Texas Supreme Court to decide if city can seize land for a privately run golf facility

The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear a dispute over whether a local government can take private property through eminent domain to build a golf facility that will be leased to a private operator. The case involves a 3.548-acre plot of land in Westworth Village owned by local resident Jim Burgess. In 2021, city officials tried to buy the property for $1.1 million as part of a larger plan to redevelop the municipal golf course, Hawk’s Creek. After Mr Burgess rejected the offer, the city moved to take the land through eminent domain, a legal process that allows the government to acquire private property without the owner's consent. Five years after the dispute began, justices on the state's highest court will consider whether local governments have the constitutional power to take private land for projects intended to be run by private businesses.Early legal actions and initial valuationAfter the city council moved to take the property, Mr Burgess filed a legal challenge against Westworth Village. Records from the Second Court of Appeals of Texas show that a trial court first appointed three special commissioners to decide how much the land was worth. The panel valued the proper...