County staff seek permission to donate small Franklin Street parcel to state for potential development

County staff informed commissioners that a developer has expressed preliminary interest in acquiring a small county-owned parcel along Franklin Street in Denton and asked whether the board wishes staff to proceed with transferring the parcel to the State Highway Administration for disposition.

Staff said the county acquired the property following state roadwork in 2004 for $4,000 and that state law or state procedures tied to the original acquisition prevent the county from simply selling the parcel. Instead, staff said the county’s only practical option is to donate the parcel back to the State Highway Administration (SHA); SHA would then handle disposition or sale at market value.

The parcel comprises several small pieces: staff said a larger portion is reserved for a forest conservation bank and a smaller slice adjacent to the roadway is the piece of interest for a proposed residential development that is still in very preliminary stages and has not applied to the town of Denton. Staff said SHA indicated it can draft the necessary documents to accept the donation and process disposition.

Commissioners discussed the option and one commissioner said he was "fine with giving them all of it except for the part with the tree bank," indicating the board’s initial reaction was to proceed while protecting the forest bank parcel. Staff said that if the state retains the parcel without a purchaser, SHA would hold it until it could be auctioned or otherwise disposed of under state procedures. No formal resolution or sale was adopted at the meeting; staff sought the board’s concurrence to proceed with the donation paperwork.