Two Hundred Six Votes for Staying Small
On March 24, 1972, a few hundred people living in Comal County, just north of Schertz, voted to become a city. Local historians tell it as a defensive move: Schertz and San Antonio were both pushing outward, and residents led by Paul Davis, who became the first mayor, preferred to draw their own line. The measure passed with 206 votes.
It worked. Garden Ridge today covers about seven square miles and holds around 4,200 people, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The lots are generous, and the median home value is among the highest in the area. The point was never to grow fast, and the city has kept that promise better than most.
A Median Age of 52 Changes the Design Brief
Census estimates put the median Garden Ridge resident at about 52 years old. That number shows up in the questions people ask us. Can I check the house from the airport? Can my daughter in Dallas see whether the door is locked? What happens if I fall and can’t reach the phone?
So we build for remote control and simple daily use. A touchscreen keypad with large, clear buttons beats a cryptic panel by the garage door. Smart locks let a family member, a house sitter, or a caregiver in with a personal code that you can revoke later. The app shows every door, camera, and sensor in one place, and the monitoring center is reachable around the clock if the app is the last thing on your mind.
Can my daughter in Dallas see whether the door is locked?
Crime report · 2024
We found no published crime count for Garden Ridge that we could verify. The city’s own police department is the place to ask.
Reporting agency: Garden Ridge Police Department
Garden Ridge has its own police department, but we could not find an annual offense report from it, and the third-party crime maps we checked either lacked dates or appeared to sweep in incidents from beyond the city limits. Rather than print a number we can’t stand behind, we are leaving the figures blank. If you want the official picture, contact the Garden Ridge Police Department and ask for its most recent annual offense totals, or look up the agency in the Texas DPS crime reporting data.
What we can say is structural. A city of roughly 1,500 households spread across about seven square miles has a lot of distance between front doors and not many people on the street at any hour. Low density cuts both ways. Fewer strangers wander through, but fewer neighbors see the one who does. In that setting the useful question is less “how much crime is there?” than “who would notice if something happened here on a Tuesday afternoon?” A monitored system and a couple of well-placed cameras answer that question the same way every time.
Acreage, Gates, and the Long View Down the Drive
On a lot measured in acres, the front door is not the perimeter. Deliveries get left at a gate. Equipment sits in a detached shop. A vehicle can come halfway up the drive without anyone in the house hearing it.
We start at the property line and work inward. A driveway camera with a clear daytime and night view catches arrivals. A detached garage or workshop gets its own door contacts tied into the main system. Security cameras along the approach turn the long driveway from a blind spot into the best-documented part of the property.
The House That Sits Empty for Ten Days
If you travel, whether to see grandchildren, to a second home, or simply because you finally can, the house stays behind. An empty house in a quiet city is the kind of target burglars like best: nobody home, few witnesses, and plenty of time.
Smart home automation gives the house a routine while you are gone. Lights come on and go off at slightly different times each evening. The thermostat holds a sensible temperature. Water and freeze sensors on 24/7 monitoring report a leak before it reaches the hardwood. Our article on how burglars choose a house explains why a house that looks lived-in is worth so much.
What Your Garden Ridge Assessment Includes
San Antonio Protection Services is a locally owned company, licensed by the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau under license B16898 and working in the San Antonio area since 2010. Garden Ridge is a short trip up I-35 and FM 3009 for us.
We walk the entire property with you, outbuildings included, and test whatever equipment is already installed. You get a written plan sized to how you actually live in the house. There is no charge, and no one will ask you to sign anything at the kitchen table. Book a free security assessment to get started.
Landmarks we know well
- FM 3009
- Natural Bridge Caverns (nearby)
- Comal County hill country
