Helotes residents were surprised Thursday at Mayor Tom Schoolcraft’s announcement at a City Council meeting that an emergency access easement is being constructed from Parrigin Road to Iron Horse Canyon.

The easement will serve as a second entrance and exit from the Iron Horse Canyon subdivision in case of an emergency.

The 24-foot paved easement will be used by emergency responders and will otherwise be restricted to public entry with a locked gate.

“Any time there are 30 or more units in an area, there must be a secondary means of ingress/egress for emergencies,” said Helotes Fire Chief Walton Daugherty. “If the main entrance/exit to the subdivision is blocked by some type of emergency, flooding, vehicle accident, hazardous chemicals, or something like that, there is a secondary ingress/egress to get those people in and out of that area.”

The easement has been under construction for about three weeks, but building plans date back three years. The easement was included in the plat for Unit 1 of Iron Horse Canyon, which was approved by Helotes’ Planning and Zoning Commission in summer 2004.

Several residents expressed their discontent at the meeting. One resident commented that the easement was a “secret road” because the plat seemed to be kept under wraps.

“We were assured they would not put a road feeding into Parrigin,” said resident and former Helotes councilman Jerry Cotton. “You can’t have a secret street. You need to look into that and stop it.” Mayor Schoolcraft, who had learned about the plat only a week prior, answered questions and relayed his concern.

“It’s not a secret street, it’s not a secret plot, it’s just something that has been in the works for a couple of years and is just now gotten started and that’s just the way it is,” said the mayor. “I don’t like it any more than a lot of you guys. We may just be stuck with it.”

Some residents were concerned with traffic implications of the easement, which will be funded by the developer.

“I have this fear that ‘when you build it, they will come,’” commented resident Patty Heard.