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Opponents of the Guajolote Ranch development in northwest Bexar County have filed suit in state district court, claiming numerous errors were made by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before it granted a wastewater permit to Lennar Homes, which plans to build 2,900 homes.
The filing in Travis County District Court by the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, argues that the commission’s order approving the permit for Lennar’s wastewater contractor Municipal Operations LLC “is the product of numerous errors and must be reversed.”
The appeal alleges a total of 10 errors were made by the TCEQ and that decisions were a “violation of a constitutional or statutory provision; in excess of the agency’s statutory authority; made through unlawful procedure; affected by other error of law; not reasonably supported by substantial evidence considering the reliable and probative evidence in the record as a whole; or arbitrary or capricious, or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion, according to a new release from the Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance."
“This case is expected to take a year or more to move through the courts,” said Randy Neumann, chair of the steering committee of the alliance, a member organization of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance.
“While the lawsuit does not halt the Guajolote Ranch project, it creates significant uncertainty around the proposed wastewater treatment plant," he added. "Any investment in that facility could be at risk if the permit is ultimately remanded or vacated."
See the full filing, here:
The San Antonio City Council is expected to vote on a proposed municipal utility district, or MUD, for Guajolote Ranch on Feb. 5. The alliance believes the majority of the council will vote against it.
The city’s planning commission on Jan. 16 voted to recommend denial of the MUD. Near the end of the meeting Kevin DeAnda, an attorney representing Lennar, said “The wastewater treatment plant is coming. We have our discharge permit. We have other development approvals. The development is coming."
Florida-based Lennar wants to build 2,900 homes, west of the intersection of Scenic Loop and Babcock Street and release an average of 1 million gallons a day of treated sewage into the Helotes Creek watershed.
The alliance said the watershed directly recharges the Trinity Glen Rose Aquifer, the water supply for the immediate area, and contributes up to 15% of the total recharge of the Edwards Aquifer, a key water source for about 2.5 million across the region.
The nonprofit Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance represents a wide corridor along Scenic Loop Road from Bandera Road to north of Babcock Road.
