Keller ISD is fighting a new motel opening near an elementary school. The city approved the project and sent proper notifications, but the district may use a controversial legal strategy to end the fight. NBC 5’s Tahera Rahman reports.
The contentious battle for a piece of land next to Basswood Elementary School in far north Fort Worth may soon be over.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Studio 6 company said their franchisee decided to relocate the motel the city had approved months ago.
“The owner of the Studio 6 hotel at 3044 Clay Mountain Trail has decided to stop construction on this location. We look forward to working with him once a new location is secured so we can provide an affordable lodging option for visitors to the area," a spokesperson wrote to NBC 5.
The owner, Basswood Investment LLC, declined to comment at this time.
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The Keller Independent School District had joined many parents to fight the motel for weeks, which would be just steps away from the school and share the same boundary.
"I'm still not changing my position that this hotel, motel, or any type of hospitality facility should be built next to elementary school," said Moraima Marrero, a parent of three students at Basswood Elementary.
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The city said they had sent all proper notifications to neighbors, including Keller ISD before the motel project was approved.
Keller ISD said they never got the message.
The school district has been trying to acquire the land from Basswood Investment.
On Thursday, school board members will vote on two related items. The first item is whether to buy the 2.22-acre property.
"[Acquisition] of this property will allow the District to better ensure the future safety of the campus and enable the District to maintain the campus’ overall location should the need to replace/rebuild Basswood Elementary arise in the future," the agenda item reads.
The board will also vote on whether to use their power of eminent domain to buy the land, essentially forcing Basswood Investment to sell it to them.
The agenda item states, "The Keller Independent School District has recently learned of a property development within its geographical territory that will increase the enrollment in its schools."
The district said they'll need to expand Basswood Elementary to accommodate more students.
"We have been contacted by a developer some land on the north side of Basswood that could be potentially developed for residential use. I’m not sure where they are at in the planning process for that," a Keller ISD spokesperson told NBC 5.
The spokesperson also said that they may not use their power of eminent domain.
"Negotiations are still ongoing, so having both of those items on the agenda allows for the Board to take action depending on how things progress prior to Thursday night’s meeting," they said.
Clint Schumacher, an attorney with Partner Dawson & Sodd PLLC who specializes in eminent domain, said it's pretty common to see school districts wield their eminent domain power.
"This is a fairly normal proceeding when a school district wants to acquire property for some legitimate school use, whether it's building a new school, building adjacent facilities, athletic facilities, expanding a school," he said.
But he said it comes with some restrictions.
"Any time a governmental entity exercises eminent domain, there are certain checks, and one of the checks is the governmental entity can't do something in bad faith or fraudulently," Schumacher said.
Schumacher said buying the land for expansion is legitimate, but buying it to stop the motel might raise a red flag.
"And so, if the property owner decides that they want to try to challenge this action, they may get to look behind the school district's motives and find out if there's going to be a legitimate need for the school district to acquire the property," he said.
He said challenging the school district's eminent domain proceeding would be a tough battle for Basswood Investment and could take several months in court.
"Judges don't like to look behind what the government officials have done, but there is a mechanism to do it. And judges at the end of the day are called to do that," Schumacher said.
Thursday's school board meeting begins at 5 p.m. The agenda can be found here.
