CITY OF SAN ANTONIO
MANNY PELAEZ
OFFICE OF CITY COUNCILMAN
DISTRICT 8

August 20, 2018
Nico LaHood
Bexar County Criminal District Attorney
Paul Elizondo Tower
101 W. Nueva Street
4th Floor
San Antonio, Texas 78205
Dear District Attorney Nico LaHood,
My constituents and I are furious, and I need your immediate attention to their
concerns. Their anger is merited and it arises from the series of events set forth in
the two newspaper articles I am attaching to this letter. My constituents have
requested I reach out to you and advocate for an investigation.
This case involves The Mansions at La Cantera apartment project located at 16735
La Cantera Parkway, near the US Army's Camp Bullis. When the City of San Antonio's
Development Services Department (DSD) learned that the developer had submitted
forms that contained false information, we moved quickly to stop the developer
from continuing to work on this site. The form in question is the mandatory Habitat
Compliance Form (HCF).
However, we were too late. Before we were able to stop the work, he razed
approximately 38 acres of trees - - important tree assets that our partners at the
Army's Camp Bullis rely on to ensure that higher numbers of certain endangered
species of birds and insects do not move onto the military base. The military has
been very specific about its need to protect its base from higher concentrations of
these animals that comes about from razing entire swaths of land near the military
base.
Since 2008, the City of San Antonio has prioritized working closely with the
Department of Defense to protect land around military installations. In 2009 the city
passed our initial Habitat Compliance ordinance, and since then, we have put in
place policies such as our tree preservation ordinance, our Military Sound
Attenuation Overlay District (MLOD), and the Southern Edwards Aquifer Plateau
Conservation plan.

P.O. BOX 839966 • SAN ANTONIO, TX 78283-3966 • TEL: 210-207-7086 • FAX 210-207-7027 • E-MAIL: DISTRICT8@SANANTONIO.GOV

 The MLOD was also expanded during this time for the sole purpose of protecting the
missions at our military bases like Camp Bullis. We have spent many millions of
dollars implementing these protections.
We relied upon the representations made in the affidavit the Mr. Hiles submitted to
us. We now know that that his representations were demonstrably false. The
misrepresentations on these documents give rise to our suspicion that a felony has
been committed.
As you know, if an affiant makes a false statement under an affidavit's jurat, he is
liable for perjury, just as if he had lied on the stand before a judge and jury. Per
Texas Penal Code § 37.01, et seq., a person is guilty of aggravated perjury by
affidavit if he signs an affidavit in connection with an official proceeding and if the
statement materially affected the course or outcome of the official proceeding.
Aggravated perjury is a third degree felony is punishable by 2 to 10 years in state
prison and fines of up to $10,000.
In this instance, the affidavit submitted by the developer was connected to an
official proceeding (namely the request that the City grant him permission to
proceed with site preparation). Also, the statements he submitted to us were
material because we relied on them in considering his request.
If in fact Mr. Hiles has committed a felony, then my constituents and I urge your

offices to investigate and take appropriate action to make Mr. Hiles answer for his
violations. My constituents have invested millions of dollars to live in an area rich in
trees and habitat. Each of them has complied with local and federal rules and they
have abided by these restrictions. However, it looks as if Mr. Hiles decided that
breaking the law was a risk-free proposition. Perhaps he thought nobody would
notice his documents were fakes?
I request that you prove to him that submitting false documents -- sworn documents
-- is not the way to get ahead in Texas.
Sincerely,

~~:v~~

Councilman Manny Pelaez

cc: Commissioner Kevin Wolff

P.O. BOX 839966 • SAN ANTONIO, TX 78283-3966 • TEL: 210-207-7086 • FAX 210-207-7027 • E-MAIL: DISTRICT8@SANANTONIO.GOV

 Local

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City says developer who clear cut
trees was foil owing rules
By John Tedesco

f

I

June 29, 2018

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Updated: June 29, 2018 10:oopm

<p

Photo: William Luther I San Antonio Express-News

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IMAGE 1OF6
Heavy equipment clears land. This is the view from Washita Way northwest of Loop 1604 and Interstate 10.

 For years, the neighborhood of Legend Hills on the far Northwest Side lived up to its name.
Residents enjoyed sweeping views of rolling, tree-covered terrain at the gateway to the Hill
Country.

