A group of residents is suing the city of Missouri City and three city officials over proposed development of the contentious Briggs Tract.
Plaintiffs—who include the Newpoint Estates Homeowners Association, L.J. and Ivan Butterfield—are asking a judge to force the city to comply with a state law requiring super majority approval from City Council for a rezoning request of the land that the council
passed with a simple majority this month.
Attorney Charles Irvine filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs in Fort Bend District Court. The suit names Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen, Assistant City Manager Scott Elmer and Director of Development Services Otis Spriggs as defendants.
The city said it is its policy not to comment on pending litigation.
The case stems from a request by developer Ashton Woods to rezone the 95.31-acre Briggs Tract, which Sept. 6 was deemed to have failed because the council vote was 5-2 in favor. The city’s municipal code states that when at least 20 percent of neighboring property owners protest a zoning change request, the request requires at least 75 percent of the governing body to vote in favor in order for it to pass.
That 5-2 vote in favor of the rezoning was one vote short of the needed 75 percent super majority.
But at its Dec. 19 City Council meeting, the city announced that the proposal actually did not require the super majority of six favorable votes. The reason later given was that the request was not for a change in the land’s zoning, but rather an assignment of the land’s zoning for the first time.
Council members then voted to revise the Sept. 6 meeting minutes to show that the ordinance had actually been approved.
Residents who had submitted formal notices of protest against the plan live in the adjacent subdivisions of Newpoint Estates and Creekmont. At multiple meetings, people voiced concerns to the council and the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
Among their complaints were fears that Ashton Woods' proposal would exacerbate flooding after heavy rains in the area, and that the planned Shipman's Cove subdivision would increase traffic congestion to Creekmont and Newpoint Estates.
Ashton Woods proposed to rezone 95.31 acres in Missouri City.[/caption]
Shipman's Cove would have 278 single-family lots just south of Hwy. 6 between the Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road and FM 521, according to city documents. Longtime residents of Newpoint Estates said their properties flooded from heavy rains after Creekmont was built, making them wary of how future developments will address drainage in the area.
Mark Dremely moved into Newpoint Estates in the late 1990s, and he said that his property now floods three or four times per year since Creekmont was finished. Creekmont was completed in 2015, according to its HOA website.
“They’re telling us to just trust the city and that everything will be fine, and the drainage will not affect us,” Dremely said. “The flooding did not become a problem until they built Creekmont. I'm not a drainage expert; I’m just putting two and two together.”
On Jan. 3, attorney Derrick Reed submitted a settlement proposal to the city on behalf of Newpoint Estates HOA and Creekmont Homeowners Association, according to the Newpoint Estates HOA.
The settlement offer states the HOAs would withdraw their petitions of protest if Ashton Woods made certain changes to its development, including keeping more vacant land between the new and existing subdivisions, and including a 911 emergency entrance.
Irvine said a representative from Ashton Woods reached out to the group in response to the proposal but the two sides were not able to reach a compromise.
Ashton Woods proposed to rezone 95.31 acres in Missouri City.[/caption]
Shipman's Cove would have 278 single-family lots just south of Hwy. 6 between the Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road and FM 521, according to city documents. Longtime residents of Newpoint Estates said their properties flooded from heavy rains after Creekmont was built, making them wary of how future developments will address drainage in the area.
Mark Dremely moved into Newpoint Estates in the late 1990s, and he said that his property now floods three or four times per year since Creekmont was finished. Creekmont was completed in 2015, according to its HOA website.
“They’re telling us to just trust the city and that everything will be fine, and the drainage will not affect us,” Dremely said. “The flooding did not become a problem until they built Creekmont. I'm not a drainage expert; I’m just putting two and two together.”
On Jan. 3, attorney Derrick Reed submitted a settlement proposal to the city on behalf of Newpoint Estates HOA and Creekmont Homeowners Association, according to the Newpoint Estates HOA.
The settlement offer states the HOAs would withdraw their petitions of protest if Ashton Woods made certain changes to its development, including keeping more vacant land between the new and existing subdivisions, and including a 911 emergency entrance.
Irvine said a representative from Ashton Woods reached out to the group in response to the proposal but the two sides were not able to reach a compromise.
