County Stakes a Claim to Paradise by Using Eminent Domain

A 9 1/2 -mile-wide bay separates rural Willacy County from a seeming paradise: Padre Island’s isolated beaches, a nature retreat for bird watchers and what’s considered some of the best sport fishing in the country.

For about 40 years, the county has sought direct access to the riches of the narrow barrier island, with no success. The land to the north of a man-made ship channel dividing the island is the federally protected Padre Island National Seashore, a wilderness area.

That leaves South Padre Island. But the most convenient access point for county residents -- on the north end of South Padre -- is owned by the Nature Conservancy and it is a haven for rare and endangered species such as Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, the most endangered sea turtle in the world; piping plovers and brown pelicans.

So what’s a county to do when an environmental group says the land’s not for sale?

Willacy County is exploring its eminent domain rights to seize the land, an option that has stirred a caldron of controversy.

Willacy is a financially foundering county on the northeast end of the Rio Grande Valley. It has fewer than 18,000 people and no real industry.

Its bright spot is Port Mansfield, a sleepy town with fewer than 500 residents. The town has no access to the island’s beaches or the Gulf of Mexico’s fishing.

To reach the island, visitors must drive 25 miles up the coast from South Padre Island, a bumpy trip that requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle and knowledge of tides that can trap a motorist on the return trip. The county recently bought a ferry, but has no place on the island to dock it.

“If you don’t have access to the island, then what’s the purpose for coming here?” asked Willacy County Atty. Juan Angel Guerra.

Enter the county commissioners. They voted in November to use eminent domain to seize the land, angering conservancy members who fear an influx of beachgoers will threaten wildlife in the 1,500-acre area.

Eminent domain gives governments power to take private land for public use -- usually for projects such as highways or mass transit systems.

Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill into law last fall that limited eminent domain use in Texas, saying government should not encroach upon private property rights unless there was an eminent public need.

“Eminent domain for private use is a great threat,” he said.

Guerra said the county could legally take the land, since it would allow the public better access to the island.

The conservancy vows to fight the land grab in court, but a law professor in Texas said the group may not have much to go on if the county’s aim was truly public use.

“As far as I can tell, Willacy County can clearly exercise their power of eminent domain. ... I don’t see the county not prevailing in the long run,” said Victoria Mather of St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio.

Conservancy representatives said they learned of the county’s eminent domain decision through local news reports.

“No one at Willacy County has made any attempt whatsoever to contact the Nature Conservancy about this matter,” said Carter Smith, the Conservancy’s state director.

Smith said the Conservancy talked about selling the land to the county several years ago but decided against it because the county hadn’t thought through how it would deal with sanitation issues, law enforcement and other ways to mitigate environmental impacts and protect endangered species.