Decks and covered patios in Cordillera Ranch
Cordillera Ranch is unincorporated Kendall County, so no city permit exists; the POA's Architectural Review Committee decides every deck, patio and fence.
What we build in Cordillera Ranch
Custom Decks
Composite, cedar, multi-level and pool decks.
Covered Patios
Match-the-house roofs for year-round shade.
Pergolas
Cedar, aluminum, louvered and bioclimatic.
Fencing
Cedar privacy, horizontal board, and wrought iron.
Starting price
16x30 basic wood deck with handrails
from$4,000
- 16 ft by 30 ft (480 sq ft)
- Basic wood, handrails
- Labor and materials
A 16x30 basic wood deck with handrails in Cordillera Ranch, Boerne starts at $4,000, labor and materials included. Covered patio, pergola or a bigger deck in Cordillera Ranch? You get a fixed price in writing within 3 to 5 business days.
Price my projectBuilding in Cordillera Ranch
Gated 8,700-acre community on the Guadalupe River off Highway 46 East, east of Boerne in unincorporated Kendall County
- ZIP and place78006, Kendall County
- About 8,700 acres of gated Hill Country off State Highway 46 East, with the Springs phases along FM 3351, roughly nine miles east of downtown Boerne and thirty north of San Antonio. Platted from 1997 with up to 2,200 homesites, some on the Guadalupe River. Unincorporated Kendall County: outside Boerne's city limits and outside its one-mile ETJ, so no city taxes and no city rules. Boerne ISD. The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch run the Jack Nicklaus Signature course (opened 2007) and the golf, tennis and swim, equestrian, rod and gun, spa and river clubs.
- Permit deskKendall County Engineer
- Kendall County has no residential building code and issues no building permit for a deck, pergola, patio cover or fence. The County Engineer does issue development permits (the county's definition of development covers structures, grading and paving), on-site sewage permits, floodplain permits and outdoor-lighting permits, and whether an ordinary backyard structure on a built lot triggers the development permit is confirmed with that office for the lot. Septic systems stay outside the 100-foot sanitary control easement around a well, and the design guidelines still hold every project to the International Residential Code.
- Design reviewCordillera Ranch POA Architectural Review Committee
- The ARC meets once a week and gives written approval or denial within 30 days of the meeting. It took 233 ancillary submittals in 2025, the pools, fences, patios and additions line, and a patio, landscaping, light fixtures or an awning all need drawings. There are three guideline sets, Ranch Community, Golf Community and the Springs, plus a supplemental declaration per unit, so the packet is built from the set that governs the lot. The ARC does not check building code; that is on the builder.
- Fence rules
- On Ranch Community lots fencing is not required except around a pool. Perimeter fence is King Ranch-type wire mesh, 50 to 54 inches, on peeled cedar posts, set back 50 feet from the street right-of-way, and no deer-proof fence is allowed on a lot perimeter except along the ranch boundary. Cedar board or wrought iron is allowed only inside the building envelope with written ARC approval. In the Golf Community fences are discouraged and prohibited in the natural preserve; side yards are masonry or iron with masonry columns up to 6 feet, wood prohibited, and a golf-frontage rear fence sits 50 feet off the rear line in ranch wire. Every fence goes to the ARC.
- Trees and the preserve
- Each lot keeps a Natural Vegetation Preserve, typically 25 feet along each side line and 50 feet front and rear, that cannot be disturbed or irrigated without written ARC consent; posts, piers and equipment paths are planned around it. Every tree over 6 inches in diameter is protected anywhere on the lot. The POA prohibits oak pruning from February 1 through June 30 without approval and requires sterilized tools and painted cuts; it reported one active oak wilt case in 2026.
- Ground and water
- Glen Rose limestone with thin soil; the guidelines say caliche is not soil and cap excavation at 5 feet without ARC permission, so deck piers are core-drilled into rock. Trinity Aquifer under the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District, not the TCEQ-regulated Edwards zones. Most units get GBRA Western Canyon water, some run wells, and most lots are on septic. The Guadalupe River and Black, Spring, Swede, Panther and Walter creeks cross the ranch, so floodplain work goes through the County Engineer and any river-frontage rule is read from the lot's declaration.
- Lots and homes
- Homesites of 1 to 10 acres with quarter-acre villa sites, custom homes from the late 1990s to today with a 35-foot height cap, resales averaging about 24 years old. Pools sit inside the building setbacks and connect to the house with walls or courtyards; above-ground pools are not allowed. Cabanas, storage buildings and other ancillary structures match the house in materials and roof, a 42-inch stone wainscot may be required, and prefabricated buildings are prohibited.
