Eminent domain issue spurs outcry
“Flower Mound Town Councilmembers tabled action Monday on plans to acquire a half-acre property through eminent domain after the issue flared on social media over the weekend, prompting residents to decry using condemnation to take private property from a longtime resident for what was perceived as business use.
Councilmembers unanimously agreed to allow town officials to discuss options with the landowner, setting a timetable of April 20 for a compromise before officials again consider eminent domain.
The issue erupted after a consent agenda item appeared on the agenda seeking eminent domain relating to property on Bob White Lane owned by Janvier Gentry-Scott, whose family has lived in Flower Mound for 50 years. About .585 of an acre was being sought by the town to use in creating a north/south connection for businesses between Firewheel and Sagebrush where traffic could move among businesses to gain access to traffic lights on both streets onto FM 2499.
Gentry-Scott questioned why town officials needed to use eminent domain to take her property for business use. That question spurred more than 400 comments on Facebook on the use of eminent domain.
Town officials countered that negotiations had been ongoing since August but to no resolution. Doug Powell, executive director of development services for the Town of Flower Mound, said the north/south connector off of FM 2499 behind the businesses had been part of an overall Specific Plan Area put into the master plan in 1994.
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Cobb, Dawn. Cross Timbers Gazette 2 February 2015.