City of San Antonio will push back decision on Brackenridge trees, hold three public-input meetings

Following outcry from environmentalists and neighborhood groups, the city of San Antonio has pushed back until June a decision whether to remove 104 trees at Brackenridge Park to facilitate repairs of crumbling structures there.

On Monday afternoon, City Manager Erik Walsh appeared to relent on the plan, which would have felled at least 10 heritage trees as part of a park improvement bond project. In a statement, Walsh said he wants the community to "understand the full context of the project" but offered no specifics about community meetings or a timetable.

Those details emerged Wednesday afternoon at a press conference in the park held by District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez. McKee-Rodriguez and District 1 Councilman Mario Bravo lobbied Walsh to put off a Historic and Design Review Commission ruling on the plan scheduled for later this week.

"The decision to withdraw the request for HDRC approval at this time presents an opportunity to restore public trust and to collaborate with stakeholders who may not have had the opportunity to be heard previously," McKee-Rodriguez said. "The decision to remove trees at this scale isn't one that any of us take lightly, and we're eager for the opportunity to facilitate continued discussion."

During the presser, the first-term councilman unveiled plans for three public-input sessions, which would explore alternatives to cutting the trees. The first of those will take place Tuesday, March 22 at a yet-undecided location.

During the delay, city staff will also work up a concrete plan for repairing the wall and other structures, something they didn't do before moving ahead on plans to remove the trees, McKee-Rodriguez said.

City staff have defended the removal plan, saying they only targeted trees that threaten historic structures. They promised to plant 219 new trees in the park to offset the environmental effects.

When asked about the whether parts of the wall could be moved — something staff argues would violate state historic-preservation rules — McKee-Rodriguez said he doesn't see protecting the trees or keeping the wall as an either-or proposition.

"Over the next few months, we'll have the opportunity for community engagement, and I think where the community sets the priority will take precedence," he said.

While the councilman called the delay a "victory," activists said they're prepared to push back at staff's insistence that they must remove trees to carry out the $7.75 million in planned park improvements.

"This is just a delay to keep us quiet," said Rose Hill, president of the Government Hill Alliance. "We're not stopping. The battle is just beginning."

Speaking after McKee-Rodriguez, Native American activist Laura Rios Ramirez said a transparent public discussion will benefit both residents and the birds that rely on the trees for their habitat. It will also honor those who have enjoyed the land for generations, she added.

"By disrupting and displacing these trees, it represents the displacement of our people, all of the things that have been done to us," she sad. "What we're really talking about is repairing and healing the various ways in which our communities have been harmed."

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