"We had a beautiful view," said homeowner Nancy Halvorson, who moved to Legend Hills
more than three years ago. "It was lush and green and absolutely gorgeous."
That all changed this week when the
bulldozers arrived.
On an untouched hillside near La Cantera
Parkway, crews are clearing away 38 acres
of trees to build the Mansions at La

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Cantera, a luxury apartment complex
owned by a Grand Prairie development
firm.

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your existing account here

Real estate developer Matt Hiles, vice
president of the firm that owns the 46-acre
property, did not return phone and email
messages this week. Residents say the
project was a rude awakening for them.
"It's been a shock to see them denude the hillside," said John Kelly, president of the
Crownridge of Texas Owners Association, which oversees Legend Hills and the surrounding
area.
San Antonio has spent decades grappling with a vexing question: how to balance the rights of
property owners who want to develop land and residents who want to protect the city's beauty
and natural resources.
It's a problem with no easy answers for a rapidly growing city. Last month, figures released
by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that San Antonio saw the largest population growth in the

 country - 24 ,208 residents - between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017.
The city has passed development rules that were intended to reduce the effect of urban sprawl.
But while the rules help preserve some trees, they don't prevent clear-cuts that scar hillsides.
City officials said Hiles' company isn't only complying with the 2006 tree preservation
ordinance - his firm is exceeding its requirements.

"Certainly the ordinance does allow you to take down a percentage of trees," said Michael
Shannon, director of the city's Development Services Department.
Shannon said the tree preservation rules were hashed out in citizen committees that spent
years trying to reach compromises that everyone could live with.
"What's the right balance?" Shannon said. "That's always the key. Because we don't want all
developments to bulldoze everything." But the city also understands that in real estate
development, some trees have to be removed, he added.
At the Mansions at La Cantera, Hiles' development firm plans to leave 8 acres of trees
untouched. The preserved area includes a buffer zone between the apartments and the Legend
Hills neighborhood, according to a tree mitigation plan filed with the city by MBC Engineers
on behalf of the development firm.
Under the city's rules, the 8 acres of preserved trees mitigate the loss of the bulldozed trees on
the rest of the property.
Richard Alles, a longtime tree advocate who has pressed the city to strengthen its tree
preservation rules, said the ordinances aren't perfect. But Alles insists that some protection is
better than no protection, and he noted that San Antonio could lose the rules altogether if the
Legislature steps in. Gov. Greg Abbott has criticized cities for enacting tree protection rules.
"There are projects all over the city you can point to and say, 'Those trees wouldn't be there if
it wasn't for the tree ordinance,'" Alles said.

 At past public meetings, members of the real estate industry have vehemently disagreed,
saying developers have an inherent reason to save trees: money.
Trees add value to a property. People like

RELATED

them. And developers say they're already
City allows controversial
project to continue

preserving as many trees as possible.
The Mansions at La Cantera is near Camp
Bullis, a military training ground where

Northwest Side residents
vent after acres of trees
bulldozed in
environmentally sensitive
area

the Army has raised concerns about lost
habitat for the endangered golden-cheeked
warbler. The songbird builds nests from
the bark of mature Ashe juniper trees,
which had covered parts of the property

City halts construction project over endangered
species concerns

where the apartments are being built.
It's unclear if Hiles conducted recent
surveys to determine if warblers were nesting in the area. A past property owner had hired
Pape-Dawson Engineers to conduct a study in 2011 to determfoe if any warblers nested on the
tract of land, according to a copy of the study released Friday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
In six visits to the property, biologists briefly spotted one chirping male warbler. The bird flew
off the property and continued to sing. The biologists concluded that it was unlikely that the
bird claimed the area as his territory, and no other warblers were seen.
The bird survey noted that the property was dominated by Ashe juniper trees ranging between
15 and 30 feet tall and live oak trees ranging between 20 and 35 feet tall.
As the arrival of more and more people to San Antonio irrevocably changes the city, residents
of Legend Hills. acknowledge that Hiles owns the property and has the right to develop it.
Their concern is about how it's .being done.
Halvorson said she 's one of the lucky ones - part of her view of the hill remains

 unblemished. But farther down her street, her neighbors aren't so fortunate.

"The whole entire area behind their homes has just been decimated," she said. "They're just
sick about it."
John Tedesco is a San Antonio .Express-News investigative reporter. Read more of his stories
here . I jtedesco @express-news.net I Twitter: @Jolm_Tedesco

John Tedesco
Investigative Reporter
San Antonio ExpressNews

I

 San .Antonio E.~t'tSs·Nctus

Local

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City allows controversial project to
continue
By John Tedesco

I

August 17, 2018

I

Updated: August 17, 2018 8:09pm

f

Photo: William Luther, Staff I San Antonio Express-News

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IMAGE60F7
Large equipment clears land Wednesday, June 27, 2018 seen from Washita Way north west of the Loop 1604 and 11O intersection on San Antonio's north side.

