Living in Bulverde (San Antonio, Spring, Canyon Lake: for sale, new home, neighborhoods)

[tras14]

I've noticed that there are a lot of homes for sale in Bulverde. It seems like a great place to live, but with all of the people moving, it makes me wonder about the area. Does it have a history of flooding? Are the houses poorly made? Does anyone know what's going on? My wife and I are considering moving there, and we really love the area, but this makes me a little weary.

[spursfan]

You should probably ask this question in the San Antonio forum to get more responses. But to answer your question, i dont believe bulverde is any more flood prone than any other area in the SA metro. Maybe everyone is selling because of the traffic on 281 south into San Antonio. That would be my guess

[AustinTraveler]

Moved to SA forum.

[martinez4]

Tras14,

Bulverde is a lovely little town. There are not any more flooding issues than anywhere else. It is not a low-lying area in general but there are areas with low water crossings as there are a lot of little creeks. The town is quite quaint with a gas station, post office, stores, etc. As the poster stated above, the traffic going south on 281 can be brutal but doable depending on when/where you would be going. The schools are good....Rahe Bulverde elementary, Spring Branch or Smithson Valley Middle and Smithson Valley HS, Go Rangers!!!

As far as houses being made poorly.....that would depend on the builder and not the area. There are many neighborhoods that are not tract houses and have land, then there are communities that are developed by major builders.

We are about one mile south of Bulverde in San Antonio but outside of the city and we love it. If you have anymore questions please feel free to ask or send a message. Good luck in your move.

[ddrewa]

Just check the FEMA flood plain maps (Comal County Engineers Office) to make sure that the lot you are considering is not in the flood plain. There's a lot of other interesting flood-related information on that site as well.

I believe the major flood-prone areas of Bulverde are in and around the Oak Village North subdivision near 1863 and Smithson Valley Road North.

1863 will close where it crosses Cibolo Creek whenever we get several inches of rain in a day or two, but other than that, 1863 is not usually affected by flooding. Major improvements were made to the road and the area drainage systems after the floods in 1998 and 2002.

My wife and I recently bought a lot near Bulverde and were able to use the flood plain to our advantage: the view from our lot looks down into the flood plain and some 5- 10-acres lots, so it's very pretty now (many trees, few houses). And we are a little more confident that we won't be looking into a dense tract subdivision in the future.

Also, the new elementary school (Johnson Ranch) will open in August 2009 on 1863 just 1-2 miles east of 281.

[martinez4]

Originally Posted by ddrewa

Also, the new elementary school (Johnson Ranch) will open in August 2009 on 1863 just 1-2 miles east of 281.

Is that going to be in the new subdivision that is planned for the corner of 1863 and 281 on the ranch land that is there now? Do you know anymore about the new homes being planned there?

[ddrewa]

Johnson Ranch is about one mile east of 281 (but west of Stahl Lane). It's that ranch with the long drive with pecan trees on either side. Here are some links:

Hill Country Times News, Bulverde, Spring Branch, Canyon Lake
http://hillcountrytimes.com/clients/...sonRanch1A.jpg
http://www.comalisd.org/Growth/Drawings/JohnsonRanchElemAreaDraw.gif (broken link)

Looks like 767 acres for "high density cluster style subdivision," 100 acres for commercial along 281, and 150-170 acres of "open/green space." I haven't seen any info on the homes or the builder(s).


Then it looks like there's another development called 4S Ranch that's supposed to be east of Stahl Lane:

Hill Country Times News, Bulverde, Spring Branch, Canyon Lake
Hill Country Times News, Bulverde, Spring Branch, Canyon Lake

[martinez4]

Thanks for the info and links. I had heard that it was being developed awhile ago. Then a friend said that it had been derailed and frankly I was kinda happy because it is a beautiful section of land.

[ddrewa]

Development is inevitable. But at least it seems like the city of Bulverde is doing its best to require responsible, less dense development with lots of green space.

[kevcrawford]

It's the traffic more than anything. You can't go North on 281 outside the loop anymore without stopping at all the lights. With the Stone Oak growth, Encino Park growth and all the infrastructure going in out there, the roads can't handle it. It wasn't laid out well early on. They didn't expect this type of growth so quickly.

Great town...once you get there.

Gas prices aren't helping either. I'm seeing a trend of people moving back into town. Five years ago, everyone needed to be outside the loop.