{"id":213300,"date":"2026-03-20T19:27:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/213300\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T19:27:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:27:35","slug":"san-antonio-city-council-oks-rule-to-stop-future-developments-from-displacing-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/213300\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio City Council OKs rule to stop future developments from displacing residents"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A pitcher throws during an early season San Antonio Missions baseball game. Credit: San Antonio Current Staff<\/p>\n

Roughly a year and a half after the city OKed a new minor league baseball park whose surrounding development will raze one of downtown\u2019s few low-cost apartment complexes, City Council voted to make it harder for such a project to move forward in the future.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, council voted unanimously to restrict the use of public subsidies for future projects that could displace people from existing residential properties. <\/p>\n

When the San Antonio Missions\u2019 new ballpark was first proposed in August 2024<\/a>, Weston Urban\u2019s plan included demolishing the low-cost Soap Factory apartments, which the firm owned, and replacing them with lifestyle amenities such as shops, restaurants, hotels and higher-end apartments.<\/p>\n

This week, Weston Urban submitted documents to the city\u2019s Office of Historic Preservation that confirmed the developer\u2019s plans to build two apartment towers with a combined 681 units along with an eight-story hotel with roughly 160 rooms near the ballpark site. <\/p>\n

The city plans to use an increase in property tax revenue tied to the surrounding development to pay back the $128 million in bonds it\u2019s issuing to help fund the stadium. Documents released this week describe the ballpark project as a \u201cseries of structures\u201d as opposed to a \u201csingular mass\u201d along Camaron, Kingsbury and Flores streets.<\/p>\n

At the time project was proposed, critics said it violated the city\u2019s policy of refusing to subsidize projects that displace residents from their homes<\/a> \u2014 in this case, those in the Soap Factory apartments. That complex includes 381 units, although it\u2019s unclear exactly how many people have so far been forced to relocate. <\/p>\n

However, city officials said the plan didn\u2019t run afoul of the rules because the actual stadium itself wouldn\u2019t displace anyone. The ballpark is being built on a vacant parking lot previously owned by San Antonio Independent School District as part of the Fox Tech campus, and only the surrounding retail, restaurants and other projects would displace tenants.<\/p>\n

City Council\u2019s Thursday vote appears to signal a change of heart \u2014\u00a0even if it doesn\u2019t go so far as to undo the damage to Soap Factory tenants. <\/p>\n

As part council\u2019s unanimously approved ordinance, all developers seeking city financial help on future developments must show how a proposed project \u2014 in its entirety \u2014\u00a0will affect residents nearby. As part of that, developers must submit a \u201cdisplacement impact assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n

If a proposed project will force homeowners or renters to move out, the developer will be required to provide a plan to address that replacement, which may include offering relocation assistance to tenants.<\/p>\n

District 4 Councilman Edward Munguia, who championed the change, said he was inspired to tighten regulations as a result of the Soap Factory displacement. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the midst of a housing affordability crisis, the last thing our residents need is for displacement to occur at or near sites of development projects using public funds,\u201d Mungia\u2019s office said in a statement after the vote. \u201cWe have a responsibility to ensure that we preserve and protect the current affordable housing stock in our city while balancing our commitment to supporting economic development projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

The San Antonio Missions\u2019 new ballpark is projected to open in 2028.<\/p>\n

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