Carrollton City Council on Monday approved a tentative agreement with developer Q Hayward Holdings, LLC– who had filed a civil suit against the city in July of last year— alleging that the city had caused the plaintiff more than $22 million in damages by unlawfully withholding sewer services from a 263-unit residential development planned for outside of city limits. The agreement was presented to council yesterday by city attorneys.
The plaintiff alleged that they were notified via email from Carroll County government that their property near the Sand Hill Community north of Carrollton meets the zoning requirements for a planned unit development … and that Carroll County’s approval included up to 275 single family dwelling units… and authorization from Carrollton to connect to sewer.
The filing also claims that a Carrollton city official notified the plaintiff by letter that “the city . . has a sanitary sewer system located within the highway 61 right-of-way (along the eastern side of the roadway [and adjacent to the property]) that is available.”
However, in a future letter- the plaintiff claims, that same city official stated that “[i]t is the position of the current administration that the city of Carrollton sewer capacity is best utilized by supporting construction within the city limits,” and “[t]he city would consider sewer service to a project outside the city, if such a project had regional impact and significant positive impact on the city of Carrollton itself. Such a project might be a large industrial user.”
The plaintiff asserted that the only thing preventing development of the property is Carrollton withholding sanitary sewer service to the property.
The settlement – sees Carrollton providing access to the city sewar line – in return for the developers paying above normal costs for tap fees for each unit— along with a number of other stipulations.
City attorneys will now present the approved settlement to QHH attorneys for final approval.
