Residents urge council to delay Brycewood Unit 4 approval over silt and drainage problems

Residents who live next to the Brycewood development urged the Helotes City Council on Thursday to delay final approval of Unit 4, saying two years of unresolved drainage problems from neighboring Unit 5 have left silt and muddy runoff on private property and created safety and water-quality concerns.

At the start of the citizens-to-be-heard portion, Terry Gray said she has lived at 11444 Sunset Boulevard since 1987 and showed photographs she said document silt entering her yard and driveway. "Please don't support ineffective and incomplete work by rewarding Brycewood with another vote for approval to continue development until the drainage issue is resolved from plat 5," Gray said.

Other neighbors described similar impacts. Eric Thompson said elevated grading and engineering fill at Brycewood now “deposit a dense slurry of heavy silt across our streets, driveways, and lawns,” and that his family spent thousands repairing a well and filtration system clogged by muddy runoff. Anna Green and Ruth Bettis also told council that construction dust and traffic have reduced quality of life in the Beverly Hills subdivision and urged greater oversight and remediation before additional approvals.

Resident Anne Carowway cited Texas Water Code 11.086 and told the council she believes the temporary silt controls are being used improperly as water barriers. "Those walls are not meant to retain water and this is clearly in violation of Texas Water Code 11.086," she said, urging the council to condition or delay approval until a proper investigation is completed.

Developer Frank Gabido (Brycewood) responded that plans were engineered and approved through the city's review process and that the company has repeatedly modified controls, expanded ponds, added rock berms and reconfigured silt fences. He said crews have begun constructing a retaining wall in Unit 5 intended to force escaped water into the project detention ponds for filtration and controlled discharge. "We've started sections of the wall in there," Gabido said, estimating that once started the bordering sections near Beverly Hills could be built in about six weeks and describing the wall as "close to a half a million dollar" effort. He said the developer will continue to work with affected property owners and that additional mitigation will be considered if the wall does not resolve the problem.

City professional staff and public works told council members they view Unit 4 and Unit 5 as separate plats and recommended approval of Unit 4 as presented, noting detention ponds and engineered drainage were part of the submittal. Staff also said the city has been actively inspecting the area after storm events and continuing enforcement and engagement where problems persist.

Council members pressed for clearer mitigation plans and asked the developer to circulate the wall and drainage drawings to staff and the public before further action. One council member said they would like to "table" the item to allow residents to review the developer's proposed fixes; staff reiterated that Unit 4, as filed, was separate and recommended approval. The transcript records a final vote accepting item number eight as presented; the vocal responses are recorded but the transcript does not include a full, numbered roll-call tally.

What happens next: council members asked staff to obtain and distribute the developer's drainage and wall drawings to residents for review and requested continued monitoring of Unit 5 mitigation. The developer said the Unit 4 approvals are tied to funding and sales timelines but also pledged to continue working with neighbors to address outstanding impacts.