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Next Tuesday will be your last chance to weigh in on the City of Boerne’s Mobility and Major Thoroughfare plans before the Boerne City Council votes to approve or send it back to the drawing board.
When: March 28, 2023, at 6 PM See notice here.
Where: Boerne City Hall, City Council Chambers, 447 N. Main Street, Boerne, TX 78006.
The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance is very concerned about the impact to Trinity and Edwards water supplies due to the large number of caves and recharge features that lie within the path of proposed major arterial roadways. Check out these maps to see the areas slated to be transected by future roadways.
In September of 2020, The Trinity Glen Rose Groundwater Conservation District passed a resolution stating that “the District opposes the development of any major proposed transportation project that may negatively affect recharge, water quality or water quantity of the groundwater resources”.
In August 2021 Directors of the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation Districts passed a similar resolution enumerating their concerns and requesting that “alternative/existing routes be given priority consideration to any route proposing a new crossing of the Cibolo Creek” and “if a proposed route must cross any sensitive recharge areas, then that route should be designed as an elevated parkway to limit on and off ramps and impact to the subsurface geology/hydrology.”
Directors say they are frustrated that Boerne continues to press for a road through this zone despite their resolution of opposition, which was based on the expert opinion Dr. George Veni, of one of the nation’s top hydrogeologists.
According to Lance Kyle, the Cascade Caverns proprietor, nobody from the City has visited his neighborhood to examine the impact of their plan on various geological and hydrological features. He didn’t get notification in the mail or a detailed map of the routes. But he finally discovered after examining some maps online that a new route went through the western side of the property right over the top of the Cascade Sink, the biggest cave on the property which serves as the effective “storm drain” for the 1,500-acre Cascade Caverns Watershed. This Sink is right over the top of the Middle Trinity Aquifer and, according to Dr. Veni, is part of the Edwards Aquifer Contributing Zone.
Citizens residing in Boerne’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) and Kendall County have voiced their objections to the Thoroughfare Roads mapped in the 2023 plan. They worry that the proposed roads will enable new high density development that will exacerbate flooding and negatively impact rural neighborhoods and groundwater supplies. They recommend amending the Mobility Plan to exclude the prospect of routing traffic to the east and south sections of unincorporated Kendall County. You can sign their petition opposing the projects here.
Many property owners directly impacted by the Thoroughfares live in areas they believed were protected by HOA and deed restrictions, covenants, conservation easements, and established smaller lot neighborhoods on dead end roads. Growth in Boerne and Kendall County has presented a conundrum for all parties concerned as to how Boerne can alleviate traffic congestion without paving the way for more suburban sprawl.
GEAA echoes the concerns of the Cow Creek and Trinity Glen Rose groundwater conservation districts and joins residents of Kendall County, Fair Oaks Ranch, north Bexar County, and Boerne who are asking the City of Boerne to reconsider their plan and look for alternative solutions that protect the rural neighborhoods in the ETJ and Unincorporated County.
We hope to see some of you at Boerne City Hall next Tuesday.
Annalisa Peace
Executive Director
Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance
2 Responses
DO NOT PUT THE SAFETY OF OUR WATER SOURCE IN JEOPRDY, OVER PERSONAL GAIN OR GREED! WE MUST PROTECT THIS RESOURCE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. DO NOT LEAVE THIS BURDEN ON THE NEXT GENERATION TO DEAL WITH THIS IRRESPOSIBLE DECISION TO MAKE ACCESS EASIER FOR DEVELOPERS TO LINE THEIR POCKETS. THE HILL COUNTRY IS A PIECE OF HEAVEN ON THIS GOD BLESSED COUNTY. DO NOT RUIN IT BY GREED. GREED WILL DEMOLISH WHAT HAS BEEN BUILT BY OUR HARD-WORKING ANCESTORS. DO NOT PASS THIS PLAN. THE WATER EXPERTS DISAPPROVE OF THIS PLAN. SO WHY DO YOU KEEP TRYING TO PASS THIS PARTICULAR PLAN. SHAME ON THE COMMITTEE WILLING TO PUT THE PUBLIC AND FUTURE GENERATIONS AT RISK FOR THEIR POOR DECISION MAKING/ GAIN. DO NOT APPROVE THIS PLAN!!!!
Our family adamantly objects to the ludicrous notion of condemning our private property to build trespass corridors delineated as walking paths that bisect our family property. Alleviating the traffic caused by the il-planned city streets of Boerne is one thing, but now you want to entice more people into the community by providing access to private ranches through a taking? This will never pass muster for the CCN process like a pipeline, roadway or transmission line; this is a walking path that allows the public to trespass in masses. This idea is not legal and should you choose to move forward, you will see a fierce legal battle putting the City of Boerne further in debt both financially and reputationally.
It is not the duty of the City of Boerne to provide luxurious amenities to the developers that are making millions of dollars chopping up ranches and mass-producing homes on every square inch. They can provide their own walking trails on their own property. Kindly leave us alone. Thank you.