Other factors we will want to address include the impact the development may have on endangered species, and the possibility of additional caves adjacent to our park that may affect their ability to build.

A couple of additional points are worth mentioning: 1) just because a development plan has been submitted, it doesn’t necessarily mean that construction will begin any time in the near future, and 2) it appears the land may be developed with the assistance of Pape Dawson Engineers, a firm that has a reputation for being environmentally friendly (all things considered).

We would like to hear any questions, comments or concerns you may have about the Yates land. We will do our best to keep you informed of the pending development.