San Antonio City Council unanimously approved new zoning rules and a policy framework Thursday that are aimed at transit-oriented development (TOD). The rules are meant to encourage bus ridership, area walkability and density along mass transit corridors in the city — which are planned but not yet built.
“Ultimately, where we are going with TOD is in an effort to rein in sprawl that makes our city less desirable, more expensive and less sustainable,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said after the vote. The goal is “to tie our transportation system planning with our land use and make it so that you don’t have to have a car to get where you need to go in the city.”
Much of the policy framework, developed over the course of more than a year by a task force and committee, is aimed at removing barriers for more residential, commercial and mixed-use development surrounding mass transit routes, which VIA Metropolitan Transit calls “advanced rapid transit” or ART. (It’s more commonly known as “bus rapid transit.”)
Other sections are aimed at mitigating the impacts development may have on neighborhoods, such as increased property values and gentrification.
Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) proposed allowing the sale of alcohol within the TOD boundaries to make the zoning process easier for small businesses. That amendment was successful with just Nirenberg and Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8) opposed. The sale of alcohol will still be restricted on properties close to schools.
A major concern of several residents is that TOD and the new Green Line will displace low-income residents — the primary users of mass transit in San Antonio — from the new bus routes.
Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5), who has been skeptical of TOD for that very reason, said she believes that the city is well-poised to mitigate those impacts through the city’s $150 million housing bond, proliferation of land trusts and development of other policies to improve housing affordability.
“There is a commitment to invest in anti-displacement policies,” Castillo said.
The now-$480 million ART Green Line will be a faster and more frequent bus route from the airport that will run through downtown to the missions. VIA also has plans to build the east-west Silver Line in 2027, which could run from North Gen. McMullen Drive on the West Side along West Commerce Street and East Houston Street to the Frost Bank Center on the East Side.
The zoning rules and map approved Thursday will apply to areas surrounding the Green Line, slated for completion in 2027. Lots that are currently zoned for single-family use within the urban core are ineligible for TOD zoning.
Another process is underway to customize the boundaries and parameters for the Silver Line, which is scheduled to break ground in 2029.
While VIA’s Green Line and the city’s TOD policy are separate, independent initiatives, the organizations have been collaborating for years to align them.
Council’s action does not automatically rezone any properties, but property owners can now apply to change their zoning to the new TOD designations. Ultimately, those changes are approved by City Council after a formal, public process.
These massive initiatives have some neighborhood leaders nervous they will bring too much traffic and change to some of the city’s oldest neighborhoods such as Monte Vista and Tobin Hill.
While the Monte Vista Historical Association pushed for changes related to parking in the city’s proposal, the Tobin Hill Community Association was in support.
Others fear that advanced rapid transit won’t deliver on promises of economic or transportation benefits for residents. One of the biggest concerns among residents who signed up to speak Thursday, many of whom live in historic urban neighborhoods, was parking.
On-site parking is not required for mixed-use development inside the TOD boundaries, but several residents are concerned that will mean people will park on their narrow neighborhood streets.
Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7) proposed some minimum parking requirements for certain types of properties, but that amendment was not successful. Gavito, Pelaez and Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) voted in favor.
In a successful TOD area, parking won’t be a priority because people are using mass transit, Nirenberg said. “It doesn’t mean we’re eliminating parking it just means that every single development isn’t required to have a certain amount of space devoted for these asphalt parking lots.”
And parking requirements make housing more expensive as the developers pass that cost on to renters or buyers, he said.
“The council member’s amendment watered [the policy] down just a bit,” Nirenberg added. “I understand why she made it. I just think that, ultimately, we need to take some significant steps forward to actually implement TOD.”
TOD and bus rapid transit are key elements of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan adopted by City Council in 2016. TOD is part of the city’s affordable housing policy adopted in 2018, as well as the implementation plan in 2021. The city’s climate action plan also prioritizes TOD.
Like the housing policy, the city will ultimately adopt an implementation plan for TOD, which will be developed by the city next year.
Councilman John Courage (D9) was absent from the vote.
This story has been updated to include Monte Vista Historical Association and the Tobin Hill Community Association’s support of the proposal.
