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Tomball council approves resolution authorizing eminent domain for detention pond amid landowner objections
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Summary
After written statements from landowners alleging long-standing takings and bad faith, Tomball City Council voted 5-0 to authorize use of eminent domain for a drainage project involving Lot 43 in the Tomball Hills area (resolution 2025-53).
Tomball — Following written comments submitted by property owners opposed to a proposed detention pond, the Tomball City Council voted unanimously Monday to adopt a resolution authorizing the city to use the power of eminent domain to acquire property described in the resolution for a drainage project in the Tomball Hills subdivision.
The resolution on the regular agenda (read aloud and moved at the Oct. 6 council meeting) authorizes condemnation steps tied to a stormwater detention project the city says is necessary for drainage. The motion passed on a roll-call vote: Councilmembers Parr, Covington, Dunnegan, Garcia and Ford all voted in favor.
Why this matters: Two written public comments read into the record accused the city of bad faith and of repeatedly reducing the marketability of private parcels before seizing them. Peter Hildreth, identified as a landowner and a contributing business owner in Tomball, said the proposal to take Lot 43 followed “4 decades of land harassment” and cited a series of prior land losses related to highway expansion, detention easements and other restrictions. He wrote that the city initiated a study for the Lot 43 retention pond in May 2025 and executed a notice of nonsuit with prejudice in a separate lawsuit in July 2025, arguing that sequence showed “concealed intent.”
A second submitted statement, from Sylvia Hildreth on behalf of Hilltop Rental LLC (the family business), said legal expenses related to defending property rights have exceeded $220,000 since 2006 and again argued the city’s process demonstrated “a deliberate abuse of legal process.”
City presentation and vote: City staff placed the resolution on the agenda as Resolution No. 2025-53, described as authorizing the use of eminent domain for a drainage project in Tomahawk/Tomball Hills (transcript contains both spellings; the property and the landowners’ letters refer to Lot 43 in the Tomball Hills area). After the mayor called for the roll-call vote, council approved the resolution 5-0. No additional council amendments to the resolution were recorded on the public record.
What the landowners said: In his written remarks read into the record, Peter Hildreth wrote that the proposed pond would be “10 feet deep,” that proposed elevations would be “lower than existing drainage,” and that the city’s plans showed a 12-inch drain pipe that “was never actually installed.” He characterized the city’s series of actions as “not a good faith negotiation” and called it “a fraudulent abuse of the court process.” Sylvia Hildreth’s statement reiterated the chronology and referenced the $220,000 in legal expenses.
Next steps and legal notes: The resolution authorizes the city to initiate condemnation procedures. The transcript does not include further steps or a timetable for acquisition, compensation, or construction. The city indicated the drainage project relates to broader stormwater management work in the subdivision.
Sources: This article is based on written public comments read into the record and the roll-call vote recorded in the Tomball City Council meeting minutes and transcript for Oct. 6, 2025.
