SAN ANTONIO – The mayors of San Antonio and Converse signed the official annexation documents between the two cities Tuesday.
The mood inside City Hall during the signing was a combination of excitement, happiness and even relief. It’s a deal that’s been in the making for about a decade.
San Antonio’s City Council approved the annexation deal March 9 and the Converse City Council gave the go-ahead March 21.
The signing Tuesday made the deal official.
The 17-year agreement states that Converse will absorb some San Antonio and Bexar County land along Interstate 10 East. The deal will expand Converse from just over 7 square miles to over 22 square miles. That includes the Glen, Camelot and Northampton neighborhoods.
Converse will also manage growth and operations near Randolph Air Force Base.
Both mayors call the deal a win-win.
“I know Converse had concerns about their ability to grow, their economic development, because some of their developable land is constrained by the military. And we had concerns about being able to provide services to some underserved areas of unincorporated Bexar County,” San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor said.
“This plan does not affect the existing citizens of Converse as far as for cost. This plan was put together by the city of San Antonio and Converse in a way that it would pay for itself and have a lot more resources left over,” Converse Mayor Al Suarez said.
The annexation plan has six separate phases. The first will start Tuesday night at the Converse City Council meeting, but there could be one possible setback. On Wednesday, there is a state House committee hearing on several bills that would place additional annexation restrictions on Texas cities.
San Antonio and Converse representatives worry the bills could jeopardize all the work they put into their agreement. They’ve had teams at the Capitol protesting the legislation throughout the session, and they’ll be there Wednesday.
View summaries for each of the bills here.
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