3 Named to Panel on Open Space Study

The City Council has appointed three residents to a seven-member task force that will study ways to preserve open space within city limits and neighboring unincorporated areas of the county.

Efren Neri, Clay Smith and Duane Fisher were appointed this week after their names were drawn by lot from a pool of 15 residents who wrote letters to the Planning Commission expressing their interest in serving on the task force.

Two members of the Planning Commission and two more from the Parks, Recreation and Human Services Commission complete the ad hoc committee, which will disband after finishing its work in about six months, according to senior planner Jay Trevino.

In a report to the council, Trevino said the task force will study what open spaces to preserve and how best to preserve them. It will hold study sessions at least twice a month and conduct public meetings to get input from residents.

The task force will then submit a report to the council.

Trevino said one goal of the task force will be to establish what he called “suitability criteria” for open-space preservation.

Trevino said the purpose of the task force is to come up with a model that the city can use in dealing with development projects in the city’s sphere of influence, which includes the seven square miles of unincorporated land that may be annexed by the city in the future.

Trevino said the other goal is to provide guidelines on how to acquire open space. He said this may be accomplished by the city buying property, encouraging state land acquisitions or through negotiations with developers.