The San Antonio City Council Committee on Government on Jan. 15 heard staff presentations on six community-request items and voted by voice to refer each to the appropriate committee for further study.

Committee members discussed a proposed local prohibition on tobacco and electronic-cigarette specialty stores near schools, a large-area rezoning review, a permit process and transparency review, a public education campaign about illegal gunfire, and a mailbox-theft prevention proposal. After presentation and brief discussion, the committee approved a single motion to send each request to the committee or department recommended by staff.

The request to ban tobacco and e-cigarette specialty stores near schools was presented as a public-health measure and tied to legislation being considered at the state level. John Carrey, a presenter to the committee, said the matter was being advanced in coordination with state legislation introduced by "Senator Campbell," and staff recommended sending the item on for full committee consideration. Councilmember College said other Texas cities had already adopted local measures and argued San Antonio should not wait for the Legislature: "Yo creo que la ciudad de San Antonio puede hacer algo," he said, urging the committee to treat the proposal as a public-health issue and return a recommendation to the council.

The committee also heard a staff description of a large-area rezoning review requested by Councilmember Mackie Rodrdiguez (district two). Staff said the department of development services would review the areadescribed near Frost Bank, River Pacific and other local landmarksand return with a rezoning proposal to align current zoning. The committee approved referral to the appropriate review committee.

A separate request from Councilmember Cabello J
brida sought a review of permit-process gaps and options to streamline communications, plan-review boards and preliminary-plan hearings. Presenters noted small builders reported needing as many as "veintisiete permisos" per home and described delays because inspections were not tightly scheduled. The committee approved referral of that item to the Community Development and Planning committee for more detailed consideration.

On public safety, presenters described a proposal for a public-information campaign about illegal gunfire and how residents should report it. Committee discussion included San Antonio Police Department staff explaining call-priority practices for reports of shots fired and that the department receives about "ciento dos llamadas diarias" related to shots; the department saw spikes on Jan. 1 and July 4 with "trescientos cuatro" calls on those dates. Councilmembers supported referring the initiative to the public-safety committee so staff can design a comprehensive approach.

Councilmember Alderete Gabito presented a request to address increasing mailbox theft and proposed a prevention program that would coordinate homeowners associations, add lighting and explore existing programs and partnerships with the U.S. Postal Service. The presenter and councilmembers discussed prior similar efforts dating to 2018 and said earlier recommendations would be revisited; the committee voted to send the item to the public-safety committee.

After discussion, the committee chair asked whether members preferred a single vote to refer all six items; members agreed and the voice vote to refer all items passed. The motion did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript, and no member recorded a named dissent.

Votes at a glance

- CCR 1 (Prohibit tobacco and e-cigarette specialty stores near schools): Referred to Health Committee for further study; motion approved by voice vote.
- CCR 2 (Large-area rezoning review in District 2): Referred to Development Services/Planning for review; motion approved by voice vote.
- CCR 3 (Permit process and transparency review): Referred to Community Development and Planning committee; motion approved by voice vote.
- CCR 5 (Public-information campaign on illegal gunfire): Referred to Public Safety committee for development of campaign; motion approved by voice vote.
- CCR 6 (Mailbox-theft prevention program): Referred to Public Safety committee for program development and coordination with USPS; motion approved by voice vote.

What happened next

Committee members said staff should return with specifics and recommendations at a future meeting. The committee adjourned and scheduled return to session at 12:30 p.m. for the subsequent session.

(Reporting note: direct quotes and procedural details are taken from the committee transcript of Jan. 15; vote was by voice and the transcript records the motion as having passed without a roll-call tally.)