Property Owners Object to City of Eagle Pass Proposed Involuntary Annexation at December 5th Public Hearing
By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2017
A few City of Eagle Pass, Texas real property owners either presented themselves or expressed their opposition to the proposed Involuntary Annexation of 1,804 Acres by the City of Eagle Pass, Texas City Council at the first public hearing held on Tuesday, December 5, 2017, at the regular meeting of the Eagle Pass City Council in Eagle Pass, Texas.
At the beginning of the public hearing, Eagle Pass City Attorney’s Heriberto Morales and Paul Fletcher of the law firm of Langley & Banack presented the Eagle Pass City Council with maps of the five (5) properties being proposed for involuntary annexation by the City of Eagle Pass with Fletcher principally providing most of the presentation. Morales and Fletcher advised City Council that all of the real properties were either agricultural lands, undeveloped property, or vacant property along U.S. Highway 57 North (towards San Antonio, TX), U. S Highway 277 South (towards Carrizo Springs, TX), Loop 480, and FM 1021 (El Indio Highway). Morales noted that none of the Colonias within Maverick County are included for annexation because it would be too expensive for the City of Eagle Pass to bring them into the City limits and provide them all of the City’s basic services.
Fletcher advised the Eagle Pass City Council that the Legal Department and Administration had sent emails to all of the Department Heads for their comments on whether their Departments could provide service to the extended property/city annexation limits. Fletcher stated that all Eagle Pass Department Heads replied. On a second email forwarded to City Department Heads, Fletcher noted that few or none of the Department Heads had replied to the follow-up second question.
Fletcher informed City Council that the City of Eagle Pass would be required to provide all City basic services to the proposed real properties being involuntarily annexed, including fire protection, police protection, ambulance service, parks and recreation, waste collection, water and sewer services, and other City services. Fletcher noted that a City with a population of less than 50,000 has a two mile extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) outside the City limits while a City with a population of 50,000 or greater has a two and half miles ETJ.
Fletcher presented City Council with a proposed Service Plan for the real properties that would be involuntarily annexed prepared by his law firm of Langley & Banack. City Councilman Luis E. Sifuentes questioned Fletcher who had come up with the proposed Service Plan presented by him to City Council? Fletcher replied that his law firm had used a “standard” Service Plan used by many cities when annexing real property into their City limits.
Councilman Sifuentes stated that the City Council has never been presented with the proposed involuntary annexation study’s financial figures and facts as to the alleged costs this annexation would cost the City of Eagle Pass. Sifuentes added that the City Council had provided specific “marching orders” to Legal and Administration concerning what the proposed annexation study should contain, but that City Council never received the study requested. Sifuentes noted that the proposed service plan presented is a generic service plan used by other cities but does not provide any specific costs and figures as well as how these properties were selected to be annexed among many. How can City Council make an important decision without all the financial figures and facts presented to them, suggested Sifuentes.
City Manager Arturo B. Rodriguez stated to City Council that “this is the first service plan that I have seen prepared by Legal,” distancing himself from the Service Plan presented to City Council at the meeting. Rodriguez appeared to have not seen and read the proposed Service Plan drafted by the Legal Department. Obvious to City Taxpayers at the Public hearing, the Legal Department, City Manager Rodriguez, and the City Council have a communications problem on what should have been included in the requested Service Plan. But the proposed Service Plan was not what City Council had requested from Legal and Administration to include in it, according to Sifuentes.
Mayor Ramsey English Cantu opened up the Public hearing for comments from members of the audience. Before allowing taxpayers to speak, Mayor Cantu noted that the Isidro De Los Santos Children Trust had expressed an objection to him that the involuntary annexation was “unfair” because it did not require adjacent real property owners to meet the same requirements being asked of their property. Mayor Cantu, however, answered the Isidro De Los Santos Children Trust objection to annexation that in fact the adjacent property owners are being asked to meet the same terms and conditions as the De Los Santos property. Mayor Cantu also noted that real property owner Larry Levine was in favor of his property being annexed and would request that certain tax Abatements be provided to some of his future real estate developments, but that Randy Levine and Teddy Levine opposed the proposed involuntary annexation of one of their properties.
Longtime Eagle Pass property owners and businessmen Randy Levine and Teddy Levine addressed the City Council at the Public hearing. Teddy Levine questioned City Council if it was necessary to have to involuntarily annex the 1,804 Acres. Teddy Levine noted that it is expensive to provide public service utilities to subdivisions or properties, including between $40,000 to $60,000 per acre. Teddy Levine questioned how does the City of Eagle Pass plan to pay for the costs of annexing each tract of property. Teddy Levine suggested that City Council should let the voters of Eagle Pass decide whether to approve or disapprove this involuntary annexation.
Mayor Cantu replied that the City of Eagle Pass is aggressively planning for its future growth since the City has not had any annexations in many years.
Teddy Levine stated that his brother Randy and him own a 6.62 Acre property that is agricultural and would be included in the proposed involuntary annexation. City Attorney Heriberto Morales replied that all agricultural land would be allowed to keep their agricultural land exemptions.
Randy Levine stated that they had been presented with a proposed “Development Agreement” by the City of Eagle Pass that was extremely “vague, unreasonable, and atrocious” because it ties a property owner for 15 years. Randy Levine noted that he and his brother Teddy Levine had done a lot of research and reading on annexation and found out that many cities are better off allowing natural real estate development to occur and annex these properties as the situation arises instead of doing involuntarily annexation as proposed by the City of Eagle Pass. Randy Levine added that he and his brother Teddy Levine’s request is that their 6.62 Acres tract of property not be involuntarily annexed.
Randy Levine told City Council that the word “involuntary” means negative and adversarial. Randy Levine noted that Texas-Mexico Border communities already have to satisfy a lot of rules and regulations on real estate development such as the Texas-imposed “Colonias Laws” that non-border cities do not have to satisfy. Randy Levine recommended City Council to pause or delay the proposed involuntary annexation process, particularly because the City of Eagle Pass Service Plan does not include any financial figures and costs of the proposed involuntary annexation. The Levine Brothers questioned the City’s rush to approve the proposed involuntary annexation process.
Mayor Cantu replied that the City of Eagle Pass is following a process and a second Public hearing will be held on December 12, 2017 at a special City Council meeting. Mayor Cantu invites all Eagle Pass taxpayers having any public comment regarding the City’s proposed involuntary annexation of the 1,804 Acres to the City Limits to attend and speak up at the December 12th Public hearing. City Attorney Heriberto Morales noted that the City of Eagle Pass has 20 days after the second Public hearing on December 12th whether to approve or disapprove the involuntary annexation of the 1,804 Acres to the City Limits.
Earlier in the Public hearing, Eagle Pass Police Chief Alberto Guajardo told City Council that the City would have to add Satellite Police Substations to provide public service to a larger area, hire more police officers, and purchase more police cars and equipment.
There are certain legal deadlines that the City of Eagle Pass City Council, Administration, and Legal Department are attempting to meet to avoid a public referendum by City voters to decide whether to approve or disapprove the involuntary annexation of the 1,804 Acres as the Texas Legislature changed the law on annexations this year.
