The recently proposed plans by Doggett Freightliner Properties for developing a freight liner dealership and service center in San Antonio's Paloma neighborhood have met stiff opposition from the local community and hit a wall with the city's zoning commission. As the San Antonio Report outlines, the neighborhood has been battling the rezoning of a 34-acre land parcel—a move that would pave the way for the heavy vehicle dealership directly next to a residential area.
Residents, banding together under the collective fear of depreciating property values and potential pollution, managed to sway the Zoning Commission's decision in a recent vote. As reported by KSAT, one of the residents, Jo Most, made her stance clear stating, "They shouldn't make money at a community’s expense." The Paloma neighborhood, comprised of 1,344 homes, now faces an uncertain future in light of potential commercial expansion to its boundary.
The Zoning Commission's deliberations highlighted an internal conflict between the appropriateness of commercial zoning along a major highway and the unsuitability of industrial developments near residential precincts. Commissioner John Bustamante admitted, "I find this, like many of our cases, to be very difficult," describing the dichotomy faced by the Commission, which is detailed in the San Antonio Report's coverage of the event. In the end, the commissioners voted nine to one in recommending a denial of the rezoning application.
Adding to the public uproar, a luxury apartment complex currently under construction has joined the chorus against Doggett’s proposal. Ryan Harden from RightQuest Residential, which oversees the complex, argued for the continuity of the zoning overlay, telling San Antonio Report, "We assumed that that zoning and that overlay would be upheld by the city." The luxury apartments are nearing completion, and the potential influx of heavy trucks and the accompanying infrastructure challenge the prior vision for the neighborhood's development.
Despite all this, the Planning Commission had previously voted in favor of changing the zoning overlay from urban living to commercial, and annexing part of the Doggett property from the city's extra-territorial jurisdiction. These recommendations, yet to be considered by the City Council until at least August, have become points of contention, as highlighted in San Antonio Report.
While Doggett Freightliner has made moves to address community concerns—such as agreeing to build an 8-foot masonry fence and limit dealership operating hours—the community's stance remains firmly opposed. "This is not going to make it inviting for our community that’s already out here on an island by ourselves," Paloma resident Corey Thomas told the commission, as reported by the San Antonio Report.
