{"id":568777,"date":"2026-02-05T19:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T19:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/568777\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T19:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T19:32:13","slug":"guajolote-ranch-development-in-limbo-after-san-antonio-city-council-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/568777\/","title":{"rendered":"Guajolote Ranch development in limbo after San Antonio City Council vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MembersMembers of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance and the Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance pose for a photo after Thursday\u2019s victory over Lennar Corp. Credit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\n

Florida-based developer Lennar Corp.\u2019s plans for a 2,900-home-development in far Northwest Bexar County took a serious blow Thursday, when City Council unanimously rejected the company\u2019s request to create a Municipal Utility District.<\/p>\n

Council\u2019s denial means that Lennar will have to seek another source to fund a wastewater plant for its proposed Guajolote Ranch masterplanned community. Lennar needed the MUD, a special government-like entity created to provide essential services in developing areas outside city limits, to finance the controversial plant\u2019s construction. <\/p>\n

Groups including the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance and the Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance are fighting the development, arguing it threatens local water sources. They point to a 2020 Southwest Research Institute study raising concerns that discharge from Lennar\u2019s proposed wastewater plant could \u201csignificantly degrade the watershed and the quality of water recharging the Edwards Aquifer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Edwards Aquifer provides drinking water for more than 1.7 million people in Central Texas, including a significant portion of San Antonio\u2019s supply. <\/p>\n

During Thursday\u2019s discussion, some on council expressed concern the city could end up covering the cost of Lennar\u2019s plant if economic factors led the MUD to default on its debt. Others, including District 10\u2019s Marc Whyte and District 4\u2019s Edward Mungia, said they worry the plant\u2019s discharge could endanger the city\u2019s water supply.<\/p>\n

Mungia praised the groups fighting Lennar, noting their organizing efforts and continued outreach to elected officials. <\/p>\n

\u201cNothing brings people out like water,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Randy Neuman, who chairs the steering committee of the Sceneic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance, told the Current that without the MUD, Lennar is unlikely to secure private financing for the wastewater plant. <\/p>\n

Funding sources are likely to shy away due to a lawsuit the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance filed against the Texas \u00a0Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) last month. That 259-page filing in state district court alleges TCEQ made major errors in projecting the plant\u2019s potential damage to the aquifer. <\/p>\n

The suit could take years to work its way through the courts, possibly stalling the Guajolote Ranch development for the foreseeable future, Neuman added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe development could continue with aerobic septic systems, but that doesn\u2019t meet [Lennar\u2019s] development plans,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can\u2019t make their nut.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tThe Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance said it will file suit over Guajolote Ranch by the end of January. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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