Feb. 8, 2026 – Scarcely 48 hours after being unanimously rejected by San Antonio City Council for a municipal utility district for its proposed Guajolote Ranch development, Lennar Corp. was clearing vast portions of the ranch with heavy earth-movers, destroying heritage oaks and other sensitive features.
Adjacent residents looked on in disbelief. “Our neighbors are in shock,” said Michael Schick, whose home backs up to the destruction taking place. “I’m speechless. We all feel violated.”
Still, the Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance, while expressing outrage over the land-clearing, says the battle continues in earnest against the development, with a district court review of Lennar’s wastewater permit looming and plans to re-engage with the city.
“We will fight as long as it takes to see this halted, and the ranch conserved,” said Randy Neumann, chair of the steering committee of the alliance, a nonprofit, nonpartisan neighborhood group representing residents in a wide corridor along Scenic Loop, from Bandera Road to past Babcock Road.
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What is not clear at the moment is whether Lennar is moving ahead with fewer homes on septic tanks, at least initially, or still is pursuing a full development of 2,900 homes with a wastewater treatment plant – and even if it intends to pursue a MUD with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
It’s even unclear whether Lennar owns the land yet, although the alliance has word from one source that it purchased at least some of it two weeks ago.
Lennar has held options to purchase the land from for-profit Guajolote Ranch Inc. of Terrell Hills, and Sidney E. “Gene” Edwards Jr., a retired Valero Energy Corp. executive and his wife, Marcie, now living in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Richard H. “Rick” LePere, treasurer of Guajolote Ranch Inc., along with the Edwardses, had filed the MUD petition Nov. 10 on behalf of Lennar Homes of Texas Land and Construction Ltd.
LePere and his family have held approximately 1,097 acres of Guajolote Ranch, with the Edwardses holding about 63 acres that would provide access to the development off of Scenic Loop Road. LePere is a grandson-in-law of family patriarch Frank G. Huntress Jr., who established Guajolote Ranch in 1969.
Here is a statement from Neumann on the latest developments:
“Significant concerns continue to emerge regarding the Guajolote Ranch development, raising questions about transparency, environmental protection and regulatory compliance. While the San Antonio City Council was considering a municipal utility district for the project, Lennar did not disclose that it had purchased at least one of the tracts two weeks earlier, according to a Lennar manager – leaving the city to evaluate a MUD application submitted by an entity that no longer owned the land.
At the same time, residents observed extensive land‑clearing activity already underway, including the removal of heritage oaks and damage to neighboring property, even as the MUD request remained pending. Clearing has since expanded beyond the Edwards tract and onto several hundred acres of the Guajolote Ranch.
County filings indicate plans for 76 residential lots on the Edwards tract, a four‑lane thoroughfare and a Phase 1 buildout spanning both tracts. Neighbors have reported widespread loss of heritage trees, disruption of wildlife habitat, changes to a pond on the property and disturbance of multiple creeks and draws. These reports have prompted concerns about stormwater impacts, runoff onto adjacent properties and compliance with local tree ordinances.
As of recent weeks, the project had not yet received approval from the Bexar County Fire Marshal. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been asked to conduct a jurisdictional review of the site’s wet‑ and dry‑weather waterways.
Lennar has stated its intent to construct a $13 million wastewater treatment plant to serve the development, even as the underlying discharge permit remains under judicial review in Austin following a lawsuit filed by environmental and neighborhood groups.
The proposed facility would release an average of 1 million gallons a day of treated effluent onto sensitive karst terrain of the Balcones Fault Zone, and potentially into Helotes Creek. Multiple hydrogeologists and karst experts have submitted technical letters to city leaders warning that such discharges could pose risks to the Edwards Aquifer, San Antonio’s primary drinking water source.
Opposition to the project is broad, bipartisan and growing. The San Antonio City Council, Bexar County, the cities of Grey Forest and Helotes, the full Bexar County legislative delegation, all four state senators representing the region and several members of Congress have expressed strong concerns. State Rep. Ray Lopez has requested that the House Environmental Regulations Committee study the issue ahead of the 90th Legislature, where lawmakers are expected to consider measures addressing high‑impact development in environmentally sensitive recharge areas.
Federal interest has also increased due to the project’s location entirely within the 15‑mile buffer zone surrounding Camp Bullis, an active military training installation. This federally recognized zone restricts removal of the tract from the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction and, according to officials familiar with the process, makes approval of a MUD by the TCEQ unlikely. Combined with the unified opposition of the Bexar County delegation, observers note that any attempt to secure a legislatively created MUD faces substantial obstacles.
Lennar is now encountering resistance from every level of government – city, county, state and federal – as well as from an unusually well‑organized and highly engaged public. Many community members and environmental advocates believe the company’s continued pursuit of the project reflects broader implications for development across the Texas Hill Country. They warn that if a large‑scale project of this nature were approved in an environmentally sensitive area like the Guajolote, it could set a precedent encouraging similar high‑impact development and wastewater discharge throughout the Hill Country region.
Given the environmental sensitivities of the site, the concerns raised by experts, and the widespread public and governmental opposition, many believe the Guajolote Ranch development requires far greater scrutiny. Protecting the Edwards Aquifer – and safeguarding the long‑term security of San Antonio’s water supply – remains the central priority as this matter continues to unfold.”
The Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) group representing the largest neighborhood by square mile recognized by the San Antonio Neighborhood & Housing Services Department, a wide corridor along Scenic Loop Road from Bandera Road to north of Babcock Road.
Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance contacts:
Randy Neumann, SL-HCA steering committee chair, 210-867-2826, uhit@aol.com
Steve Lee, 210-415-2402, text; media@scenicloop.org