The City of Rowlett’s (“the City’s”) authority to seize private property through eminent domain is strictly limited by the Texas Constitution and Texas law. Nevertheless, the City illegally condemned and seized a private driveway belonging to Petitioner KMS Retail Rowlett, LP F/K/A KMS Retail Huntsville, LP (“KMS”) for the sole benefit of a private developer that sought easier access to its proposed commercial site. Such taking of private property for a non-public use violates the private property protections enshrined in the Texas Constitution and Texas statutes. The Appellate court’s opinion to the contrary in this matter must be reversed.
Local Government
No Regulation Without Representation
When the Sons of Liberty stormed ships docked in Boston to throw taxed tea into the harbor, they had a simple animating principle guiding their actions: no taxation without representation. Decades later, similar resistance to an unrepresentative and far away government propelled Texans to fight the Mexican dictator Santa Ana. In both cases, the core...
June 27, 2022