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Home My WebLink AboutLegal Documents DON DillON TOM GIESENSCHlAG SAM SHARP STEVE SMITH lARRY HOLT KEITH SWIM lES PALMER RUTH GARNER RECEIVED OCT 0 6 1982 LAW OFFICES DILLON &GIESENSCHLAG, P. c. Metro Centre 3833 Texas Avenue BRYAN, TEXAS 77801 Post Office Box 4067 Bryan, Texas 77805 713/846-1773 October 6, 1982 Ms. Diane Jones City Secretary P. O.Box 9960 College Station, Texas 77840 RE: John W.Haney v. City of College Station, Texas. Rezoning of 8.5 acres located north of the inter- section of Texas Avenue and State Highway 6 Bypass from DistrictC-l General Commercial and District A-P.AdministrativeProfessional to District A-P Administrative Professional. Dear Ms. Jones: In accordance with Section 136 of the Charter for the City of College Station, Texas, June 1980, this letter shall serve as timely notice of John W . Haney , s suit for a "damage claim" and/or "damage to property" caused by the City of College Station, Texas. Specific areas of 'information requested in Section 136 of the aforesaid Charter is provided as follows: WHEN: WHERE: HOW: DAMAGES: Damages commenced upon the initiation of the proposed rezoning of the above-described property (the approx- imate date being May 31, 1982, the exact date being privy to the ,City of College Station, Texas), damages were realized at the City Council meeting for the City of College Station held on September 9, 1982 at seven o'clock p.m., and such damages continue to accrue. College Station Municipal Building, 2611 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas and at the subject property described above. Inverse condemnation and improper rezoning of portions of the above described subject property with a conscious disregard for the rights of the subject property owner. a) b) Reduced Value: Lost Profits: $250,000.00. $20,000.00 per month beg.inning June 1, 1982 and continuing until judgment or until lost profits otherwise cease. Diane Jones · October 6, 1982 Page 2 (This element of damage will be increased by increased interest payments when such information is appropriately ascertained). c) Exemplary Damages: $250,000.00. d) Costs of Court. NAMES OF WITNESSES: a) . John W. Haney, P.O. Box 724, Huntsville, Texas 77340. b) Officers from Repub1icBank of A&M, College Station, Texas. c) Council members, planning and zoning commissioners, city staff, and city officers for the City of College Station, Texas. (All of such information being privy to the City of College Station, Texas.) d) Various other witnesses, expert and non-expert, to be properly named and disclosed in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. This information is provided to properly place the City of College Station, Texas on notice that a legal action is contemplated and intended by John W. Haney to recover damages suffered due to the above noted rezoning instituted by College Station. The right to amend and supplement the information herein provided is reserved and will be exercised in the proper legal forum pursuant to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. Sincerely, :.~.,L~.',. &. G~ES..,. ~NSCHL~G, P. C. . ~ tf1~ Les Palmer LP/dj cc: John W. Haney I do hereby certify that this notice. let.t.er, prepar.ed pU.r- suant to Section 136 of the Charter for the City of College Station, Texas, June 1980, is being this daY~ the. 6th d~y .of . October, 1982 ,prepared and pe.rsonally .de1ivered to the office 'of the City Secretary for College Station, Texas. /JB' , ( ,?~.~pfi~ , " X~$.J. LESPALMER, Attorney.for Claimant Diane Jones .. October 6, 1982 Page 3 THE STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF BRAZOS BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared Les Palmer known tome to be the person whose name is subscribed to the foregoing instrument and acknowledged to me that he executed the same for the purposes and consideration therein expressed. GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND SEAL OF OFFICE this 6th day of October, 1982. Notary PUff State of My commission expires: 1-02l/-1b D ClT h ;:r;; -f -ltJ ) Typed {;i.. Printe1. Name of Notary CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS ~ RE: REZONING OF 8.5 ACRES LOCATED NORTH OF THE INTER- SECTION OF TEXAS AVENUE AND STATE HIGHWAY 6 BYPASS FROM DISTRICT C-1 GENERAL COMMERCIAL AND DISTRICT A-P ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONAL TO DISTRICT A-P ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONAL JOHN W. HANEY ~ vs. ~ WRITTEN PROTEST TO PROPOSED REZONING TO THE CITY SECRETARY, CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS: JOHN W. HANEY, being the owner of more than twenty (20%) percent of the above-described subject property, hereby respect- fully files this written protest to the proposed rezoning of said property from District C-1 General Commercial and District A-P Administrative Professional to District A-P Administrative Professional pursuant to Ordinance No. 1234 of July 24, 1980, Page 401. In support of this Written Protest to Proposed Rezoning, John W. Haney shows the following: 1. This property as presently zoned satisfies the policies and strategies propounded by the Comprehensive Plan or "Plan 2000" as proposed by the City of College Station. "Plan 2000" states as follows: Commercial activities should be located at points of high vehicular access. Points of highest access are at grade separations along the freeway. Major shopping, offices, and other intensive commercial activities should be located near these points. Secondary access points are located at the inter- section of thoroughfares. Neighborhood shopping centers and other