Did the county "take" McCann's land?

McCann East, Inc., owned by Palmer Ranch developer Hugh Culverhouse, filed a lawsuit in October, 2014 accusing the county of “taking” more than 1,200 acres of land east of I-75, without just compensation. McCann claims the county did so by amending its comprehensive plan to establish “greenways” or conservation areas that offer alternatives to typical rural development densities.

According to that suit, “The Greenway provisions of the comprehensive plan … taken together, conditionally require and affected landowner … to devote a substantial portion of its private property, to a public ‘open space/conservation’ perpetual and irrevocable easement, with no monetary compensation therefor.”

McCann owns about 2,600 acres east of I-75 that was designated rural in approximately 2001. The 2050 plan allows alternative development options for rural use areas, but in return the landowner must agree not to develop in Greenway, or conservation areas. Landowners are typically allowed to develop at higher than usual densities elsewhere in return.

McCann claims that makes its land “unviable.”

The court filed a notice of hearing on Oct. 29, setting a hearing date for Jan. 6, 2016 before Judge Rochelle Curley.