A group of Granbury residents sued city leaders over plans for a proposed data center development and the annexation of more than 2,000 acres of land in Hood County.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Hood County, names the City of Granbury, Mayor Jim Jarratt, Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Wadley, several city council members, and City Manager Chris Coffman as defendants.
Plaintiffs Daniel Piatt, Janet Logsdon, James Logsdon and Craig Jackson are residents and property owners who say they were denied transparency and proper notice regarding the project.
"As taxpayers and ratepayers Plaintiffs are being forced to pay taxes and utility rates to support the implementation of the annexation of Knox Ranch and agreements made by (Granbury) for the construction and approval of a massive data-center without proper notice to the public,” the lawsuit alleges.
The City of Granbury declined to comment on pending litigation.
At the center of the dispute is the annexation of Knox Ranch, a roughly 2,000-acre tract of land along U.S. Highway 377. According to the petition, the annexation is tied to plans for a "massive data center," though plaintiffs claim the city did not clearly disclose that purpose to the public.
The lawsuit claims these actions violated the Texas Open Meetings Act, which requires governmental bodies to provide clear notice of meetings and allow public access to deliberations.
The plaintiffs argue they only became aware of the annexation effort in late December through social media and not through official city channels. They allege no adequate public notice was published and that key documents related to the annexation were either missing, inaccessible or altered after the fact.
One example cited in the lawsuit involves a Jan. 6 city council meeting agenda. Plaintiffs say a hyperlink to the ordinance tied to the annexation was broken prior to the meeting, preventing residents from reviewing the proposal in advance, and then later replaced with a functioning link after the meeting had already taken place.
The filing also alleges multiple city leaders attended a Jan. 2 tour of a data center operated by Bilateral Energy. Internal communications cited in the lawsuit suggest officials attempted to stagger attendance times to avoid forming a quorum — also known as a "walking quorum" — which plaintiffs argue was an attempt to sidestep transparency laws.
The plaintiffs argue they could face financial consequences as a result of the annexation, claiming taxpayers and utility ratepayers are being forced to fund infrastructure and agreements tied to the project without proper input or approval.
"The City of Granbury and the City Council have willfully evaded disclosing and providing documents to Plaintiffs and interested taxpayers leaving them uninformed of the scope and purpose of the annexation, and depriving them an opportunity to deliberate the matter in a public forum," said the lawsuits.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction to halt the annexation and any related development until the court can determine whether the city complied with state law. Plaintiffs are also asking the court to declare the annexation invalid, arguing it was approved without proper authority and in violation of procedural requirements.
The case comes amid growing scrutiny over the impact of large-scale data centers in North Texas, particularly their demands on electricity and water infrastructure.
The City of Granbury has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
If granted, the requested injunction could pause the project and force the city to revisit the annexation process under stricter transparency requirements setting up a potentially significant legal battle over how local governments handle large economic development projects moving forward.
Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela is KERA's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Emmanuel at erivas@kera.org.
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