State is appealing decision on Double Horn incorporation
STAFF WRITER JARED FIELDS
The city of Double Horn’s future remains uncertain.
The Office of the Attorney General is appealing 424th District Court Judge Evan Stubbs’ ruling April 3 that denied the state’s lawsuit against the city’s incorporation.
Stubbs addressed a potential appeal, which will be in the state’s Third Court of Appeals, when issuing his decision April 3.
“If you want to continue to spend tax dollars on it, the Third Court of Appeals can review that. They may say I’m wrong, but from my view of it, it looks like that’s the right thing to do,” Stubbs said from the bench during the April 3 hearing. “And so, the petition for leave is denied.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton and Special Counsel David J. Hacker decided to appeal the city’s incorporation in a notice filed May 3.
The state has requested the district clerk’s record of the case as well as the court reporter’s record. The deadline for the district clerk to answer those requests is May 13.
The city of Double Horn has a regular City Council meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at the Spicewood Community Center, 7901 CR 404. On the agenda is an executive session for “consultation with attorney regarding litigation status.”
The agenda also lists an update from Mayor Cathy Sereno that includes a recent meeting with Spicewood Crushed Stone.
The quarry and rock crusher plant is within the city limits and was cited by the state in the lawsuit as not being part of the Double Horn subdivision before incorporation.
“The meeting was a first step towards working together for our mutual benefit given they are a legal entity within our city limits,” Sereno wrote.
The meeting, Sereno said, was before either party knew of an appeal.
Also on the agenda is a comprehensive plan that includes a land use map for the city, establishing an emergency plan, implementing a program to monitor air quality and seismic activity, and establishing a City Hall location.