 More than a month after city officials halted a real estate project on the Northwest Side that
destroyed potential habitat for endangered species, officials said Friday that they have little
choice but to let the work continue.

At issue was whether developer Matt Hiles
had provided correct information to the
city when he claimed that his 500-unit
apartment complex wouldn't harm
endangered golden-cheeked warblers and

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karst invertebrates - small beetles and
arachnids that live underground.
Assistant City Manager Rod Sanchez said
Friday that Hiles has submitted new

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your existing account here

paperwork that meets city requirements
but that officials will continue to watch the
project closely.
"We got what we need," Sanchez said . "This is what we asked for, and they gave it to us."
Reached on his cellphone Friday, Hiles, of
Grand Prairie, declined to comment,
saying he had "no statement of any kind."
In a past interview, his engineer, David Allen, had insisted that Hiles had done nothing wrong
and met all the requirements for the 46-acre development, called the Mansions at La Cantera.
Hiles' development company had upset neighbors earlier this summer when it bulldozed up to
38 acres of trees on a heavily wooded hillside.
"It's like a nuclear bomb just went off in my district," City Councilman Manriy Pelaez said .
"Everybody is furious."
To obtain city permits for the project, Hiles had filled out a "habitat compliance form" in

 August 2016 that stated that his project wouldn't harm warblers or karst invertebrates.
In a sworn affidavit with the form, Hiles told the city that a 2011 study by biologist Valerie
Collins showed that neither species would be harmed.

But a copy of Collins' study obtained by the San Antonio Express-News showed that she had
focused only on warblers, not karst invertebrates.
A former owner of the property had hired Collins in 2011. Her employer, Pape-Dawson
Engineers, complained that Hiles had never told the firm he was using Collins' work for his
own project years later.
The city ~an't enforce the Endangered Species Act, a federal law. But officials temporarily
stopped Hiles' project July 3 in an attempt to ensure that Hiles had accurately filled out his
development permits.
After the city halted the project, Hiles provided officials more recent studies of the property.
But they raised even more questions about the presence of endangered species.
One September 2016 report by Bowman Consulting concluded that the wooded property had
suitable habitat for both warblers and karst invertebrates. "It is likely that these species occur
on the proposed project area," the report stated.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which investigates violations of the Endangered Species
Act, is conducting a criminal investigation of the project. An agency investigator informed the
city that allowing the work to continue won't interfere with the federal inquiry.
"They have confirmed that if this project meets the city rules, and then would proceed
forward, it does not in any way affect their ability to do a proper investigation," said Michael
Shannon, director of the city's Development Services Department. "They have all the tools
necessary to figure out if there is or was a violation of the act, which is a criminal offense."
At a heated neighborhood meeting last
week at Igo Library, residents told Pelaez

RELATED

=

 City says developer who
clear cut trees was
following rules

and Shannon that they were frustrated that
Hiles had provided the city incorrect
information - and that the city had failed
to catch it.

Northwest Side residents
vent after acres of trees
bulldozed in
environmentally sensitive
area

The crowd broke into applause when one
man complained that Hiles' project is
"degrading the quality of life in San
Antonio."

City halts construction project over endangered
species concerns

Many were worried about the effect of the
development on Camp Bullis, an Army
training ground that contains old-growth cedar trees that serve as prime warbler habitat when
the migratory songbirds nest in Texas.
As urban sprawl creeps across the booming North Side, military officials worry that the lost
habitat is forcing more warblers to nest at Camp Bullis, complicating the Arrpy's mission.
Pelaez said the city is taking steps to prevent future mistakes. A City Council committee
approved a request by Shannon to form a task force that will revise the habitat compliance
form and explore ways to verify that developers are being accurate.
But Pelaez emphasized that there's little he can do to address one of their chief concerns:
Hiles' level of communication about the project.
Pelaez said he can't even get the out-of-town developer to call him back.
"He doesn't give a hoot about San Antonio or what you think," Pelaez said. "I've met payday
lenders who are more honest and forthright than this guy."
John Tedesco is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our
free site , mySA.com, and on our subscriber site , ExpressNews.com. I jtedesco @expressnews.net I Twitter: @John_Tedesco

 John Tedesco

Investigative Reporter I
San Antonio Express-

 

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