Last-minute protests from the downtown business community this week blew up months of careful planning and negotiation forDowntown San Antonio has been in District 1 for decades. But a new City Council map scheduled for approval this month split the area between District 1 and District 5 on the West Side.
“The central business district’s continued viability is important to the overall economic recovery and success of our community,” Perez said. “We believe now is not the time to begin to slice off sections of the central business district and risk diminishing this important economic engine.”Some San Antonio neighborhoods are about to get a new City Council representative.
District 5 representatives said they had no idea District 1 was going to ask to maintain downtown. Amy Kastely, one of the District 5 appointees, accused Jordan Ghawi, a District 1 appointee, of retaliating against her for her vote on Brackenridge Park, though Ghawi disputed that characterization.She said the move wasn’t transparent for residents who didn’t speak up because they thought it was settled. In the end, the committee added a last meeting tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m.
In arguing District 1 should recapture downtown, Ghawi made a case for the numbers. The prior final proposed map left District 1 with the least population and gave the overall map a deviation of just under the legally permissible 10 percent. Although the western edge of downtown has long sat in District 1, Kastely said the area holds historical and cultural value for the West Side. Residents from the area will want to come out and talk about the change if confronted with it, she said.
The debate over downtown overshadowed another expected vote Tuesday on Brackenridge Park. The plan placed all of the 349-acre park into District 1, instead of keeping it split between District 1 and District 2.Brackenridge Park split draws attention as San Antonio City Council looks at proposed map