By Edmond Ortiz
Universal City’s new long-range comprehensive plan prioritizes preservation of parks and open space, and increasing the diversity of housing choices, types of jobs available in town, and opportunities for economic development and expansion.
What you should know
City Council voted Nov. 18 to adopt what local officials dub Vision 35, a 10-year document that is an update to Universal City’s last comprehensive plan, which spanned 2018-2022.
The city in spring 2024 began a process toward updating the town’s comprehensive plan, involving meetings with local residents, and HR Green, an engineering consulting firm.
According to the final draft of the Vision 35 document, Universal City can maintain growth and evolution so long as civic and business leaders apply some forward-thinking toward future residential and commercial development despite limitations, such as the town being landlocked, and developable and revitalization sites facing their own challenges.
“While limited undeveloped land remains, particularly within its extraterritorial jurisdiction in Guadalupe County, future growth will primarily center on infill and redevelopment within the established municipal boundaries,” the comprehensive plan states.
“Remaining development and revitalization sites often face constraints due to varying topography, stormwater management challenges, and the accident potential zones associated with Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, which directly influence compatible land uses and development intensity”
An in-depth look
Mayor Tom Maxwell said it’s important for city leadership to carefully delve into the potential specifics of recommendations and ideas laid out in the comprehensive plan. Maxwell also said, given Universal City’s limits, future town development and revival efforts will have to go vertical, not horizontal.
“We need to take a look at the types of businesses we want, and the types of transportation going in there. We need to also know the types of buildings that are going in,” Maxwell said.
“We’ve got six square miles and we need to build up. We’ve got to move up literally. That means we may have to have multi-story facilities with residential and retail.”
Consultants with HR Green concluded that Universal City needs a greater blend of housing options to better accommodate a varied workforce and community, including a population of older adults who want to age in place.
According to the comprehensive plan, senior or age-restricted housing was the single most requested housing type in a questionnaire posed to Universal City residents, “highlighting the urgent need for more suitable living arrangements for older adults.”
However, HR Green did suggest more “middle” housing types, such as smaller apartment buildings, townhomes, tiny homes, and accessory dwelling units to bridge an existing gap between larger apartment communities and traditional single-family houses.
In terms of commerce, the consultants said Universal City should focus on marketing its few remaining undeveloped parcels for “high-value, needed commercial uses, and supporting the continuation and redevelopment of existing commercial properties.
The consultants also suggested the Northlake Business Park and the Aviation District hold many opportunities for luring new businesses and industrial companies and for commercial redevelopment.
City officials, particularly, envision the Aviation District – a mix of housing and businesses along the southern stretch of Pat Booker Road near Farm Road 78 – becoming a town center-like zone that includes more mixed uses, such as additional nightlife dining and entertainment, and more walkability.
Consultants said the Vision 35 plan asks Universal City to also prioritize infrastructure and transit upgrades, and land use and zoning changes to enhance high-growth areas.
What is next
City Council will soon schedule a workshop where elected leaders may discuss how best to implement the comprehensive plan.
The mayor and some council members wondered if the council should have a joint meeting with the town’s economic development corporation board to have such a discussion, or whether the EDC board should have its own separate discussion, where city staff could report the results back to the council.
“Either way, (EDC is) going to be intimately involved with the whole thing, so I think we can have the EDC be able to say these are some of the toolkits that we think would be most valuable to us as we’re looking at how to build this out and have more robust resources to retain existing businesses and attract new businesses,” Council member Christina Fitzpatrick said.
Maxwell also asked city staff to have a consultant come in and help guide local officials on potential steps toward realizing desired goals contained in the Vision 35 document.
“I think we need someone that will lead us through the steps of establishing the program because this is a 10-year plan. It’s a lot of information to throw in there, and it’s not going to be implemented all at one time,” Maxwell said. “It’s got to be phased out over the next two to three years. That is going to be the hardest part.”
