Houston has a growing number of quasi-governmental neighborhood districts, which enjoy limited powers of taxation.
However, the state attorney general has ruled that these entities do not enjoy the power of eminent domain:
The Upper Kirby Management District — which had threatened to condemn a building that it and the Girl Scouts both wanted to buy — does not have authority to take property, a legal opinion by the Texas attorney general’s office says.
Although the fate of the two-story building at 3000 Southwest Freeway has been settled, Attorney General Greg Abbott responded Thursday to a May request by state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, for a legal opinion on the issue.
The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council was negotiating to buy the building from AAA Texas to expand scouting programs and its next-door offices and to house a museum. The Upper Kirby district, which has power to collect taxes for economic development and improvements, wanted the building for a community center.
AAA broke off talks with the Scouts after receiving a letter from the district threatening to use eminent domain power if necessary to acquire the building. The Scouts responded with a lawsuit challenging the district’s power. The lawsuit was settled confidentially, and the Scouts purchased the building Nov. 1, said spokeswoman Delphia Duckens.
Abbott’s opinion says the Legislature has created special districts under a complicated set of laws, endowing them with differing powers. But because “the Legislature’s intent is unclear,” the opinion says, “we consequently conclude that (the district) does not have the power of eminent domain.”
These management districts do some good in neighborhood beautification, but there is concern that they are too unaccountable to be given broad powers — and eminent domain certainly qualifies as a broad power. If the Upper Kirby folks want a building, they should compete on the market to buy it. They certainly should not be intimidating Girl Scouts with threats of eminent domain.
