Developer Steals Land

Here's a recent letter that went out to the residents of Beebe Draw Farms MD telling the story of land theft by the metro district developer. Any help anyone can provide on this issue is greatly appreciated.

Imagine you own 422 acres of land, and your business manager has been approached by a company to lease or buy the land. Instead of working out the best deal for you, your business manager deeds the property over to herself and then sells it, leaving you with no land or money. How would you feel? What would you do about it?

I wish I could tell you that this is a fictional story, but it is not. You have been stolen from; we have all been stolen from. Let me explain by telling you the story of Pelican Lake Ranch, officially known as Beebe Draw Farms (BBDF). When the Developer first went to the county requesting to develop the area, she submitted a plan. That plan included promises of roads, electricity, water, amenities, and everything a thriving community would want. The county approved the plan which has become known as Filing 1. The Developer started to improve the land using bond funds that were paid back by property taxes and supported by ongoing property taxes. The Developer started selling lots, houses were built, and residents moved in.

Over time the residents became disgruntled with how the Developer was spending their property tax dollars and lack of fulfilling the promises made. It got so bad that in 2009 they filed a lawsuit and asked the county for a quinquennial review. After two long years, in 2011 they reached a settlement in which the residents would drop the lawsuit and quinquennial review and in return the Developer would turn over all amenity land to the newly formed Authority and a new service plan was adopted along with the creation of the Authority Establishment Agreement (AEA). This new governing structure allowed for the residents to have equal representation on the board that controls the processes and use of taxpayer funds. They finally had a say in how their tax money and the amenity land was used. And they all lived happily ever after, or that is what I wish I could say.

Instead, the Developer simply waited until she had a compromised Authority Board and in April 2022, deeded 422 acres surrounding Lake Christina and Milton Reservoir back to her private company, REI, LLC. She did this without paying the Authority anything for the land except for reimbursement for the costs of installing the RV court. She did this while Conoco and the Farmer’s Reservoir and Irrigation Company (FRICO) were pursuing negotiations with her for a lease or purchase of the land for projects they had in the works. They needed the land, and the Developer knew they needed the land. So much so that eminent domain was on the table.

Within weeks after having the Authority quit claim deed the 422 acres to her private company, it was announced that the Developer, Christine Hethcock, had sold her majority working interest in REI to FRICO allowing her to greatly profit from the land transfer, FRICO to control the land they needed and Conoco to move forward with drilling on the land. A win, win for everyone but the true owners of the land, the taxpayers of Beebe Draw Farms.

You may wonder, how could this happen? It was a combination of things creating the perfect storm. First, the passing of time saw many seasoned residents move leaving newer residents with less historical knowledge and a hole for the Developer to exploit. Second, she had a compromised Authority Board made up of the Developer herself, Eric Wernsman a contract engineer for the Developer, Joe Knopinski a contract consultant for the Developer and one other despondent neighbor. Of special note, shortly after the land transfer took place, Eric Wernsman was awarded a lucrative engineering contract approved by the Developer on behalf of the Authority and has since received hundreds of thousands of dollars from taxpayer funds despite concerns of nonperformance. Thirdly, they skipped steps in the approval process making the transaction go mostly unnoticed, flying under the radar.

Now the question is, can anything be done about this? Fortunately, yes! They skipped major steps in the approval process, making the transfer illegitimate. First, they passed it with only one reading when the AEA 3.4(d)(5) states that any items requiring approval from the Authority must be discussed at a minimum of two public meetings for approval, which they did not do. Second, AEA 8.2 requires express written consent from both District 1 and District 2 board members to transfer any amenities including open space to any other party, which they did not get. Third, AEA 12.1 and 12.2 gives remedies in the event of a default for nonperformance of any “covenants, agreements, or conditions” in the AEA.

According to AEA 3.5(h), Authority Board members are required to “conduct its business and affairs in the best interest of, and for the benefit of, the Districts and their inhabitants”. Sadly, this did not happen with the prior Authority Board, instead the very ones in charge of conducting our business stole and then profited from our assets. They breached their fiduciary duty and violated the public’s trust.

What can you personally do about this? Do not let this fly under the radar. Let the District Manager and our representatives, the BBDF District 1 Board members, know that you are not okay with our land being stolen. That you want them to pursue the remedies as outlined in AEA 12.1 and 12.2 to right this wrong. They are victims of this injustice too, so let them know you care, that you support them pursuing this and that you want this wrong righted. As the old saying goes, it takes a village…

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