The City of Lubbock was sued last week by two residents and a business to stop an annexation. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction.
Charles Jefferey Kirk, Cristy De Ann Kirk and SECA Partners sued the city to stop annexation of land along the city’s west and north sides. The Kirks and the business were described as property owners in the proposed areas of annexation.
90-Day Deadline
The lawsuit said state law requires an annexation to be done within 90 days of when it starts. It also said the city failed to get that done.
The lawsuit said, “On or about August 24, 2017, at a regular meeting of the City Council of Lubbock, Texas, the City Council voted on whether to involuntarily annex the real property…”
The lawsuit said the 90-day deadline was November 22, 2017. The second and final reading of the ordinance did not happen before that date. It never happened at all, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit said the issue has been put off until May 10. The lawsuit said the city cannot just pick up where it left off and so the Kirks and the business are asking a judge to issue a restraining order.
New State Laws
But there’s one more catch. Because the annexation was not done before December 7, 2017, according to the lawsuit, it is subject to new state laws.
The new law divides annexation into Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 2 requires voter approval.
Voters in a Tier 1 county can, with enough signatures, petition the county commissioners to become Tier 2.
The Kirks are starting a signature drive to put the issue in front of Lubbock County Commissioners which would then be put to a public vote.
“The petition being circulated by Plaintiffs to be presented to the Lubbock County Commissioners would result in an election on November 6, 2018, at the earliest,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit not only seeks to make the city start over with the annexation, but also restrain the city until after November 6. The lawsuit does not seek money except for court costs and attorney fees.
The Right to Opt Out
The city declined a chance to comment.
Jeffrey Davis, an attorney for the Kirks and SECA Partners, said, “The ability of an individual to determine if they want to be part of a city is an important right.”
He said in counties more than 500,000 people, residents can opt out. Not so in Lubbock, unless the Tier 2 petition succeeds.
Davis said the Kirks are starting an organization called Take Lubbock Back to collect signatures. He said a website or a Facebook page would be coming soon for Take Lubbock Back.
