Jury to decide lawsuit against homebuilder

Testimony wrapped up Friday in a trial that could make or break the City's tree preservation ordinance. On Monday, the jury will decide if Continental Homes, a subdiary of "America's Builder" D.R Horton, Inc. violated the ordinance when it allegedly destroyed over 16,000 protected trees without a permit.

City of San Antonio v. D.R. Horton/Continental Homes
9:30 am Monday, September 25th
County Courthouse Room 4.28
Judge Martha Tanner's 166th District Court

One crucial issue is Horton's claim that the City has no authority to enforce the ordinance in its extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). On Thursday, the defendant's engineer testified that Continental Homes told his company to put a note on its 2005 development plan protesting the tree ordinance. The note claimed that the City cannot legally enforce the tree ordinance in its ETJ.

In recent months, developers have mounted a vigorous challenge to the City's powers to require tree preservation in the ETJ. Because the vast majority of undeveloped land is in the ETJ, a ruling against the City would severely limit San Antonio's ability to protect its peoples' health. On Friday, City attorneys requested a ruling by Tanner on the ETJ issue, apparently in an effort to resolve the issue before the jury decision.

In July, Judge Tanner entered a temporary injunction against D.R. Horton. City of San Antonio attorneys won the injunction after the developer's employee testified that they had no intention of obtaining a tree clearing permit.