Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing Tesla Road topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council continues Tesla Road rezoning after debate over affordable housing, charter pre‑K and pending state law
Summary
Council continued consideration of a mixed‑use rezoning for a 5.76‑acre Tesla Road site proposed by NRP Group, after a lengthy public hearing that split neighbors, educators and councilmembers over school impacts, a planned partnership with Gervin Academy and a state law due Sept. 1 that could allow higher‑density multifamily by right.
San Antonio City Council deferred action on a rezoning and Northwest community plan amendment for roughly 5.76 acres on the 5000 block of Tesla Road, asking the developer and education partners to return at the next zoning hearing.
The proposal from the NRP Group would amend the plan from community commercial to mixed use and rezone C2/C3 parcels to MXD with a cap of 25 units per acre to allow a multifamily project with about 78 units, and an on‑site pre‑K. James McKnight, representing the applicant, said the project would include "deep affordability" with units for families earning 30, 50 and 60 percent of area median income and that the development would provide 78 units, including at least 12 units for households at 30 percent AMI.
Several residents and neighborhood groups opposed the project, citing traffic, proximity to single‑family homes and water runoff concerns. Tim Crusoe and other speakers cited local crash data and safety concerns near Tesla and Grissom Road. Melina Espiritu Asokar, president of Northside AFT, said she supports affordable housing generally but opposed the project's planned partnership with Gervin Academy, describing it as "a direct threat to our neighborhood public schools" and raising concerns about accountability and the charter's Texas Education Agency rating.
Assistant City Manager and Development Services Director Mike Shannon told council members that state legislation (referred to in the hearing as SB 840) goes into effect Sept. 1 and could allow multifamily by right on commercially owned parcels, potentially enabling much higher density—up to roughly 65 units per acre—if the body takes no action.
Council members were split. Council member Galvan and others said the site is appropriate for multifamily and noted transit and commercial amenities nearby; District 6 Council member moved to deny but ultimately a motion to continue prevailed. The council voted to continue items 18 and 19 to the Aug. 21 zoning docket and asked that representatives from Gervin Academy and Northside AFT be present to speak at that hearing.
The continuance preserves the developer's ability to seek the MXD rezoning before the law change but also gives council and neighbors time to hear from the education partners and more technical information about traffic, school impacts and the proposed pre‑K operation.
