Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
A Tuesday meeting of the Southern Edwards Plateau Habit Conservation Plan committee threw a minor speed bump into the plans of Lennar Home’s construction of the Guajolote Ranch subdivision.
It was the second application from Lennar to pay for and receive what’s known as an “incidental take” permit for a portion of the property. The conservation plan allows developers to pay a fee to harm or displace endangered species during construction.
After hearing from several residents, committee members decided to table the request for the permit. Lynette Munson, who lives next to the proposed subdivision spoke to the committee members
“I believe this committee was created with a positive objective, but it no longer seems to be fitting that mission”
Munson told the committee that the property has bat caves and that she had personally seen bats swarming in the aftermath of heavy equipment clearing land on the property, an issue that so far no one has touched on.
The request was tabled for four weeks as board members sought more information on how the wildlife survey was conducted and other possible issues with the application. This application would see Lennar paying over $612,000 for the permit to destroy habitat.
Earlier this year Lennar paid nearly $2.7 million for a wildlife take permit for a larger section of the property. Just hours after that application was approved, heavy equipment began clearing land on some of the proposed subdivision.
Michael Schick lives next to the proposed development.
“We are so grateful that we could have an honest discussion in public about this, and we just hope and pray that the team, including the staff, really does do their homework and really does take time to study this matter,” Schick said.
He said that in the meantime, the Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance, who oppose the subdivision will do their due diligence as well.
“We will go ask experts. We'll talk to our friends in Washington and the federal government to find out what truth is. And our hope is that it's gonna show that no, you cannot destroy this land anymore, and that they'll deny this permit.”
The SEPHCP takes funds for the permits and uses them to preserve lands elsewhere in an attempt to balance commercial growth and environmental concerns. The plan has been described by Logan Sparrow, assistant director of the Land Development Division for the city of San Antonio and committee chair of the SEP-HCP, as “an insurance plan”. The conservation plan allows developers to mitigate the destruction of wildlife and eventually receives the permission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for compliance with the Endangered Species Act.
Lennar aims to build around 3,000 homes on 1,100 acres of land that would utilize its own water treatment plant that could potentially dump millions of gallons of treated sewage per day into Helotes Creek, which opponents say would threaten the water quality of the Edwards Aquifer.
