In Fischer, a small but determined band of residents is scrambling ahead of a key Texas Commission on Environmental Quality meeting next Tuesday, trying to head off a massive Lennar subdivision that would tuck roughly 850 houses onto about 230 acres north of Canyon Lake. Neighbors argue the proposal, which is tied to a standalone wastewater plant that would discharge treated effluent into tributaries feeding the lake, threatens private wells, recreation on Canyon Lake and the Hill Country’s rural character. Organizers say the upcoming public session is their shot to get those worries on the record before regulators.
TCEQ meeting set for next week
The TCEQ has scheduled a public meeting next Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Canyon Lake High School cafeteria, 8555 Farm to Market 32 in Fischer, to take comments on a proposed TPDES permit tied to the Broken Cedar Ranch project. The agency’s calendar lists the application as WQ0016660001 and identifies Lennar Homes of Texas Land and Construction as the applicant, and the meeting notice includes instructions for submitting written and oral comments, according to TCEQ.
What the developer proposes
Lennar’s plan centers on a roughly 230-acre tract along FM 484 that listing agents have marketed as “Broken Cedar Ranch,” according to local property listings. The company’s application ties that housing plan, roughly 850 homes or about four units per acre, to a wastewater treatment facility. Permit materials and local reporting describe a plant that could discharge up to 600,000 gallons per day into an unnamed tributary that flows to Potter Creek and Canyon Lake, per MyCanyonLake.
Neighbors organize ahead of the hearing
Fischer Neighbors, a grassroots group that has been coordinating town halls and informational sessions with the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, has posted guides explaining how residents can file comments and register to speak, according to the group's website. Landowner Tom McIver told KSAT the proposal is “crowding 850 houses onto 230 acres” and has urged neighbors to press the governor’s office about TCEQ appointments as a possible point of leverage.
Water and regulatory stakes
Water availability is already constraining growth around Canyon Lake. The Texas Water Company announced a temporary pause on new service commitments to several proposed developments last March as it prioritized existing customers and system resiliency. Environmental groups including the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance have requested contested-case status to challenge the Broken Cedar draft permit, and nearby Lennar projects have faced litigation or permit withdrawals, a pattern that highlights how wastewater approvals and water supply are increasingly decisive for large Hill Country builds, per the utility and local reporting.
How to weigh in
TCEQ’s meeting notice explains that written comments can be mailed to the Office of the Chief Clerk or submitted electronically through the agency’s eComment portal, and the agency will accept public testimony at the cafeteria meeting, according to TCEQ. Fischer Neighbors also posts a step-by-step guide and links to the comment portal for residents who want to submit statements or register to speak ahead of the hearing.
Next Tuesday’s session will be one more public test of whether state permitting, utility constraints and organized neighborhood resistance can reshape how the Hill Country grows. Whatever happens in the high school cafeteria is likely to echo through future permitting steps and any contested-case or legal actions that follow over Broken Cedar.
