CITY OF SAN ANTONIO MANNY PELAEZ OFFICE OF CITY COUNCILMAN DISTRICT 8 August 20, 2018 Ken Paxton The Attorney General PO Box 12548 Austin, TX 78711-2548 512/463-2100 Dear Attorney General Ken Paxton, 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. 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. P.O. BOX 839966 • SAN ANTONIO, TX 78283-3966 • TEL: 210-207-7086 • FAX210-207-7027 • E-MAIL: DISTRICT8@SANANTONIO.GOV 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, ~\~~~ Councilman Manny Pelaez cc: State Senator Jose Menendez, State Senator Donna Campbell, State Representative Lyle Larson, P.O. BOX 839966 • SAN ANTONIO. TX 78283-3966 • TEL: 210-207-7086 • FAX 210-207-7027 • E-MAIL: DISTRICT8@SANANTONIO.GOV &n.Antonio bprcss·Ntws Local -- City says developer who clear cut trees was foil owing rules By John Tedesco I June 29, 2018 I Updated: June 29, 2018 10:oopm ~9 f Photo: William Luther I San Antonio Express-News ••• ••• ••• IMAGE 1 OF6 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 Express Newsletters Get the latest news, sports and food features sent directly to your inbox. Sign up Cantera, a luxury apartment complex owned by a Grand Prairie development firm. Print subscribers get a password for 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,andJuly 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 determine 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: @John_Tedesco John Tedesco Investigative Reporter San Antonio ExpressNews I San.Antonio !.'i!lrtss·Nttus ; ;.; .:; ; = - Local :_--·--··------=-..._:::;::~--·---=---;:::..:::::.:::;---·==-=-==--:---~--·-·~·-~~~~------=~=---=. -·----==-===:.=::.-·--·-·--··---·---::- - 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 ••• ••• ••• IMAGES OF? 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 M~tt 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 Express Newsletters Get the latest news, sports and food features sent directly to your inbox. Sign up karst invertebrates - small beetles and arachnids that live underground. Assistant City Manager Rod Sanchez said Friday that Hiles has submitted new Print subscribers get a password for your existing account here paperwork that meets city requirements but that officfals 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 Manny 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 can'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." :J 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 Army'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 San Antonio Express- News 1-3301838'18 Humit Cammunifaticms; :15.