As you might know, Randy Neumann, chair of the steering committee of the Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance, appeared on TPR’s The Source program on Monday, Oct. 20, and delivered a forceful statement about Lennar and the Guajolote Ranch issue. Here it is:
“San Antonio has been good to Lennar. With 83 communities across our region, they’ve found a thriving market, strong demand and a welcoming home.
“But unlike the H-E-Bs, the Frosts, the Zacharys and USAA—companies that have built legacies by giving back—Lennar has remained silent. Absent. Unengaged.
“Today, I’m calling on Lennar to change that. To step forward. To become the kind of corporate citizen this community deserves.
“The people of San Antonio have invested over $50 million to protect the Helotes Creek watershed—land that safeguards the Edwards Aquifer, a federally protected, sole source aquifer.
“That aquifer sustains 2.5 million lives. It is sacred. It is irreplaceable. And it is under threat.
“The proposed Guajolote Ranch development risks introducing PFAS (cancer causing “forever” chemicals,) pharmaceuticals, hormone disruptors, microplastics, antidepressants, illicit drugs like fentanyl and cocaine and others, super-resistant bacteria and other dangerous contaminants into that aquifer.
“These are not hypothetical risks. They are real. They are documented. And they cannot be fully removed by the treatment systems Lennar is proposing.”
“But there is another path.
“The funds exist to conserve the last large undeveloped parcel in the watershed. If Lennar chooses to protect this land—if they partner with the city, honor the science, and build in areas that support sustainability—they will earn something far more valuable than profit.
“They will earn the trust, respect, and goodwill of a community that has already given them so much.
“If they choose the opposite path—if they gamble with our water, our health, and our future—the consequences will be profound.
“Not just for the aquifer. Not just for the families who drink from it. But for Lennar’s reputation, it’s standing in Texas and its legacy.
“This is a moment of truth.
“I urge Lennar: come to the table. Not as a developer chasing permits—but as a neighbor, a partner, and a steward of this land.
“The people of San Antonio are watching. And history will well remember the choice you make.”