Law firm Winstead PC filed the lawsuit on behalf of La Estancia Investments L.P. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on May 4. It claims the denial of the proposed development as well as the subsequent zoning changes have reduced the land’s value by over $40 million.
The lawsuit also claims the town and council members Sandeep Sharma, Ann Martin and Adam Schiestel violated the Texas Open Meetings Act through unauthorized closed sessions and unsanctioned Zoom meetings among council members.
“The town vehemently denies the claims and will vigorously defend itself,” Flower Mound Communications Director Melissa Demmitt said on behalf of the town.
The town’s planning and zoning commission recommended denial of the project after hundreds of people showed up at its April 11 meeting to protest the proposed business park. The council later denied the proposal during an April 18 meeting.
During the April 18 meeting, the Town Council changed the zoning to a planned development district, which would allow retail, commercial, office and entertainment options. The motion was made by Schiestel, and the allowances include but are not limited to feed stores, fire stations, florists, mailing and shipping services, offices, and parks.
The applicant had requested changing the zoning to planned development district No.188 with campus industrial and industrial district-2 uses. The zoning the council approved does not allow industrial uses on the property.
“The town's decision to downzone the property is an intentional deprivation of [La Estancia Investments L.P.'s] constitutional right to use and enjoyment of the property,”The council members named in the suit allegedly violated the Texas Open Meetings Act “in an effort to orchestrate the denial,” according to the lawsuit.
Crows Holding Industrial submitted the application in 2021 for about 263 acres of land located generally north of Cross Timbers Road and west of US 377, according to the town of Flower Mound. The application included warehouses and office space.
According to the lawsuit, the changes proposed with the project fell within the town’s master plan, which means it should have been approved based on Flower Mound’s historical practices.
“The town has deprived plaintiff of its protected property rights in violation of the due process, due course and equal protection provisions under the Fifth and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 19, of the Texas Constitution,” according to the lawsuit.