activities which serve the immed- iate community should be located at these points. Commercial activities should not be allowed to develop in extended strips along thoroughfares as this can create traffic congestion, unsightly condi- tions, and intrusions on residential areas. The intersection of Texas Avenue and State Highway 6 Bypass, the extended frontage on two (2) opposite bound- aries, and the frontage road access and grade separation along the East Bypass provide limitless possibilities for the location of acceptable curb-cuts for high vehicular access in'compliance with "Plan 2000." The commercial zoning in this location corresponds to the present com- mercial zoning and development on the adjacent sides of this same intersection. Furthermore, the present zoning of the subject tract avoids the complications of "strip zoning" along major thoroughfares and avoids intrusion into residential areas by abutting only Bernadine Estates on one (1) side by way of the District A-P Administrative Professional and the twenty-five (25) foot utility ease- ment as "buffers." 2. In 1979 when the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council of College Station approved the present District C-1 General Commercial and District A-P Administrative Professional combination zoning, all Mile Drive residents were at that time opposed to the District C-1 General Commercial zoning for all the property under consideration. Ultimately, an agreement was reached to the satisfaction of the residents. This agreement, with the approval and enforcement by the City of College Station, entailed the inclusion of the District A-P Administrative Professional zone as a buffer between the District C-1 General Commercial and the Mile Drive residents in Bernadine Estates. Moreover, the agreement required the landowner to convey a twenty-five (25) foot set-back or utility easement between the Mile Drive residents in Bernadine Estates and the District A-P Administrative Professional zone to the City of College Station as an additional and permanent "buffer" between the District C-1 General Commercial and the Mile Drive residents. It must be noted that all Mile Drive residents were either parties to this agreement at its inception or have purchased property on Mile Drive since the agreement with -2- constructive notice as to the District C-1 General Com- mercial and District A-P Administrative Professional zoning. 3. Prior to his purchase of the subject property in January 1982, John W. Haney took all reasonable measures to ascertain the actual zoning restrictions and conditions then existing on the subject property. At that time this property had been zoned District C-1 General Commercial and District A-P Administrative Professional for approxi- mately three (3) full years. John W. Haney consulted the City of College Station zoning map which represented to him, as the "final authority for zoning" per the City's zoning ordinance, that the subject property was in fact zoned District C-1 General Commercial and District A-P Administrative Professional. Only then did he sign an Earnest Money Contract with the seller, RepublicBank of A&M, and this contract was contingent upon the zoning as it presently existed. At that point in time, RepublicBank of A&M officers contacted city planning staff members for the City of College Station to confirm the zoning condi- tions as they appeared at that time. Upon receiving such confirmation from city staff members, the real estate transaction from RepublicBank of A&M to John W. Haney was closed January 26, 1982. 4. John W. Haney immediately began to enlist archi- tects, engineers, and employees to develop acceptable construction and site plans in accordance with the zoning description and to the satisfaction of the City of College Station. At that point in time, it was discovered that the twenty-five (25) foot set-back or utility easement specified in the agreement with the Mile Drive residents and the City of College Station had not yet been conveyed to the City. On March 30, 1982, with all appropriate -3- legal documents and approval by the City Attorney of College Station, John W. Haney conveyed this twenty-five (25) foot wide utility easement running the length of Bernadine Estates to the City of College Station. The City of College Station paid absolutely nothing for this substantial piece of property and the rights contained therein. ALL PREMISES CONSIDERED, in the short period of time in which John W. Haney has owned the subject property, he has invested far in excess of one-half (~) million dollars, submitted two (2) different site plans for construction on his property which were indefinitely tabled due to this rezoning proposal, and conveyed all useful rights in a substantial tract of land to the City of College Station at the insistence of the City and residents of Mile Drive. After John W. Haney's reliance upon agreements, representations, and the "official zoning authority" for the City of College Station, to deprive him of the use, character, and ultimately the value of his own property by this rezoning proposal would be an injury and gross injustice for which the City of College Station should not be beyond reproach. Respectfully submitted, By: DILLON & GIESENSCHLAG, P. O. Box 4067 Bryan, Texas 77805 ( 713 ) 84 6 -:,1 7 7 . ~) ~. <:~. ....~ LES PALMER SBOT 1115432400 P.C. VERIFICATION I, JOHN W. HANEY, the-yndersigned Property Owner, do hereby certify on this~~~ day of August, 1982, that I have read the above and foregoing Written Protest To Proposed Rezoning; and that every statement ontained therein is within my personal knowledge and true a 0 ect. -4-