Harris County Attorney Threatens Lawsuit Against RV Resort Owner, Contractor
The Harris County Attorney has threatened the Laurel Springs RV Resort owner and contractor with a lawsuit. The Cease and Desist letter also includes, strangely enough, the Lakewood Cove Homeowners Association.
The County Attorney alleges the HOA owns the property on which the RV Resort is being built. However, the HOA claims it does not and believes their inclusion is an error.
The Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) shows that LS RV Resort, LP bought the property on 9/22/21. HCAD’s ownership history goes back to 1985 and shows five previous owners. The Lakewood Cove HOA is not among them. Lakewood Cove started being built out around 2005.
Harris County Complaints
The County Attorney’s letter cites the following complaints. That the contractor, Higbie Ventures of Texas, Inc., and owner, LS RV Resort, LP:
- Dug a ditch to empty the resort’s detention pond onto county property.
- Installed pipes to permanently drain the detention pond onto county property.
- Damaged County property by clearing trees from Edgewater Park.
- Left a trail of orange clay discharge almost a quarter mile long through the wetlands of Edgewater Park.
The County alleges trespass and destruction of county property. The trespass allegation may include trespass of bulldozers as well as trespass by water.
In the photo above, the pipes laid through the wall were near the eroded area under water in the center of the frame. The developer has since spread dirt in this area to cover up the pipes, but no one who I have interviewed has seen the pipes being removed.
Harris County Demands
Harris County demands that the trespassing and discharges cease immediately and that the detention pond wall be repaired. The County also seeks damages and an injunction requiring the buried pipe to be removed.
The discharge was first documented on Saturday, 1/29/22 and the pipe installation on 1/31/22. The County Attorney’s letter is dated February 1, 2022.
Both Precinct 4 Parks Department and the Harris County Engineering Department inspected the site and documented damage.
Owner/Contractor Response
Since the County Attorney’s Cease and Desist letter, the contractor has worked to clear erosion and pull back debris from the County’s Edgewater Park. However, Higbie appears to have piled dirt in front of the inlet and outlet pipes without actually removing them. It’s unclear whether the pipes remain in the wall of the pond. No sources I have talked to have seen them removed and aerial images show that ponding water remains near the outlet location. It took three days to put the pipes in, so you would think it would take at least a day or two to take them out. But no such activity has been observed by many neighbors who have contacted me. However, the developer sometimes works at night.
HOA Status
Current Lakewood Cove HOA officers say they can find no record of ever having owned the RV property or of having an interest in it. The County Attorney (CA) has not returned their calls for two weeks. The CA did not return my call. Nor has the CA returned calls from Precinct 4 staff. I have not had time to obtain a title search. Let’s hope somebody at the County Attorney’s office can explain the alleged ownership issue with the HOA. And that the contractor removes the pipe from the pond wall (if it’s still there).
To see the County Attorney’s Cease and Desist Letter, click here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/14/22
1630 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
