The Hill Country draws people to its rolling landscape, clear waterways and live music scene. But as development grows throughout the Hill Country, attempts to build large entertainment destinations have increasingly collided with concerns over traffic, noise and environmental impacts.
White Rocks, a proposed 71-acre mixed-use development located near Hwy. 71 between Bee Cave and Austin, is the latest project to face this tension.
The site would include a 10,000-seat amphitheater, residential units and a hotel with amenities including two restaurants, three bars, a spa, an onsite distillery, a 1,500-seat indoor performance venue and professional recording studios.
While developers stated in a press release that the project is designed with “environmental stewardship” in mind, opponents are raising concerns about the development’s proposed wastewater system and its potential effects on Barton Creek and the surrounding land.
Zooming out
White Rocks isn’t the first live music venue to be proposed in the Hill Country.
The Backyard in Bee Cave and a concert venue on Fitzhugh Road in Dripping Springs are two outdoor music venues that have been proposed in recent years, yet neither reached full build out.
The original Backyard opened in 1993 at SH 71 and RM 620 and hosted a variety of recognizable names including Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, ZZ Top and Coldplay. The venue closed in 2008 and reopened at a site further west in 2010, only to be closed again in 2014.
Plans to redevelop The Backyard were later introduced by Chris Milam, the developer behind the original plans for White Rocks. The project was later taken over by other developers with plans for a 3,700-seat amphitheater and hotel with an expected opening date of early 2024, yet little progress has been made and the site remains unopened.
Similarly, a 5,000-seat concert venue was proposed on Fitzhugh Road in Dripping Springs, yet was not developed as the property was purchased by a group of neighbors through the Shield-Ayres Foundation in 2025 in response to the community’s concerns surrounding noise, traffic, light pollution and water pollution.
Similar issues have been brought up by neighbors and environmental advocacy groups surrounding the White Rocks project.
“Neighbors came together and fought for a couple years over a TCEQ permit for a music venue on Fitzhugh Road,” Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard said. “Since then, I have not had anybody call in support of another music venue.”
The details
One of the primary concerns among environmental groups and Travis County is the development’s proposed wastewater system.
White Rocks Entertainment LLC submitted a permit application to the TCEQ in March 2024.
The permit would authorize a wastewater treatment facility to be built as part of the development, allowing up to 120,000 gallons of treated wastewater to be disposed daily over 27.4 acres of nearby fields.
A public access “subsurface area drip dispersal system” will also be implemented, injecting processed wastewater into the ground and spreading it over a large area to ensure proper absorption, according to the TCEQ.
The proposed wastewater facility has caused backlash, largely due to its proximity to Barton Creek.
The Nature Conservancy owns the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve, an over 4,000-acre habitat that aims to protect water quality in the Barton Creek watershed and wildlife in the area.
“Barton Creek Habitat Preserve is one of the few places in Travis County where endangered wildlife still thrives and clean water is safeguarded—and we have a responsibility to keep it that way,” James McGuire, state director for The Nature Conservancy Texas, said in a statement. “A large‑scale development uphill from our preserve carries real risks to the lands and waters we protect.”
Concerns about the facility’s capacity have also been brought up, as there is uncertainty surrounding the amphitheater’s inclusion in the 120,000 gallons of daily wastewater disposal.
“A lot of the documents submitted as part of the application… did not take into account an amphitheater as a potential user or something the wastewater treatment plant would be serving,” Victoria Rose, an attorney for Save Our Springs Alliance said.
The Travis County Commissioners Court also formally opposed the permit on July 14, citing calculations from the Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources Department that found that the amount of daily wastewater may be larger than 120,000 gallons due to the size of the proposed development.
However, UMusic Hospitality and Lifestyle said in a statement that “the development demonstrates a strong commitment to environmental stewardship” and “native landscape restoration, intelligent water reuse and microgrid energy technology support a comprehensive sustainability plan.”
The action taken
The TCEQ granted contested case hearings to the wastewater facility permit on July 15 in response to opposition from environmental groups and neighbors.
Save Our Springs Alliance, The Nature Conservancy and nearby homeowners were approved for hearings.
Now, a preliminary hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings is set for Oct. 27. After which the contested case hearing process will have 180 days to take place. At the end of the process, the judge will issue a recommendation of approval or denial to the TCEQ.
There is also an opportunity for either party to file motions for a rehearing and appeal the TCEQ’s final decision to the Travis County District Court, Rose said.
Despite the pending hearing, Phase I of construction is still expected to begin in early 2027, spokesperson for White Rocks Michelle Doss said.
White Rocks also began listing and selling condos and hotel residences in June, generating over $50 million in sales so far.
“The upcoming hearings are an administrative process and will not delay the project or change the development timeline,” Doss said.
White Rocks representatives declined to comment further on the project.
What else?
The contested case hearing will give opponents a chance to challenge the wastewater permit, but it is unlikely to be the final step in the debate over White Rocks.
The project is already moving into its next phase, with developers continuing to sell residences and planning to begin construction in early 2027. At the same time, environmental groups and nearby residents remain concerned about what a development of this scale could mean for Barton Creek and the surrounding area.
White Rocks is not the first proposed music venue in the Hill Country to encounter those questions, and its outcome could help shape how future large-scale entertainment projects are approached in the Hill Country.
Developers believe that White Rocks can become a destination for music, hospitality and residential living, while protecting the natural resources that make the area attractive in the first place. However, those in opposition are asking whether those two goals can coexist.
