Richard LePere on behalf of Guajolote Ranch, Inc has petitioned Bexar County Commissioners Court to request the creation of a Public Improvement District (PID) that will benefit only the 1,160 acre Guajolote Ranch near the intersection of Babcock Rd and Scenic Loop Rd.
The property included in this petition belongs to or will belong to one single entity, Lennar Homes who has a purchase option pending for the entire 1,160 acre parcel.
Not only is this PID looking to obtain funding to cover its anticipated $138 million dollars in capital improvements to this single parcel of land, it is also requesting that Bexar County relinquish all powers and duties of Chapter 382 (Improvement Projects) of the Texas Local Government Code which will eliminate any public oversight held by Bexar County or the City of San Antonio.
The monies collected through this PID will go to funding the development of the streets, utilities, sewage plant, engineering costs, land clearing and environmental remediation necessary to build a 3,000 home residential community in the middle of nowhere and at the heart of one of San Antonio’s most environmentally sensitive regions.
There are currently no arterial roadways within 6 miles of this proposed development in any direction, nor are any arterial roadway extensions planned in this region.
The petitioner also proposes to fund this venture with projected sales taxes and ad valorem (property) taxes that will create more burden to Bexar County and the Cities involved, than any growth in this region could surmount. All this considering the Guajolote Tract Master Development Plan (MDP) calls for “NO” commercial plotting.
Number #5 in the “Notes” section of this Guajolote MDP indicates that this PID will be paying for the installation of a sewage treatment plant on the Guajolote Tract that will dump millions of gallons of treated sewage into the Helotes Creek that provides 15% of the water recharge to the Edwards Aquifer. This means that Lennar Homes is seeking approval from Bexar County Commissioners Court to have our tax dollars spent on potentially contaminating the drinking water supply for the entire San Antonio area.
Considering the estimated $50 million dollars spent by the City of San Antonio Edwards Aquifer Protection Program just in this region of Bexar County in fee simple property purchases and conservation easements of thousands and thousands of acres, it seems that our local government is conflicted on whether this environmentally critical region of Bexar County needs to be protected or in-fill promoted.
Guajolote PID Application
Guajolote Tract Master Development Plan (MDP)
City of San Antonio Edwards Aquifer Protection Program (Bexar County Map)
Bexar County Special Improvement Districts
City of San Antonio Special Improvement Districts
