By Tony Garcia with Cynthia Spielman

When the Mayor's Housing Policy Task Force members briefed the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan Committee in June, only one recommendation was different from similar housing studies over the last 30 years: Implementation. (Scroll down to watch complete video or click on each speaker’s quote to watch their remarks.)

Leaders of the Westside Neighborhood Associations Coalition told the mayor, city council members and state representatives that they are being disrespected and treated like “guinea pigs” in the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan process.

Tier One Neighborhood Coalition members met to learn about proposed changes to San Antonio's Land Use categories. More than 40 people from about 22 neighborhoods came to the meeting at San Antonio College. As part of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan, city planners have proposed new land use categories that they say should be applied consistently, across the city.

Updated: District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño said the San Antonio Planning Department is “not going to take another step forward” on the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan without including the neighborhoods as true partners in the process.

By Cynthia Spielman and Cosima Colvin Neighborhood Plans are civic engagement and grassroots democracy at its most local level. They were created by ordinary people who care about their community and were willing to work, to participate and to engage with their neighbors in a real partnership with the city under the 1998 Community Building and Neighborhood Planning Program.   We spent hundreds of hours planning, facilitating and attending meetings. We talked to one another, and sometimes struggled with ideas until we finally came to a consensus.

Residents of the near-downtown Mahncke Park Neighborhood Association were surprised and upset when a city planner told them the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan process would discard their long-standing and detailed Neighborhood Plan, developed at the city’s request.

In direct contradiction of a city ordinance and the promise of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan, city staffers are systematically eliminating long-standing neighborhood plans designed to protect the character and future of San Antonio’s urban core communities. The news came as an unwelcome surprise to city council members at the Comprehensive Plan Committee’s April 19 meeting where they were being briefed on the $1.05 million SA Tomorrow Year Two consulting contract that is up for approval in May.

The City of San Antonio is kicking off its “Breathe Today. SA Tomorrow.” air quality public education campaign to encourage businesses and residents to help reduce air pollution. The campaign will include blogger meet-ups, media outreach, neighborhood events, industry roundtables, social media postings and print and digital advertising. “Everyone has a role to play regarding our air quality,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Douglas Melnick, “and this is a message we want people to understand and take action on to help us maintain clean air.”

How do the four candidates for City Council District 2 feel about Neighborhood Conservation Districts, Infill Development Zoning, the city’s S.A.