Blending 21st-century technology with a personal touch is not just a goal at the City of Boerne — it’s a reflection of how the community operates. In a town where relationship-building matters just as much as stream-lined efficiency, Boerne continues to prioritize a hands-on approach to service.
Whether it’s ensuring responsible development or protecting natural resources, the City’s dedicated professionals are employing cutting-edge solutions with a hometown touch to help Boerne as it takes strides to improve its development and environmental initiatives.
Driving development improvements, conservation efforts
Alongside technological upgrades, two critical team members in the Planning Department, Liz Huvalla and Ryan Bass, are making a substantial impact.
With a strong background in managing commercial permits and planning projects, Huvalla has been instrumental in improving development services. Recently promoted to development coordinator, she provides a single point of contact for applicants, improving application tracking and reducing processing times.
“I am excited about the opportunity to better serve my community by fostering meaningful relationships,” Huvalla said. “This role allows me to support growth and collaboration, ensuring that development efforts align with the needs and aspirations of the community.”
Her passion for community engagement began long before her career in development.
“Living in this picturesque city, I knew I wanted to contribute and be more involved,” Huvalla said. “My passion grew after spending time volunteering at the food bank and being a cheer mom, where I saw firsthand the impact of strong community connections and thoughtful development.”
In her new role, not only will Huvalla continue to work closely with the City’s development team, she will also oversee the Planning and Permitting front counters, ensuring efficient and responsive service.
“We took a close look at the feedback from Boerne citizens and identified ways to elevate customer service and the overall experience,” Huvalla said. “We’ve created a more efficient and user-friendly process. It has been a truly rewarding journey to step into this role.”
At the same time, attention to detail is critical to Bass’ role as the City’s environmental program manager. Once a project has been identified, one of the first things Bass will do is walk the area with property owners and provide land use best practices and tree mitigation and preservation options for a proposed development. It’s a love of nature rooted in his upbringing.
Learn more about Urban Forestry.
Bass grew up visiting his grandparents who lived by Bodcau Wildlife Management Area in north Louisiana. Inspired by his grandfather, he pursued studies in forestry and wildlife management, building a career in natural resource conservation.
“I enjoy that my role allows me to work on a broad range of important conservation issues,” Bass said.
Bass has led several key initiatives over the past year that have helped position the City as a leader in environmental programs.
His accomplishments include:
- Adoption of the first phase of the City’s Water Conservation Plan, which introduced three new rebates.
- Removal of 200 tires from Boerne City Lake.
- Leading multiple presentations to various environmental oriented groups, including the Native Plant Society of Texas (Boerne Chapter) and Texas AgriLife Extension.
- Collaboration with the City of Bulverde to update their tree classification and plan regulations.
“It’s certainly rewarding to see positive environmental outcomes,” Bass said. “Our existing environmental programs, as well as our low impact development approach to stormwater management, stream corridor protections and our One Water initiatives, engage multiple City departments and would not be possible without support from City leadership and our local elected officials.”
Learn more about Watershed Protection.
Embracing technology to streamline processes
A crucial part of Boerne’s efforts to advance the use of technology is the implementation of MyGovOnline permitting software. Launching later this year, the software aims to streamline the development process, improve communication and enhance efficiency for both staff and residents.
The decision to retool the online services portal was based on direct customer and staff feedback.
It is just the latest addition to the Planning, Permitting and Code Compliance, and Engineering and Mobility offices as technology continues to bring new efficiencies to their daily work.
A few of the features of MyGovOnline include:
- A mobile-friendly platform that enables effective communication between staff and citizens
- A specialized Planning and Zoning module to manage applications for plats, rezoning and special-use permits
- Enhanced resubmittal tracking for smoother application reviews
With the adoption of MyGovOnline and the continued work of Huvalla and Bass, Boerne is positioned to strengthen its community, enhance sustainability efforts and improve development services for years to come.
