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San Antonio council approves multiple zoning items, continues several rezonings after resident comments
Summary
The San Antonio City Council on April 17 approved a group of consent zoning items and several individual land-use actions — including a reduced-density multifamily rezoning, a conditional auto-repair use and a land-use change near the airport — and continued other rezonings after residents raised safety and neighborhood-character concerns.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio City Council on April 17 approved a group of consent zoning items and three individual land-use actions, and continued several other rezonings after residents raised safety and neighborhood character concerns.
The council approved the consent zoning agenda (items 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12) by voice vote. Two speakers urged caution on consent items: Jack Finger spoke about item 7, warning against allowing another used-car lot in District 1, and Jorge Duran said item 11 regularizes a parking lot that has been used as parking for about 10 years.
Councilmembers voted to approve item 8, a rezoning that was originally proposed as a four-unit site plan but was amended by the applicant to three units and accepted by staff and the neighborhood. The change rezoned the property from R-4 to RM-5 with the revised three-unit site plan; the approval does not make short-term rentals a by-right use. City staff had recommended denial of the original request; the Zoning Commission recommended approval. The record shows 37 notices mailed, 0 in favor and 3 opposed; the Coliseum Willow Park Neighborhood Association indicated support.
The council also approved item 9, rezoning a property from R-6 to C-1 CD (conditional commercial) with a specific conditional use for auto and light-truck repair at 1245 Bowling Street. The approval included the zoning commission’s recommended conditions: no temporary signage (including wind wavers, snipes, bridal or pennant signs), required downward-facing lighting, and hours of operation limited to Monday–Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Staff had recommended denial; the zoning commission recommended approval with those conditions.
Items 16 and 17 — an amendment to the San Antonio International Airport vicinity land-use plan (adopted 2010) to change the designation at 528 Bridal Lee Road from parks and open space to neighborhood commercial, and a rezoning from R-5 to NCS with a specific use authorization for athletic fields and outdoor uses — were approved with amendments after the applicant submitted an amended site plan. Planning staff and the zoning commission recommended approval. The record shows 25 notices mailed, one in favor and five opposed (one opposition was outside the 200-foot notification area).
Several items were postponed or continued. Items 1, 2 and 4 were postponed by the applicant and were not heard. Item 3 was withdrawn. The council continued items 14 and 15 to May 15, 2025; that continuance passed 9–0 with two members absent. Items 10 and 13 were continued to June 5, 2025; that continuance also passed 9–0 with two members absent.
Public comment highlighted resident concerns over neighborhood impacts. Jack Finger spoke repeatedly about several zoning items, urging the council to deny proposals he said would add liquor or used-car businesses or ‘‘shoehorn’’ multiple units into small lots. Jorge Duran said item 11 formalizes a parking lot that has functioned as parking for about a decade. Juan Perez, speaking for a church near a proposed liquor-selling business on the items continued to June 5, said the church is within 200 feet of the proposed store and that “our concern is safety,” adding that increased alcohol access could increase intoxicated patrons and strain city services. Shannon Dunnell McKinney described personal safety concerns near short-term rental properties, saying, “I’ve had men looking in my bedroom with me in bed at an Airbnb on my right side.”
Council discussion and votes followed procedural rules for the zoning docket. Several items were approved after applicants amended proposals and after zoning-commission recommendations for mitigations such as reduced unit counts, restricted hours and lighting requirements. When continuances were called, councilmembers set return dates and did not vote on the merits of those items.
What’s next: Continued items 10 and 13 are scheduled for the June 5, 2025 zoning docket; items 14 and 15 are scheduled for May 15, 2025. Items postponed by applicants (1, 2 and 4) will return only if the applicants re-notice them. The council adjourned at 2:29 p.m.
