Local developer tells council he is abandoning appeal, offers settlement and says he will resume work

Brent Bates, who identified himself as a developer involved in ongoing litigation with the city, spoke at the Jan. 14 citizens forum and said he has dropped his appeal in a federal case and intends to resume development work tied to a permit from 2018.

"I have abandoned the appeal of the judge's ruling," Bates said, and added that the judge had "found as fact that I do have and still possess a permit from 2018, which is an unrestricted permit with no required fire protection." Bates said he would file paperwork to move forward on the project and told council he had submitted a "global settlement offer" in the federal case. He said discovery in the case had, in his view, proven his claims that the permit had been altered and that development-services staff had engaged in problematic conduct.

Bates recounted a long history of development activity in Kerrville and described ongoing disputes with the development services office. He told the council he had ideas to fix recurring problems in development services but did not outline a specific remedy in the public remarks. Bates's comments were presented as public comment; no council action or response was recorded on the litigation or the settlement offer during the meeting.

The council did not vote, direct staff to take enforcement action or accept the settlement during the meeting. Bates's remarks constituted public comment and represent his account of litigation and permit status; the council did not corroborate his claims on the record at the meeting.