SAN ANTONIO – Northwest Side residents fighting a proposed housing development said what they believed was a major victory at City Hall was quickly overshadowed.
Michael Schick, whose property along Scenic Loop backs up to the Guajolote Ranch site in northwest Bexar County, said developers began clearing land just one day after San Antonio City Council unanimously rejected a Municipal Utility District (MUD) request tied to the project’s wastewater treatment plant.
“They just basically flipped us off, which I think is pretty heartless,” Schick said.
For years, nearby neighborhoods have opposed the Guajolote Ranch development, which is being led by Lennar Corporation and includes plans for nearly 3,000 homes and a wastewater treatment plant. While City Council voted 11-0 to reject the MUD request, permits for the wastewater plant remain tied up in court.
According to Schick, land clearing began almost immediately after the council vote.
“On Thursday, the city council defeated the MUD request by Lennar by a vote of 11 to 0,” Schick said. “The very next day: what I witnessed is having Lennar’s people and all of their heavy equipment clearing the land on the Edwards property.”
The land includes habitat for the federally protected golden-cheeked warbler. However, city officials said the clearing is being done legally under an agreement approved last December through a regional conservation program known as the Southern Edwards Plateau Habitat Conservation Plan.
Under that plan, Lennar paid about $3.3 million in mitigation fees, allowing development to move forward in exchange for preserving land elsewhere.
Logan Sparrow, the City of San Antonio’s Assistant Director for Development Service, described the program as a way to balance conservation with growth.
“The program collects funds from enrollees,” Sparrow said. “We then use those funds to go out and buy land that we can preserve in perpetuity for the long-term protection of those species.”
Neighbors, however, said the approval lacked transparency — especially given the controversy surrounding the project.
“I think there’s a lot of things the city could have done for full disclosure,” Schick said.
When asked how the city ensures the public is informed about approvals with immediate, visible impacts, Sparrow pointed to existing notice requirements.
“Just like any council agenda, those agendas are publicly posted greater than 72 hours in advance of the meeting,” Sparrow said. “So, it gets the same notice out to the public on the same website that council agendas are posted to. And, we did actually have some folks that had called in, so they left a comment for that. So, we know the word got out.”
City officials said there are strict rules developers must follow under the conservation agreement, with significant penalties if they are violated.
“If clearing were to continue during the breeding season, they can be expelled from the insurance program that incidentally take coverage,” Sparrow said. “They can face fines of double their enrollment fees.”
Despite that, Schick said neighbors plan to keep pushing back.
“This is psychological warfare,” Schick said. “I think they’re trying to get the opposition to quit. Because once you’ve cut down the trees, the land’s not the same anymore.”
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