Karen Gleason
City council members say they want the owner of a proposed horse holding facility just south of the city limits to stop construction until questions about the facility can be answered.
Former Del Rio Mayor Roberto “Bobby” Fernandez spoke to the city council regarding concerns about the facility in mid-July, and the issue was brought up again during the council’s regular meeting Tuesday.
The horse holding facility is planned for a property at the end of U.C.O. Drive just south of the Del Rio city limits.
Interim City Manager John Sheedy told the council at the start of the discussion, “This was an item that was requested by the council to put on the agenda, and we’ve been waiting, asking for some plans from the developer for the proposed project, but at this point, we’ve yet to see anything.
“We’ve been reaching out pretty much every few days, requesting something, and I believe the owner was invited (to attend the meeting). We invited him to come and talk about his project and what it was that he was going to do, but evidently, he’s not here with us, so right now we’re just waiting on some more information, just anything. I know there’s a lot of interest in the project.”
Sheedy said the owner of the land the project is to be sited has also installed a fence “that we’re trying to get a permit on.”
“They’re already doing work without permits,” Councilman J.P. Sanchez interjected.
“Yes, sir,” Sheedy said.
“They have completed a fence that has not been inspected by any inspectors, and we don’t know if it’s within the property lines or what. That’s one of the things the inspector does, is check boundary lines and ensure that the fences are done according to code, and they bypassed that completely. We’re not getting any response from the developer at all, so we need to find out exactly what he’s going to do,” Sanchez added.
Mayor Bruno “Ralphy” Lozano asked how the property was currently zoned, and Sheedy replied it is zoned as agricultural.
“So there’s no request for zoning changes, per se, but how are the residents adjacent to the property taking the prospect of what’s happening alongside this property line? What is their take on it?” Lozano asked.
“We’ve had a couple of people that have reached out, and of course, they’re very concerned. It is quite a large operation. I believe it’s – what we’ve heard – is that there’s (going to be) 40 horse stalls, so it’s quite a large operation, and these horses would come in, and they’re monitored for a short period of time, and then they’re transported out and 40 more horses come in,” Sheedy said.
“The concern is, of course, obviously, you’ll have smells, and there’s waste. It’s, as one of the residents of the area had mentioned, it’s in a low area that’s prone to flooding, and it seems like there would also be difficulties if this proposed project is developed, how that’s going to be controlled during floods,” Sheedy added.
“So we haven’t received any permits or any type of plan for this property, yet there’s already construction on the property, so we don’t even know the impact of the flooding issues that might be created. What authorization does the city have to stop any further building before we take a proper view and assessment?” Lozano asked.
Sheedy asked Public Works Director Albert Quintanilla to address the question.
“We’ve asked the property owner to provide us with the details, and we asked for a lot of details because we understand it’s an agricultural operation where he’s going to bring in horses that are going to be under quarantine.
“We need to discuss the waste issue and how he’s going to deal with that, and there’s the possibility of contaminated waste and the spread of disease. How is he going to address that waste? The cleaning of the stalls between each cycle, when the new animals come in, and we wanted all the details as to how he’s going to have an office there. How he’s going to bring trailers in and take trailers out, and we’ve asked for all those details,” Quintanilla told the council.
“And he said he’d work on the details and get back to us, but he hasn’t,” the public works director added.
Lozano asked the city staff to contact the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to ensure they are aware of the project.
“The waste contamination hazard is also an issue within the city limits, and lastly, we need to make sure we get input from the properties around that property and see how those citizens will be impacted, just by the smell alone,” Lozano said.
He recalled other city councils were forced to close similar livestock operations, such as one that was once located at the corner of Dr. Fermin Calderon Boulevard and Gibbs Street.
“This time we need to make sure we are proactive instead of reactive,” Lozano said.
Lozano also directed staff to provide an update on the status of the project within 30 days.
Councilman Steven Webb said he was most concerned about possible contamination caused by animal feces.
“The smell is going to be horrendous, no matter what, especially with that many horses,” Webb added.
Webb also noted there were several persons in the audience who might want to speak about the issue and asked if the council could hear from them.
Lozano noted the persons did not sign up on citizen comments, and the council voted to suspend the rules to allow the comments.
The council then heard from former Del Rio Mayor Roberto “Bobby” Fernandez, who had initially brought the issue before the council.
Fernandez thanked the council for looking into the issue, adding, “Those are the concerns the neighborhood has, the smell, the effects of having wildlife in a flood zone. They even put a fence on our side of the Madre Canal, so obviously there’s a question mark as to where the boundaries are. Obviously they won’t be able to come in through that U.C.O. Street because half of that street at that dead end, is U.C.O. property.
“We’re extremely concerned for the neighborhood, and we don’t want for them to go to a lot of expenditures, hiring engineers, architects, designers and build that, and then the same thing is going to occur what occurred over here on (Calderon and Gibbs). It’s not going to work, because it’s a flood area,” Fernandez said, adding he grew up in the area.
“It’s really going to affect the citizens of that community on a daily basis. . . We think it’s an excellent project, just the wrong location,” he added.
Lozano asked city staff to look at the project this week.
Councilman Jim De Reus asked if the property owner has been asked “to cease and desist any construction.”
“Yes,” Sheedy replied.
“So they know that if they continue, they’re in violation?” DeReus asked.
“Yes,” Quintanilla replied.
Sheedy also noted the owner of the property “took out quite a few trees,” adding the city has an ordinance regarding tree removal.
“There’s quite a few issues down there that we need to address,” Sheedy said.
