Preserving Texas In the News

AUSTIN -- The Texas General Land Office should immediately disclose the results of an environmental study it conducted on potentially sensitive land that it wants to sell to a private developer, watchdog groups are urging.

Thought to be a habitat for the endangered golden cheek warbler, the 2,200-acre forested tract along the Blanco River near Kyle also partially covers the Edwards Aquifer. The aquifer provides water for more than 1 million Central Texas residents.

Conservationists and others expressed surprise and dismay on learning recently that the land office was selling the tract to a private developer. According to published reports, the buyer plans to build high-end homes there.

Although confirming that it has conducted archaeological and environmental studies, the land office has declined to make those studies public. The agency says an exemption to the Texas open records law allows it to withhold the information.

But conservationists and public watchdog groups say the public has a right to see the studies -- exemption or not -- and urged the land office to release them immediately.

"On what basis would they argue that we don't have a right to know? There is none," said Charles O'Dell, director of the Hays Community Action Network, a government watchdog group.

Luke Metzger, director of conservation group Environment Texas, said, "I see no good reason for them not to come clean with regards to the environmental impact on that land."

An open records expert contacted by the Star-Telegram says nothing in law prohibits the agency from releasing the information. Nor has the land office given any public policy reason for withholding the study.

In a prepared response to questions about the issue, land office spokesman Jim Suydam said only, "The land office is subject to all Texas Open Records laws, and all of the land office's policies are in accordance with state law." An agency lawyer previously cited an exemption to public disclosure laws that allows the land office to keep private any information relating to pending property deals.

Citing that exemption, the land office is seeking authorization for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to withhold from the Star-Telegram every bit of correspondence and documentation relating to the Blanco River tract. The land office has also declined to reveal the prospective buyer, any potential environmental fallout from development and what, if anything, the state agency has done to protect the tract.

However, a member of the Hays County Commissioners Court told the Star-Telegram earlier that the land office has negotiated a conservation easement on about 50 acres of the tract. An Austin business publication recently identified the buyer as Masonwood Properties of Austin.

The publication quoted Masonwood CEO Jim Meredith as saying the company is beginning to planning development, which could include a master-planned community and commercial space. Meredith, who was reported to be out of town by a woman who answered the phone at his office, could not be reached for comment.

Conservationist Metzger says he's troubled by the prospect of private development on the potentially sensitive land. He also criticized the land office for development policies that he says encourage sprawl.

The property and other tracts overseen by the land office are included in the inventory of the Permanent School Fund, which helps finance public education. Under state law, the agency has a fiduciary duty to attempt to make money for that fund.

But Metzger said the agency shouldn't pursue land deals at the expense of the environment. Everything we know about this property is that it is vulnerable and that you need to take extra care to protect it," he said. "If there is any information that suggests that this is a bad deal, then the public needs to know that and hold the land office accountable. The public should demand that we use our public investment dollars wisely and more responsibly."