| With a population of 1.4 million citizens, Bexar County grew almost 20 percent between 1990 and 2000. It contains America's ninth largest city; Bexar County's reliance on the natural resources that attracted its first human inhabitants has diminished little. Those resources, vital to the county's future, include the Edwards Aquifer—San Antonio's primary source of drinking water—and fertile agricultural land—the county's third-largest revenue generator.
As land use decisions are made, Bexar County must consider both the benefits and the costs of different types of growth. The lure of increased tax revenues promised by new housing can be irresistible, but the net fiscal impact of this growth is actually negative. When residents move in, the county government and school districts are expected to step up their capacity to provide the customary levels of services to these new residents.
On average, residential lands demand more in service costs, including schools, public safety, road maintenance and water/wastewater, than they provide in revenue. Conversely, agricultural lands and open space create a surplus for Bexar County—generating more than six times more revenue than what the county spends on them. If residential development is not balanced by business growth and conservation, it is likely that property taxes will rise or services will decline.
Printed report
Download The Value of Farmland and Open Space in Bexar County, Texas [PDF, 377kB]
For more information
For questions about the report or to order a hard copy, please contact the Farmland Information Center at 800-370-4879. For information about American Farmland Trust's consulting services, or for advice on conducting a COCS study for your area, contact Jane Kirchner at jkirchner@farmland.org or 202-378-1231.
We thank the Bexar County Cooperative Extension, the San Antonio Livestock Exposition, and the Magnolia Charitable Trust for their generous support of this project.
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