Development industry attorneys claim the City has no power to enforce the tree ordinance in its extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Currently, our Tree Ordinance applies to all except the red areas on the map to the left.
Developers want projects in the green areas exempted from all preservation rules. Since the vast majority of undeveloped land is in the ETJ, thousands of acres would become exempt from the Tree Preservation Ordinance.
Continental Homes of Texas asserted this as a defense against a lawsuit brought by the City of San Antonio. However, the trial judge ruled against Continental and upheld the City's power to enforce tree preservation standards in its ETJ.
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