A Texas land use case worth a look?
We are neighbors, not lawyers. For a year we have collected public records on one project behind our homes in Little Elm. If you practice land use, real property or open government law in Texas, and you are looking for a case worth taking on, pro bono or on terms neighbors can manage, we would like to hear from you: info@stopwhiskeyblendery.com.
The facts
The Little Elm Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the Town's own economic development corporation, owns about two acres of lakefront land at 104 and 108 Hardwicke Lane, directly behind the homes on Woodrow Circle. Part of it, Lot 11, Block H of the Little Elm Townsite, carries recorded 1963 deed restrictions: residential use only, one and a half stories at most. In November 2025 the EDC board and the Town Council approved a Performance Agreement to lease the land to one private business, The Whiskey Blendery (Liquid Ledger of Plano, LLC), for $10 and then deed it over. In January 2026 the Council rezoned the land as a planned development for that business (Ordinance No. 1835) and dropped the masonry wall that Planning & Zoning had made a condition, and moved P&Z's 9:30 p.m. closing time to midnight. Construction started in June 2026. The plans include a two-story rickhouse for up to 1,000 barrels of spirits 20 feet from the residential property line.
Lease of the public land to the developer, then a deed after the certificate of occupancy.
The dealRules waived or relaxed in the approval, including a smaller setback and no masonry wall.
The waiversEmails between Town staff and the Town Attorney, from our records request. The Town asked the Attorney General to let it withhold them.
Fire & floodWhat we would ask a lawyer to look at
These are questions, not legal conclusions. Each one links to the records behind it.
Can the 1963 deed restrictions still be enforced?
The rickhouse lot is one of the original Little Elm Townsite lots restricted to residential use. The EDC's broker wrote "Deed Restrictions: None" in 2024, while the EDC's own recorded deed lists restrictive covenants of record. Zoning changed; the covenants did not. The deeds
Is it spot zoning?
A planned development for one business, on one site, on land the Town's own EDC owns, next to single-family homes. The Texas test comes from City of Pharr v. Tippitt (1981). The facts for each factor are on our deeds page. Spot zoning?
Is it contract zoning?
The Performance Agreement was approved before the first public hearing. In it, the EDC promised its "best efforts" to get the Town to waive the project's fees. The zoning followed. Contract zoning?
Does it follow the Town's own plan?
The Lakefront District plan, adopted in September 2025 by Ordinance No. 1821, names Woodrow Circle under "Sensitive Transitions" and calls for transitions in building scale, buffering and screening, or increased setbacks. The plan names our street
Was the fire review done for the building as it will be used?
The Town's plan review notes the rickhouse as "Employee use only." The zoning application promises "public tours," the staff report says "open to tours for members," and the Performance Agreement requires the business to stay "open to the general public during normal operating hours." Employee use only?
Where is the fire review?
We asked for the project's emails and fire review records under the Texas Public Information Act. The Town is asking the Attorney General to let it withhold one set, emails between Town staff and the Town Attorney, as attorney-client privileged. We don't know whether a fire review is among them, or whether a completed one exists. The ruling is due in mid to late November 2026. Fire & flood
Was the process followed?
The first Planning & Zoning hearing had to be repeated because a mapping error left four residential lots out of the notice. P&Z recommended approval only with three protections; Council removed two. Timeline
What we have done, and what we need
A first consultation
In October 2026 we had an initial consultation with a Texas real estate litigator. His first read, in short:
- Zoning and deed restrictions are separate. The rezoning did not cancel the 1963 restrictions; deed restrictions are a private agreement and can be stricter than zoning.
- Enforcing the restrictions takes an owner of property within the restricted subdivision.
- Challenging the zoning change itself is hard, but not impossible. Conflict with the comprehensive plan is one possible angle.
- He did not review the fire code or TABC questions.
Another neighbor was told that a spot zoning case has never been won in Texas. Our own reading says such wins are rare, not impossible.
We have not filed anything. The obstacle is cost: neighbors can't fund years of litigation on their own, and the other side is the Town's own development corporation.
What we are looking for
- A Texas land use or real property litigator willing to take a hard look at this case, and ideally to take it on pro bono, at a reduced fee, or through a firm or clinic that takes public interest cases.
- Someone who can move quickly. Construction started in June 2026, and the rickhouse pad is already dug.
- Help with any part of it: the deed restrictions, the zoning, or open government and public records.
We will share everything we have, organized and dated.
What we can send you
Most of it is already on this site. The rest we will send on request.
- The recorded Development Agreement and Ordinance No. 1835, and the Performance Agreement with the EDC.
- The 1963 deed restrictions and the chain of deeds for both lots, including the EDC's 2019 and 2024 deeds.
- Staff reports, agenda memos and minutes for every hearing, with links to the Town's own agenda pages.
- The approved site plan and building plans, and the Town's plan reviews.
- Emails and text messages released to us under the Texas Public Information Act, and the Town's request for an Attorney General ruling.
- Our own dated photos and video of the site.
Interested? Write to us.
Tell us a little about your practice. We will answer quickly and can put you in touch with neighbors next to the site. Email only, please: info@stopwhiskeyblendery.com.
Please note
Nothing on this site is legal advice or a legal conclusion. We are residents laying out public records and asking questions. Timing matters in cases like this, and construction is under way.