| County sued
over beach plan
By William T. Wood
Bay City Tribune
Published August 28, 2003
BAY CITY — A group opposed to
Matagorda County’s plan to close a half-mile stretch of Matagorda Beach
to vehicle traffic filed a lawsuit Monday, then held a brief press
conference on the courthouse steps.
The suit was filed in 130th District Court by the Matagorda Bays
Committee of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and D. Charles
Menut, a resident of Matagorda.
The lawsuit accuses Matagorda County of violating the Texas Open Beaches
Act when commissioners court approved a resolution amending the
Matagorda County Dune Protection and Beach Access Plan on July 28.
That amendment allows for the creation of a half-mile-long
pedestrian-only beach near the mouth of the Colorado River on Matagorda
Beach.
The vehicle-free beach plan is supported by the Lower Colorado River
Authority (LCRA), which plans to build the Matagorda Bay Nature Park on
part of 1,600 acres it owns at the river’s mouth.
A second claim in Monday’s lawsuit contends the county also acted
illegally Aug. 11 when commissioners court voted to lease 10.4 acres it
owns on and around Jetty Park to LCRA.
Under the lease terms, LCRA will upgrade Jetty Park facilities and
maintain them at its expense for 25 years.
The lawsuit argues that the lease also violates the Texas Open Beaches
Act by limiting public access to the beach, causing damage to adjacent
wetlands and provides inadequate parking.
During the press briefing after the lawsuit was filed, RFA
representatives Patti McKelvy and Jim Smarr spoke briefly about their
actions.
“We’re here to fight for our God-given rights to keep the beach open,”
said Smarr, an RFA official.
McKelvy said she opposes the beach plan because of a lack of equal or
better access points, parking issues and wetlands protection.
“The people of Texas, with the full support of RFA, do not intend to
stand idly by while Matagorda County officials, ignoring their
constituencies, hand over our beaches to LCRA and others for
commercialization and eventual privatization,” said Menut, who is a
party to the lawsuit.
County Attorney Jill Cornelius said Tuesday she is researching the Texas
Open Beaches Act, and that the county has 20 days to file a response to
the lawsuit.
“We believe the beach plan is well within the letter of the law. We took
input from both the general land office and the attorney general’s
office. We would not have sent anything up there that we knew was going
to be rejected,” said County Judge Greg Westmoreland.
LCRA spokesman William McCann also responded to the lawsuit.
“LCRA bought the 1,600-acre tract at the Matagorda Peninsula in 2001 to
provide a world-class education and recreational facility for the people
of Texas, while helping to protect the natural beauty of the area.
“As a nonprofit conservation and reclamation district, LCRA did not buy
the property to make money or to build high-rise hotels, as some have
claimed.
“We want to make sure the Matagorda Bay Nature Park will enjoy the
widest possible use.”
To allow families and students to safely use a small portion of the
adjacent beach, McCann said, “we proposed earmarking half a mile for
pedestrians only. The rest of the beach would continue to be open to
vehicular traffic.” |
