INGLESIDE, Tx — The Port of Texas, LP has filed a lawsuit against the City of Ingleside, seeking $15 million in damages related to 288.13 acres of land owned by the business.
The amount in damages is expected to be amended, as a recent appraisal valued the land at $80 million. The lawsuit was filed in federal district court on November 15.
The Port of Texas, which is a limited partnership, purchased the property in 2022. That property has been used for bulk storage and as a gas pipeline hub since 1927.
In 1998, the City of Ingleside annexed the property and "temporarily" zoned it as R-1 Single Family Residential.
According to the suit, "The temporary 'R-1' zoning is inconsistent with the historic and current use of the property, as oil and gas storage are not permitted use in 'R-1.'"
The property's former owner, Exxon, was required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Texas Railroad Commission to file a "Deed Restriction" prohibiting residential use on the land.
On March 5, the Port of Texas, LP requested formal recognition of the property’s non-conforming rights. The city denied the request in June, citing the removal of storage tanks from the property in 2005. The business then applied to rezone the property from R-1 to Industrial.
In August, the Ingleside Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the rezoning request, but the city council denied the request during a September 10 meeting.
Port of Texas owner Kenneth Berry attended the meeting and expressed frustration. "I don't want to give up $15 million of property so people feel good. That's not how business works," Berry said at the time. "You (the council) chose to zone it R-1. I didn't choose that; nobody chose that."
In response, council member Tracy Long said, "You're not going to build a tank farm. Your whole purpose in buying the property was to clean it up and sell it to somebody." Long added, "Your purpose is to add value to the property and sell it to somebody who's actually going to do that."
Long was the only member of the council who voted against the motion to deny the rezoning, which was passed in a 6-1 decision.
The lawsuit claims, "The City's denial of Plaintiff's (Port of Texas, LP) zoning request denied Plaintiff of all economically beneficial or productive use of its property."
KRIS 6 spoke with Berry regarding the lawsuit on Tuesday. He provided the following statement:
Government cannot take your property in the state of Texas. And my property has been used for oil and gas storage for a hundred years. The City of Ingleside annexed it and zoned it for residential use. Even though you can't build houses on the property. And then they told me recently at the meeting, I wouldn't be able to use the land at all. So we went through the process to change the zoning. And then if you were at the meeting when the city denied the zoning, the only option I was left with was to file suit so I can continue to use the property for what it's been used for for the last hundred years.
KRIS 6 also reached out to City Manager Brenton Lewis for comment. "The City does not comment on litigation or potential litigation," Lewis wrote in response.
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