Pearland to repeal contested annexations
Residents fight City Council to save their land
The Pearland City Council appeared poised to repeal annexations totaling 1,900 acres that had sparked a lawsuit from residents and a warning from Brazoria County’s district attorney regarding an altered document.
The proposed ordinance would roll back the recent annexations of two tracts — Areas A and L — that the city approved ahead of a state law that went into effect Dec. 1 requiring certain cities to get the consent of voters in targeted areas to proceed.
Pearland, subject to the law because it lies partly in counties that met the population requirement of 500,000 residents, moved quickly to beat the Dec. 1 deadline, drawing protests from many residents and property owners.
Drafting an ordinance
On March 5, the council unanimously approved Councilman Tony Carbone’s motion that the city prepare a draft ordinance.
“I’d like to make a motion directing staff to proceed to prepare an ordinance repealing the annexation ordinance of areas A and L,” Carbone said at the meeting, “along with developing a transition plan ending the city’s emergency services in the city’s (extraterritorial jurisdiction).”
The council will discuss the matter March 26, when the proposal will have its first reading, city spokesman Carry Capers said.
The council in November approved the annexation of the tracts as well as Area C, an undeveloped area that covers 20 acres north of McHard Road.
Capers released a statement March 6 that said that after the annexations occurred, “questions were forwarded to the City regarding certain procedural elements of the annexations.”
“Despite the City’s substantial compliance with applicable annexation procedures,” Capers’ statement continued, “the City Council, rather than engaging in a prolonged dispute on this matter, on March 5th requested staff to prepare an ordinance for future consideration to repeal the annexation for two of the three annexation areas (Areas A and L).”
“We’re just ecstatic they finally came to their senses about stuff that was going on,” said Caye Hauser, who owns a home in Area A, a mostly residential tract south of Shadow Creek Ranch between County Roads 564 and 48. “We’re just a little hesitant till it’s a done deal.”
In February, Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne warned in a letter to the city that municipal staff had mishandled a government document related to Area A when the number of acres was changed from 885 to 895 after Mayor Tom Reid had signed the ordinance.
Residents react
Hauser filed the complaint that prompted Yenne to investigate the matter.
“A record signed by the mayor was altered after execution, you can’t do that,” Yenne said of city officials in the Feb. 1 letter. “The procedure that was used by Pearland was not lawful. I strongly encourage them to take an assessment of their polices and conduct an internal investigation about what happened.”
Dennis Coker, Pearland’s city attorney, called the incident a mistake and attributed it to a typo.
Residents in Area L have filed a lawsuit against the city, said Michele Falzon, who owns commercial property in that area, which consists of 1,002 acres northeast of Texas 35 between Dixie Farm Road and County Road 29.
Hauser and other property owners claim the city did not follow proper procedures in notifying residents and surrounding school districts about the annexation plans.
Area L includes the privately owned Pearland Regional Airport and approximately 80 homes. The airport has tenants and businesses including several flights schools, airplane and helicopter maintenance shops and 20 fulltime residents who live in homes or condos.
Repeal of the annexations may end city fire and emergency medical services to the areas, Capers said.
The council has said that that because county residents in the ETJ do not pay city taxes, the emergency services are too costly for the city to continue to absorb.
Most in the county’s unincorporated areas rely on Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement.
Area C was not included in the council’s request for repeal and is the only area that would remain in the city out of the tracts it initially had sought to annex.