SAN ANTONIO – Pecan Valley residents said they’re fed up with broken promises for community development catered to disabled veterans.
The community would be called Valor Club.
People in the neighborhood said they’ve been waiting for six years and little has been done.
The Master's Ranch apartments are the only sign of new development, and residents complain that it’s been taken over by the San Antonio Housing Authority, or SAHA. Some residents who are living there aren’t veterans.
Valor Club Chairman Dan Pedrotti said the plan has always been for SAHA to own the property.
“It sometimes takes that long to perfect your plans, frankly to work with the neighborhoods and the community at large to make sure we've tailored it just right," Pedrotti said. “The plan of it being owned by SAHA was from the beginning. That's always been the process. It's a tax credit housing project."
At a meeting Tuesday, Pecan Valley residents showed up in strong opposition to a rezoning initiative, which would classify the area as mixed-use, with residential properties and some commercial.
As it stands, the area is classified as multi-family and allows for up to 3,500 living units, including single-family residential and general commercial. If approved on Thursday, the proposal would change it to mixed-use, meaning residential rules would allow no more than 1,400 units and “light” commercial.
Neighbors said plans now include apartments where they expected houses, and they don’t want them there.
“We do not want this in our neighborhood. Take it and put it somewhere else," said Dotti Bierschwale, a Pecan Valley homeowner. “We don't believe in this man (Pedrotti). Everything he told us has been wrong.”
“If they're adamant about putting apartments, I'm totally against it," said David Torres, a veteran and Pecan Valley homeowner.