By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Val Verde County Commissioners Court members say they want to help residents of the Moreno Valley Subdivision get better roads and public water and wastewater service, but told those residents there’s nothing they can do at the moment.
County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. asked subdivision residents to be patient until the county hears from the Texas Attorney’s General’s Office what public services, if any, can be offered to the Moreno Valley area.
The court discussed the Moreno Valley Subdivision during its July regular term meeting Tuesday.
Residents of the subdivision have repeatedly asked the county to provide water and sewer services and to improve the roads in the subdivision, which lies south of the Del Rio city limits.
The court previously told residents the subdivision was created illegally, and there is very little the county could do until the area’s developer brought the subdivision into compliance with the model subdivision rules the govern development in the county. Owens reiterated Tuesday the area must be brought into compliance with those rules, and County Attorney David Martinez agreed.
“It isn’t our policy; it’s what we have to follow, the model subdivision rules,” the county judge said Tuesday.
“That’s correct,” Martinez replied, adding, “We have been working with an assistant attorney general from Austin, who has done a lot of work on this matter and at the end of the day, the county cannot move forward until the model subdivision rules are adhered to, and simply put, what that means, is the county – and this is any county, not just Val Verde County where the model subdivision rules apply – cannot accept a road until that road meets certain minimum standards, and in this case, that road was never put into that condition, so it was never in a condition where the county could accept it.”
“Is the Attorney General’s Office going to file suit against the developer?” County Commissioner Pct. 3 Beau Nettleton asked.
“The AG’s office was in the process of doing that, and we learned early last week that the developer had passed away, so the AG’s office is trying to figure out what their next step is, if they have to take action against his estate, for example,” Martinez replied.
Nettleton asked if the county could take the same steps it had taken more than a decade ago, in a similar situation, where the county finally took possession of the property, sold it and used that money to make necessary improvements.
Owens said the Moreno Valley situation is more complicated because most of the lots have been sold, and the lots still held by the developer have been used as collateral for additional loans he made.
Owens said the county is also looking at whether designating the road through Moreno Valley as an emergency egress from Vega Verde Road area in case of Rio Grande flooding could give the county leeway to work on the road.
“The AG’s office is looking at all of those issues, but it is very complex, with the recent passing of the developer, but more so because his financing situation,” Martinez replied.
“I hate to just keep kicking this can down the road, but I’m going to ask the question: If the subdivision lots were sold with whatever exceptions or restrictions that were put on them at the time, saying that the county would not accept the roads in the condition they’re in, once we get past that, since we adopted the model subdivision rules, would that give us some leeway?” Owens said.
“At the end of the day, the developer had all that time to meet the base compliance standards for the roads, and did not, and although the seller in this case is not the original developer, the developer still had that duty, and that duty, as of today, has yet to be fulfilled,” the county attorney said.
“So what would be the options here, David, as to what we could do?” County Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores asked. The subdivision lies in Flores’ precinct.
“This is the first day I hear about the potential use of that road for emergency situations, so we can explore that a little further to see if it’s feasible, but we still have the compliance issue, at the end of the day,” Martinez replied.
“I guess at this point we wait for the AG to come back with something, and then maybe we can explore the health and safety aspect, maybe go at it that way,” Owens said.
“The biggest problem with the model subdivision rules is, they’re not enforced where they should be enforced, which is at the title offices. They don’t have to verify compliance, so properties can still be closed on even though they’re not in compliance, and that’s where the issue arises. They need to modify the law that requires a title company not to close on a piece of property that is not been in compliance with that statute, and unfortunately, that doesn’t exist, but that is something that needs to be fixed,” said County Commissioner Pct. 3 Beau Nettleton.
“We’ve spent a lot of money through the years, cleaning up these messes, and at some point, I’m sure we will figure out how to clean up this mess, as soon as we can get through the legal part as to what we can and can’t do legally,” the commissioner added.
He said once the AG’s office presents the county with options, it could decide how to move forward.
“There’s going to be a lot of legal hoops to jump through on this one,” Nettleton said.
“There’s no simple solution to this,” Martinez agreed.
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NEWS — Citizens appeal for roads, water and sewer lines in Moreno Valley Subdivision
