RES 1993-21TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS
RESOLUTION NO. g2_21
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN
OF TROPHY CLUB DECRYING THE ACT OF THE TEXAS
MUNICIPAL LEAGUE IN FILING WITHOUT NOTICE TO
THE TOWN AN AMICUS CURAE BRIEF OPPOSING THE
POSITION OF THE TOWN AND OTHER POLITICAL
SUBDIVISIONS WITH REGARD TO THE APPLICATION
FOR PERMIT FOR A SOLID WASTE LANDFILL FILED BY
SENTRY ENVIRONMENTAL, L.P.; DIRECTING THAT A
COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION SHALL BE DELIVERED TO
EACH MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL
LEAGUE AND TO ALL OTHER INTERESTED PERSONS;
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, on or about December 2, 1990 Sentry Environmental,
L.P., filed Application No. 2171 (the "Application") with the Texas
Department of Health (now the Natural Resource Conservation
Commission (the "Commission")) requesting approval of a permit for
an approximately 359.72 acre solid waste landfill (the "landfill")
on State Highway 407, approximately 1.5 miles east of the City of
Justin and 1.9 miles west of Interstate 35W; and
WHEREAS, because of the public health and safety hazards and
the deleterious economic impact on property values in and around
the Town of Trophy Club, Texas (the "Town") which would result from
the landfill, the Town, together with the cities of Argyle,
Bartonville, Copper Canyon, Haslet, Justin, Northlake, Ponder and
Roanoke (together, the "Protestant Cities"), entered an appearance
as a party opposed to the granting of the Application; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the Protestant Cities, a number of
other political subdivisions and quasi -political entities,
including two additional cities, the Denton County Commissioners
Court, two municipal utility districts, two volunteer fire
departments, and the Denton County Electric Cooperative, adopted
resolutions in opposition to the Application; and
WHEREAS, upon the filing of the Application, a Hearings
Examiner was appointed by the Commission to review the Application
and to conduct hearings relative thereto for the purpose of making
a recommendation to the Commission concerning the Application;
WHEREAS, pursuant to the appointment, the Hearings Examiner:
• conducted over a period of several months a number of
preliminary hearings in which public comment was
received,
• conducted an evidentiary hearing regarding land use
compatibility, and
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• conducted an evidentiary hearing regarding technical
information;
and
WHEREAS, the two evidentiary hearings conducted by the
Hearings Examiner lasted for seven (7) weeks and produced
approximately 7,000 pages of oral testimony and more than 1,400
exhibits; and
WHEREAS, following the conclusion of the evidentiary hearings,
the Hearings Examiner submitted a written proposal for decision
("PFD") to the Commission in which the Examiner recommended that
the Application be denied for the reasons that: (1) the applicant
did not meet its burden of proof on the possible negative impact of
the landfill on surrounding real property market values, (2) the
applicant did not fully characterize the extent of perched water at
the landfill and the potential hydrostatic head that it might exert
on the liner wall, and (3) the applicant did not meet its burden of
proof with respect to providing financial assurance as it relates
to perched groundwater characterization and the operation and
closure of the landfill site; and
WHEREAS, on October 19, 1993 and prior to the review of the
PFD by the Commission, the Texas Municipal League ("TML"), having
never participated, either as a party or otherwise, in any hearing
relative to the Application and without first notifying or
informing the Town or any of the Protestant Cities, filed a brief
with the Commission opposing the PFD and thereby took a position
diametrically opposed to the position of the Protestant Cities; and
WHEREAS, TML has justified the filing of its brief by stating
that it did so to protect its policy that the review of an
application to obtain a permit to operate a landfill should not
consider, for purposes of denial of the application, the economic
impact that the landfill would have on surrounding communities; and
WHEREAS, a policy true in a vacuum has little merit unless and
until applied to specific facts; and
WHEREAS, TML, while seeking to protect its policy, failed to
inquire or investigate into the specific facts affecting the
Application, including:
• The fact that, in addition to the Protestant Cities,
there were, as noted above, a number of other public and
quasi -public entities which opposed the landfill;
• The fact that a number of other local entities opposed
the landfill, including the Canyon Oaks Homeowners
Association, the Denton County Board of Realtors, the
Justin State Bank, the Graham -Argyle Cemetery
Association, the Prairie Mound Cemetery Association, the
Texas Thoroughbred Breeders Association, the Cross
Timbers Sierra Club, Denton Creek Estates, and twenty-two
individual protestants;
• The fact that, in addition to the business uses of a
salvage yard, an oil reclamation project, two earthmoving
stations and a dude ranch located within one mile of the
proposed landfill site (TML stated these were the only
business uses within one mile), there are a number of
other business uses located within the said one mile,
including a horse training facility, a dude ranch, the
Carter -Walsh Thoroughbred Farm, Barnes' Therapy
Associates (which utilizes horses in the treatment of
disabled and handicapped individuals), and a middle
school proposed by the Northwest Independent School
District;
• The fact that within three miles of the landfill are
located churches, cemeteries, a proposed city hall, a
proposed residential and commercial development, a public
use airport, and a nursing home;
• The fact that there is no need for additional solid waste
facilities in Denton County (The Regional Solid Waste
Management Plan prepared by the North Central Texas
Council of Governments indicates that Denton County has
more than sufficient landfill capacity to serve its own
needs for several decades, based on its current
generation rate of 279,000 tons per year and remaining
capacity of 21,000,000 tons);
• The fact that a reduction in property values affects not
only the owners of private property but the communities
in which those properties are located, in that the
reduction of the tax base results in an increase in the
tax rate, and thereby impedes and hinders economic
growth;
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WHEREAS, it is the Town's belief that, had TML thoroughly
researched the evidence presented, TML could have reconciled its
policy with the facts and either supported the Protestant Cities or
taken a neutral position; and
WHEREAS, the Town opposes the action taken by TML in filing
its brief without notice to the Town or any of the Protestant
Cities.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN
OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS:
Section 1. The above and foregoing preamble is true and
correct and is incorporated herein as if copied herein in its
entirety.
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Section 2. The Town Council does hereby decry and take
exception to the action taken by the Texas Municipal League in
filing its brief dated October 19, 1993 in Application No. 2171
with the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.
Section 3. The Town Council does hereby call upon the Board
of Directors of the Texas Municipal League to withdraw its brief
and to support the position of the Town with regard to the
Application, and the Town Council does hereby find that, as a
result of the remand of the Application by the Commission to the
Hearings Examiner, there is ample time and opportunity for the TML
Board of Directors to do so.
Section 4. The Mayor of the Town is hereby directed to
forward an executed copy of this Resolution to each member of the
TML Board of Directors, the Executive Director of TML, and to any
and all other interested persons as determined by the Mayor.
Section 5. This Resolution shall take effect from and after
its date of passage.
PASSED AND APPROVED by the Town Council of the Town of Trophy
Club, Texas this the �Lj,, day of 01 199-_.
ATTEST:
Town Secretary,
Town of Trophy Club, Texas
[SEAL]
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Town ttorney,
Town of Trophy Club, Texas
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Ma r 7
Town of Troply Club, Texas
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