CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A dispute that began 16 months ago over400 acres near Bob Hall Pier may be nearing a resolution.
The conflict involves a deed restriction authorized by former County Judge Barbara Canales to a local developer.
Last February, Nueces County received a cease-and-desist letter from the Jones Family, which gifted the land to the county in 1949.
That letter threatened to take back the nearly 400 acres due in part to that deed restriction which allowed the developer to use public lands to satisfy a wetlands mitigation requirement.
Following a lengthy executive session Wednesday, the Nueces County Commissioner's Court agreed to work with the developer to move that mitigation site from Padre Balli Park to Packery Channel Nature Preserve.
It also authorized County Judge Connie Scott to sign any necessary agreements with the developer.
Scott said the developer, Gulfshores Joint Venture, has agreed to work with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to replace this site.
In a previous statement from the USACE, if the deed restriction were removed and the wetlands were no longer available to the developer for mitigation, "the permittee would be required to request a modification to their permit."
The county currently monitors the site at Packery Channel for invasive species and will continue to do so under the agreement authorized by commissioners Wednesday.
Site monitoring is a USACE requirement for any mitigation site.
