SCHERTZ, Texas – On Nov. 4, voters in Schertz will decide on Proposition A, which relates to building regulations around JBSA Randolph in the areas that are in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) within five miles of the military base.
Brian James, the deputy city manager for the City of Schertz, shared why this election is so important for the area.
“What it’s intended to do is make sure that development on those properties doesn’t do anything to negatively impact the mission of the base,” James said. “So for instance, with the flight mission and the pilot training out there, or flight instructor training, we don’t want tall things built.”
Therefore, voters who live in this ETJ within five miles of the base will get two options at the polls.
If Option One is passed, voters would annex their land into the City of Schertz.
“(The city) would provide police, fire, EMS protection just like we do for other areas of the cities,” James said. “But the drawback to that is they would pay property taxes just like other people in the city to help pay for those services, and then there would be the full slew of city regulations, zoning controls, code enforcement.”
If Option Two is passed, the land would not be within the City of Schertz, curbing annexation, but land use regulations would be imposed on the areas.
“Any activity on property around the base that creates a lot of dust, that’s problematic for the base for the flight mission,” James said. “Height restrictions, dust, lighting, glare, there’s some land use restrictions. So the areas that have higher noise levels due to the planes flying over, there could be some restrictions.”
The only people who can vote on the proposition are people who live and vote with an address registered in that area.
This is not the first time a vote like this has happened in the area.
The City of San Antonio held a similar vote in 2018 regarding homes around Camp Bullis and Camp Stanley. Voters decided to allow land use regulations to be imposed rather than be annexed into the City of San Antonio.
Schertz voters will also decide on their mayor and councilmember 2. Councilmember 1 will also be on the ballot, however, based on the Schertz election website, only one person is running for that position.
Election Day is Nov. 4.
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