- Lighting
- Exterior and landscape lighting needs prior written ARC approval and a night-time inspection before it is final: shielded fixtures, no exposed bulbs, floodlights shielded at 75 watts or less. Kendall County's dark-sky rule adds full-cutoff fixtures at 3,000 K or warmer with a county lighting permit, so patio-cover and pergola lighting here is specified to both.
Same six steps in Cordillera Ranch
- Step 1: Consult
- Step 2: Design and scope
- Step 3: Materials
- Step 4: Permits and HOA
- Step 5: Build
- Step 6: Walk-through
What Cordillera Ranch homeowners ask first
Do I need a permit for a deck or patio cover in Cordillera Ranch?
Not from a city. Cordillera Ranch is unincorporated Kendall County outside Boerne's ETJ, and the county has no residential building code, so nobody issues a building permit for a deck, pergola or patio cover. The gate is the POA's Architectural Review Committee, which reviews every backyard structure and answers within 30 days. The County Engineer still permits septic work, floodplain work and outdoor lighting, and Klema Builders confirms with that office whether a county development permit applies to your lot.
What does the Cordillera Ranch ARC need for a deck, pergola or patio?
Drawings. The guidelines require a submittal for a patio, an addition, landscaping, light fixtures or an awning, and the ARC meets weekly and replies in writing within 30 days of the meeting. Klema Builders prepares the site plan showing the building envelope and the Natural Vegetation Preserve, the elevations, materials and colors matched to the house, the lighting plan, and the fence detail if there is one, from the guideline set that governs your unit.
Can I build a cedar privacy fence in Cordillera Ranch?
Only inside the building envelope, with written ARC approval, on Ranch Community lots. The lot perimeter is King Ranch-type wire on cedar posts at 50 to 54 inches, set 50 feet back from the street, and deer-proof fencing is not allowed except along the ranch boundary. In the Golf Community side-yard fences are masonry or iron up to 6 feet and wood is prohibited. Klema Builders designs the fence to the set that applies and submits it with the rest of the packet.
How much does a deck, pergola or covered patio cost in Cordillera Ranch?
A 16x30 basic wood deck with handrails in Cordillera Ranch, Boerne starts at $4,000, labor and materials included. Covered patios, pergolas, composite and multi-level decks are quoted fixed-price, line by line, after a free in-home consult. The written quote arrives within 3 to 5 business days.
How do the rock and the preserve change a deck here?
Piers are core-drilled into Glen Rose limestone, since caliche does not count as soil and excavation is capped at 5 feet without ARC permission. The Natural Vegetation Preserve, typically 25 feet on the sides and 50 feet front and rear, cannot be touched, so the deck, the stairs, the equipment path and any pergola or cover stay inside the building envelope, and every tree over 6 inches is protected wherever it stands. Most backyards drop toward a creek or the river, which makes multi-level decks with engineered stairs the normal design.
Do you handle the permit and the design review in Cordillera Ranch?
Yes. In Cordillera Ranch that means the Architectural Review Committee packet under the Ranch, Golf or Springs guidelines and your unit's supplemental declaration, plus the county septic, floodplain or lighting permit where one applies. We prepare the drawings, the site plan and the material list, file the application, and handle the back-and-forth; the permit and the review are line items in the quote. Every project starts with a free in-home consult and a fixed-price quote line by line within 3 to 5 business days, and we build across San Antonio, the Texas Hill Country and the I-35 corridor to Austin.
More questions (2)Fewer questions
How long does a project take in Cordillera Ranch?
A cedar pergola is built in 1 to 2 weeks on site once materials and approvals are in hand. A composite or cedar deck takes 3 to 6 weeks from signed contract to walk-through once the permit clears, and a multi-level or pool deck 6 to 10 weeks. The ARC meets weekly and answers within 30 days of the meeting, and there is no city permit to wait on. The schedule is committed in writing in the contract.
What does it cost to take down an old pergola or deck in Cordillera Ranch?
A 12x12 pergola removal in Cordillera Ranch, Boerne starts at $3,750, haul-away and yard grading included. Decks, patio covers, fences, sheds, hot tubs and playsets are taken down in 1 to 3 business days, hauled off and the ground graded or raked. Concrete footings and any siding or stucco repair at the ledger are handled separately. Already tore it down yourself? We haul off the pile.
Related pages
Built for Cordillera Ranch lots, reviewed the first time.
Free in-home consult in Cordillera Ranch, then a written fixed-price quote in 3 to 5 business days.