During a Wednesday night hearing, Garden Ridge residents line up to voice their opposition to Guadalupe Ready Mix’s plans to build a concrete plant in the Comal County town. 
Jessica Phelps

San Antonio Express-News 
Elena Bruess
April 06, 2023 at 12:59PM

The fight over a planned concrete plant in a Hill Country town could soon end up in court.

After a tense public meeting Wednesday night, the Garden Ridge City Council — functioning as the city’s Board of Adjustments — denied Guadalupe Ready Mix a variance request for the construction of a concrete batch plant. Initial plans for the plant, which would sit on a 7.5-acre piece of land at the nearby the Servtex limestone quarry, call for silos of 71 feet and 86 feet. The city says its ordinance only allows for 35 feet or lower. 

Residents filled council chambers for the hearing. David Earl, an attorney for Guadalupe Ready Mix, raised several objections during the proceedings, saying the board members were biased and should recuse themselves. He also called to cross-examine Mayor Robb Erickson, who was serving as chair of the committee meeting, and asked that every person speaking during the public comment session be sworn in as a witness so they could be cross-examined. Erickson overruled those objections. 

More than once, Earl said that if the city denied the variance request, his client planned to challenge the decision in court. 

Residents of Garden Ridge — a town of about 4,000 just across the Comal County line from Bexar County — say they are concerned the plant will lead to increased dust and traffic, as well as the proposed site’s proximity to homes, a church and a preschool. Concrete batch plants combine raw materials to make ready-mix concrete. Guadalupe Ready Mix, which is based in San Antonio, says the proposed spot is important for its operations because of its proximity to the quarry. It also says taller silos will be more environmentally secure than shorter silos. 

The company has already received the necessary permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the plant, but city officials say it still requires approval of a variance and special use permit for construction to begin. Guadalupe Ready Mix disputes that contention, saying a 1988 city ordinance already grants it the right to build on the land and that it has been going through the city process as an act of goodwill. 

“I’m really happy that the residents came out to participate in this,” said Lisa Swint, Garden Ridge’s mayor pro tem and member of the Board of Adjustments. “We make our decision based on the ordinances and obviously we heard all the concerns from everyone.” 

Earl’s primary objection was that the members of Garden Ridge’s Board of Adjustments, which is meant to hold quasi-judicial public hearings, are biased because the members also serve on the City Council. He said City Council members have been open about their disapproval of the concrete batch plant, which should eliminate them from the board. 

Garden Ridge is a general law city, which means the City Council sits as the acting board of adjustments. Swint said they serve both roles and as a board they looked at the city ordinances. She said she doesn’t know how anyone could be biased about ordinances. 

Earl called to cross-examine Erickson as the chairman was questioning Guadalupe Ready Mix’s witness, Curt Campbell, who is vice president of engineering and natural resources at Westward Environmental. 

Earl said that Erickson was asking questions and making statements as the mayor and not as the Board of Adjustment’s chairman. He also accused the Board of Adjustments of meeting privately several times before the hearing, which he said is not allowed since all board meetings need to be public. 

Swint responded that the meetings were executive sessions as members of the City Council, and as such were allowed by law.  

“We all want to avoid expensive litigation,” Earl said during the meeting. “It’s the right thing to do and it honors the (1988) agreement that was made.” 

The plot of land where the concrete plant would be built was zoned for industrial use, according to the 1988 city annexation ordinance. However, city officials say the company is required to follow a more recent 2018 zoning ordinance, which requires a variance request and special use permit for the silos. 

The city’s Planning and Zoning Committee is expected to consider the special use permit request in May. However, since Garden Ridge has rejected the variance request, Guadalupe Ready Mix will either have find another spot to build or challenge the city in court. 

“What we’re doing next is waiting for the next action from Guadalupe Ready Mix,” said Swint. “Either they’ll back down, which I’m doubtful, or they’ll pursue litigation. It’s going to cost the city, but we need to take a stand.” 

elena.bruess@express-news.net