Fort Worth Star Telegram / December 7 2004 / Max B. Baker

Top court’s decision ends fight over Tarrant-Denton boundary

          A surveyor will be hired to set the final border between Tarrant and Denton counties following a Texas Supreme Court decision to stay out of the long-running border dispute over 3,500 acres of prime North Texas real estate.

          The high court denied Denton County's request to reconsider its earlier decision not to review the case. The decision will send the case back to state District Judge Don Chrestman in Parker County. The next step would be appointment of a surveyor to draw the final boundary.

          The land at issue -- which includes parts of Flower Mound, Southlake and Trophy Club -- may have more than $1 billion in taxable value over the next decade.

          Marvin Collins, a Tarrant County assistant district attorney, said the court's decision to stay out of the fight effectively ends legal challenges.

          "I am very happy that the boundary is finally definite after many, many decades," Collins said. "I understand that a lot of people thought they knew where it was, but if you put them all in an auditorium they wouldn't agree."

          Denton County Judge Mary Horn said commissioners will be briefed by their attorney today. She agreed that the decision probably signals the end of the dispute.

          "I'm sorry to say that I think they are probably right," she said. "If there was another loop to jump through, I'd be jumping. I think we've finally come to the end of it."

          Denton County Commissioner Jim Carter -- who estimated that the county will lose about $450 million in taxable value -- did not rule out a tax rate increase to recoup the losses.

          "We've not addressed that yet, but it is a remote possibility," Carter said. "The county is still growing; that is the plus side of it. Hopefully it will offset a good portion of it. But it will still be somewhat of a burden."

          The border dispute has had a long, tortuous legal life.

          Tarrant County initially sued Denton County in May 1997, arguing that a 1986 agreement among Tarrant, Denton, Dallas and Collin counties that moved Dallas County's northwest corner north also moved the Tarrant border, which is tied by statute to the Dallas border.

          In 1999, a Parker County judge ruled in favor of Denton County, saying that a line drawn in 1852 was the true county line. He signed a final order in 2000.

          In 2002, the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth overturned that decision, upholding the 1986 agreement between the counties, and ordered Chrestman to set the boundary, which he did in March. The appeals court in June backed Chrestman's decision, and Denton County again appealed.

          Depending on when Chrestman appoints a surveyor, it could take up to six months to set the new boundary, put stakes in the ground and file appropriate documents with the state, Tarrant County Commissioner Glen Whitley said.

          Then homeowners and school districts will finally know which county they are in.

          "I hope that based on this last round of legal decisions, this marks the end of it," Whitley said. "It has been going on since I've been on the court.

          "They succeeded in getting one more year of taxes out of this deal, and that probably paid for the attorney's fees," he said.

          Setting the boundary is likely to raise other issues, Horn said.

          Flower Mound's portion of the land includes a Best Buy warehouse and distribution center that received a tax abatement from the county and the town, she said.

          It is not clear whether Tarrant County would make the same arrangement, Horn said.

          Homeowners who are now in Denton County will face higher property taxes and homeowner and car insurance premiums once they are considered part of Tarrant County, Carter said.

          The Denton County property tax rate is about 25 cents per $100 of assessed value, while Tarrant County's is 27 cents per $100. Tarrant charges an additional 24 cents per $100 for the JPS Health Network; Denton does not have a hospital district.

          A study conducted by Denton County found that a homeowner in Trophy Club, for example, would pay $1,600 to $1,700 more per year in taxes and higher insurance premiums, Carter said.

          "We fought it as diligently as we could," Carter said. "We are always taught that right will prevail. Sometimes it doesn't, and this appears to be a perfect example."