San Antonio Planning Commission Special Meeting on Guajalote Ranch MUD – January 16, 2026
San Antonio Planning Commission Special Meeting on Guajalote Ranch MUD – January 16, 2026
The San Antonio Planning Commission held a special meeting on January 16, 2026, at 9:05 AM to consider a single agenda item: a request for the City of San Antonio to consent to the creation of a Municipal Utility District (MUD) for the Guajalote Ranch (also referred to as Wahote Ranch) subdivision, a proposed 3,000-home development in Bexar County's ETJ. The meeting included a staff presentation, applicant presentation, voicemail and in-person public testimony, and commissioner discussion. The commission voted to recommend denial of the city's consent.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Over 60 individuals submitted voicemails or spoke in person, nearly all opposed to the MUD.
- Opponents raised concerns about: potential contamination of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers from a planned wastewater treatment plant discharging up to 1 million gallons per day into Helotes Creek; increased flooding and traffic on rural roads; lack of emergency access (single ingress/egress); high property taxes from MUD bonds; inconsistency with the North Sector Plan (designated country tier); and the developer's out-of-state status.
- Notable speakers included State Representative Mark Dorazio (HD 122), who opposed the MUD, and representatives from the Conservation Society, Sierra Club, Scenic Loop Helotes Creek Alliance, City of Grey Forest, and nearby MUD board members.
- The applicant, Kevin DeAnda (Ortiz McKnight, representing Lennar Homes), rebutted that the MUD would provide oversight, that the wastewater plant would use advanced membrane bioreactor treatment, and that the development already holds TCEQ and SAWS approvals.
Discussion Items
- Staff from the Planning Department presented the request for city consent to create MUD No. 2 in Bexar County, noting the purpose is to finance infrastructure (water, sewer, drainage, roads) for the 1,160-acre site. The development agreement includes nine SAWS requirements, annexation provisions, and compliance with city regulations.
- Commissioners questioned the applicant about: the necessity of the MUD v. alternative financing; the wastewater treatment plant’s operator qualifications and oversight; bond repayment via property taxes (capped at $1 per $100 valuation); the board selection process; and the consequences of city denial.
- The applicant stated that without city consent, the developer could still petition TCEQ directly for the MUD, but the city would lose leverage (e.g., annexation rights, additional enforcement).
- Commissioner discussion centered on balancing water quality protection, community opposition, and the city’s ability to influence the development.
Key Outcomes
- A motion to recommend denial of the city's consent to the creation of the MUD was made by Councilman Mungia and seconded by Commissioner Sanchez.
- The motion passed (the chair declared it passed; roll call showed Commissioners Garcia, DeSucci, and Mylam in favor of denial; Commissioners Sanchez, Oulette, Siegel, Profit, and Chair Peck opposed).
- The recommendation will be forwarded to the San Antonio City Council for final action at its February 5, 2026 meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, everybody. Good morning. Um it is 9 05 and we'll call the special uh planning commission meeting for January 16th, 2026 to order. Would staff please do a roll call? Commissioner Sanchez. Present. Commissioner Garcia. Present. Commissioner DeSucci. Present. Commissioner Ulett. Here. Commissioner Mylam. Here. Councilman Mendia. Present. Um Commissioner Siegel. Here. Commissioner Profit. Present. Chair Peck. Here. A quorum is present. Thank you. Can we get the Spanish English interpreter, please? Hello, good morning. See, buenos días. Qualquer persona can necessite servicio de interpretación al español. Favor de pasar a la cabina in la parte de atrás por su equipo. Muchas gracias. Thank you. Okay, today we only have one thing on the agenda. It is the uh consent or recommendation for the city to consent to the creation of the MUD for the Wahote Ranch subdivision. A couple of housekeeping things. Um we're gonna allow sign-ups until 9 30. At 9 30, the sign up will be cut off. Um the speaking time for each person will be one minute and 30 seconds. If you want to approach the podium in group large groups, feel free to do so. But if the if the number of people at the podium is more than three, the speaking time will still be four minutes and thirty seconds. Um I'm gonna the way we're gonna do this is I'm gonna call numbers. Um we're gonna start with numbers one through five and one through five. We'll line up kind of in the aisle here, and then as each person speaks, we the next person can uh can just file up and then we'll call five through ten and so on and so forth. Um when you get to the podium, please don't forget to state your name and address for the record um and just for uh staff's uh knowledge um after the uh city's presentation and the applicant's presentation. We're gonna do the voicemails and then we'll move on to uh public comment. So with that, we will uh start with the uh staff presentation good morning, commissioners. Uh my name is Priscilla Rosales Pina, and I'm with the Cities of San Antonio's Planning Department uh Regional Planning Section, the planning manager, and today we have a presentation on a public hearing and resolution regarding the request for the city's consent to the Wajalote Ranch Municipal Utility District, which will also be known as the Burr County Municipal Utility District or MUD number two by TCAQ and also an associated development agreement with the uh property owners of the property. Okay, sorry, thank you. So on this slide, uh as you can see on the map, the property is look is located west of northwest of Scenic Loop and Babcock Road. It is in the northwest part of the cities, ETJ and Burke County. It uh the property owners are uh Wajalote Ranch and Sydney and Marcy Edwards, and they have submitted a request to TCQ to uh create the municipal utility district.
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