Greetings from Preserve Lake Ridge!

We know this update has been a long time coming and sincerely apologize for the delay. There have been many things at play behind the scenes and not a lot to report, but we feel that we have information now that needs to be distributed.

Public Information Request

First, we would like to address the reason for the extended period of no updates. Many months ago, our attorneys started the process of the request for public information from the City of Cedar Hill. Cities are well versed in a process that is good for them but not good for anyone else. There is a standard protocol that most of them follow in order to delay things as long as possible.

This translates to the involvement of the State Attorney General’s office to claim attorney/client privilege. A commonly used tactic is to send a sample of carefully archived information to the State as a “representative sample”. The AG’s office reviews it and advises what has to be released. This is an “honor system” where the State trusts the City to be honest about the available information. Most cities do this so that anything that could incriminate them won’t get into the hands of the plaintiff. Add the delay of these documents and requests going back and forth with time limits set forth, and literal months get added to the process.

To say it is frustrating is an understatement, but it is the process. Rarely does anything involving the legal process move as fast as anyone would desire. We frequently asked for updates from our attorneys and were told that they were still waiting for responses from the State and finally the City.

Once the documents were released, they were so heavily redacted that the dates were even removed. Imagine opening a file only to find a name here or there, no date, and no content. This is the sort of thing that was repeated over and over again over hundreds of files that reviewed by our team. To add insult to injury, it is clear that the City was not forthcoming with internal communications that were not protected under attorney/client privilege. What recourse do we have? Not much, unless a judge rules otherwise during the course of getting an injunction.

Equipment on the Land

As many of you have noticed by now, the heavy equipment has moved in as of Monday, July 28. We have been carefully following the agendas of planning and zoning as well as the city council and no final plat has been approved for Balcones. Traditionally, this means that no dirt work other than for surveys or soil testing is done but as many of you have seen, there are a significant number of trees down in the area. There is now a sign posted with a QR code that links to an SWPPP (Stormwater Pollution Protection Plan), as required by the State of Texas. We have downloaded a copy, but still need to review the details in that document. We will update as soon as we have gleaned information from that.

Is it too late?

This is undoubtedly a question many in the community are now asking. Is it too late to do anything? No! Even though it is disheartening to see equipment on the land, we DO still have cause for filing the lawsuit, and that will still happen. The remainder of the original donations (approximately $3500) will be added to the retainer with the attorneys this week. In addition, we have been blessed with significant private funding to continue this fight. We are currently collecting affidavits from key Lake Ridge residents as part of the initial lawsuit to be filed. Once those are secured, the lawsuit will be served.

Injunction

There is a common misconception that it is easy to get an injunction. Please understand that this is a mini-trial, complete with a court appearance where our legal team will be litigating. This is necessary to get a ruling from a judge. Because Meritage and Walton are also named in the suit, it means that we are in a David and Goliath situation and anything could happen. There are no guarantees but if we can get the initial ruling in our favor, it allows a lot of other levers to be pulled.

If granted the injunction, additional considerations can be made for environmental, watershed, and flooding concerns. A judge could also force the City to be more cooperative with the release of information which reinforce more points of argument in our favor.

Lessons Learned

Sometimes in a hard fight, it is easy to lose sight of the lessons learned along the way. Perhaps the most important lesson is that all of us need to be more vigilant about what happens in and around our community. A lot of Lake Ridge has had an awakening. There’s higher attendance at POA meetings, more questions being asked, and greater attention paid to the agendas of governing officials (P&Z and council). This is a good thing. The best way to make an impact in your surroundings is to be equipped with knowledge. Remember, knowledge is power and allows the opportunity to get involved and make a difference.

Moving Forward

As previously stated, the fight will continue but there are some changes ahead for Preserve Lake Ridge. As many of you know by now, Kay Whitt was successful in getting elected to the Lake Ridge POA board of directors and is now the secretary of the board. As a result, she has decided to resign from the Preserve Lake Ridge board to focus her energy on the betterment of our community. She remains an avid supporter of the efforts of Preserve Lake Ridge and encourages you to continue to support the organization going forward.

Eric and Felicia Richardson were the founders of Preserve Lake Ridge. Just before the council voted to rezone in last summer, Kay joined the effort to help get the petition and fundraising efforts rolling. Jacqueline Willcot has been invaluable from the beginning as well, putting together our first flyers and communicating openly with members of the community. She has served as a director from the start of Preserve Lake Ridge and has been a strong source of support for the effort.

Going forward, Eric, Felicia, and Jacque will be the primary contacts for Preserve Lake Ridge. With Kay’s resignation, they will need another willing member of the community to serve on the board. If you are interested in serving in that capacity, please contact the organization at preservelakeridge@gmail.com

As always, we sincerely appreciate your concern and support of this effort. We could not have gotten where we are without you. Even though it looks as though we are up against Goliath, please continue to stay engaged. We will keep you updated once the lawsuit has been filed for what is to come.

Preserve Lake Ridge Team