NEWBRAUNFELS —The Hill Country Alliance (HCA) convened a third gathering of its 2026 Developer Roundtable at the Headwaters at the Comal in New Braunfels, Texas, on Aug. 27.
More than 40 engineers, architects, planners, regulators, and surveyors were in the room for a full day of presentations and conversation.
The Developer Roundtable series was launched earlier this spring to bring practitioners from all fields of the development process together to identify opportunities for and hurdles to conservation-oriented development in the Hill Country, a region that is growing quickly and facing immense challenges ranging from land fragmentation, over pumping of water resources, and increasingly extreme climactic patterns of drought, heat and flood.
“The day began with a tour of the nearly complete educational facilities at the Headwaters at the Comal, New Braunfels Utilities’ conservation legacy project,” said Nancy Pappas, managing director of the Headwaters at the Comal. “From the buildings and landscape to the water systems and even the parking lot, each element reflects a thoughtful approach to context-sensitive design that seeks to protect and enhance the site’s natural resources.”
She and Associate Partner Michael Britt of Lake Flato described some of the features and the complexity of the property, which sits above the headwater springs of the Comal River.
Preliminary excavation of the site, which has been a storage and equipment yard for NBU for close to a century, unearthed archeological evidence of more than 500 generations of human habitation and use. Plans shifted to leave those archeological sites intact while restoring and revegetating the landscape above them.
“We like to call this a reverse-Joni Mitchell. We pulled up a parking lot, and created a paradise,” said John Hart Asher of Blackland Collaborative, the firm responsible for the ecological restoration plan for the 16-acre site.
The restoration plan is based on research and reflects the unique native plant communities that would have dominated the site during its Historic Climax Condition, when the site was its most biodiverse and bison roamed the land.
This strategy is important because these native grasses and flowers, known for their deep roots, possess the ability to slow and sink rainwater, provide vital habitat for native pollinators and insect species, and promote human health and wellbeing by reconnecting visitors with their natural heritage.
The power of native plants and landscape design to maximize stormwater retention was one of the key takeaways for the day.
Other presentations and discussion centered on night sky friendly lighting, green infrastructure and native plant communities from Emily Manderson with Blackland Collaborative, and low impact development practices for stormwater retention from Matthew Smith with Greenrise Technologies, a company specializing in stormwater management and compliance across the Southeast. Stories of design choices that not only create visual appeal but also improve the way a site functions permeated the day’s presentations.
“Good lighting, like good design, is not something you should really notice. It’s about creating a warm and welcoming feeling,” said Andrew Gauld, a designer with Oldner Lighting who has worked across the region and the country on night sky friendly lighting design. “Good lighting is better for business. It can save money and attract more customers.”
“There is immense power in coming together with the development community to understand how we can better advocate for conservation-centered construction in the Hill Country,” said Katherine Romans, executive director of the Hill Country Alliance.
“We launched this program this year, not knowing if we would get much of a response. It turns out there is a huge demand for exactly this kind of conversation,” Romans said, “and the idea sharing, inspiration, and connections being formed through the Roundtable are going to inform new development patterns that will bring tremendous value to the Hill Country.”
The Developer Roundtable will conclude in November, after a final session hosted at the Campsite at Shield Ranch, a low-impact development and learning space in Travis County.
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