Leon Valley council directs manager to draft development agreement to preserve Hebner Road silos

Mayor Chris Riley reconvened the Leon Valley City Council on March 3 and reported that councilmembers had reached an agreement intended to preserve the silos on Hebner Road and avoid demolition.

Local resident Kathy Hill told the council she and neighbors value the silos as a landmark and urged any developer to incorporate them into new plans rather than tear them down. "They are iconic to Hebner Road," Hill said, urging the council to "stick to our deep roots and big ideas." The mayor thanked Hill for raising the issue and said staff would take the comments to heart.

Council later returned from executive session and acted. Councilor Mersch moved and Councilor Roscoe seconded a motion directing the city manager to draft a development agreement with the developer identified in the executive session (named in the transcript as RC Bandarou). The motion carried on a voice vote. After the vote the mayor said the council had a "win‑win agreement" and stated, "we're not going to be tearing them down." The council indicated a draft development agreement would be available in the April timeframe for further review.

Why it matters: The silos are on property the council earlier identified for executive-session discussion under Texas Government Code section 551.072 (real‑property deliberation). Residents and councilors framed the matter as a balance of preserving a local landmark while permitting redevelopment; the motion directs staff to convert the council's direction from executive session into a formal development agreement for future public consideration.

Next steps: Staff was directed to prepare a draft development agreement consistent with the executive‑session discussion and return it to the council, with council members noting an expected April timeframe for the draft.