SAN ANTONIO – It’s back to the drawing board to decide if hundreds of San Antonio residents will have to move.
The Concepcion Creek Drainage Project has been a big conversation on the West Side for years. The City of San Antonio said it’s taking a new approach to the project and tabling old plans.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is updating its maps to show what areas in San Antonio are at risk for flooding. The city said new draft plans show more than 4,000 structures in District 5 are at risk.
The city presented previous proposals to the community about building a detention pond to create a proactive response to these maps. But to build that bond, roughly 100 to 150 homes would need to be removed.
Virginia Castro’s home was on that list.
“We’re just waiting,” Castro said. “Are we going to keep the house? Are we going to lose the house? We don’t know.”
She’s not alone.
“We don’t want to lose our homes,” said Eddie Medina. “We just want to be at the table and be heard and be seen.”
The city said it’s taking a new approach to put communication at the forefront of the project. Public Works and District 5 created the Concepcion Creek Drainage Neighborhood Stakeholder Group to “play a vital role in working with City staff to provide valuable insights.”
“We’re eager for this process to get started,” District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo said. “We’ve appointed trustworthy community members who will serve as liaisons to the community and direct the conversation on what these alternatives will look like.”
Here’s what we know about the group so far:
Ten “stakeholders” who live in the floodplain have been selected, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their homes were on the potential removal list for the proposed drainage pond.
Public Works said the District 5 office appointed these community representatives.
Castillo said these people were selected because they are “trusted community members who have been good stewards of public information.”
The group met for the first time on Wednesday night. Dozens of people sat in the audience for the inaugural meeting.
At multiple times, people in the crowd spoke up and asked questions about the selection process of the group. Some vocalized frustration that the meeting had not been publicized.
Jessica Shirley-Saenz with the Storm Water Division of San Antonio Public Works said the meeting was intended for just “stakeholders,” but told the audience their message was heard “loud and clear.”
“We didn’t do a good job the first time around,” Shirley-Saenz said. “We are committed to doing better.”
So far, no new plans have been created or presented for the drainage project. In June, the city plans to hire a design firm to create community workshops. The city will be accepting $1.38 million as part of the Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program to do so.
The city has not yet published a page for this team on SA Speak Up.
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