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Harlingen resident alleges easement transfer and conflict of interest affecting family farm
Summary
At the Nov. 13 joint meeting a Harlingen resident, Diana Padilla, told commissioners she and neighbors face potential loss of land and value after an easement transfer; she said the transfer and a $40,000 planned waterway widening would benefit developer Leonard Simmons and alleged conflict of interest involving city staff and the mayor's family.
At the Nov. 13 joint meeting of the Harlingen City Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission, Diana Padilla used the citizen-communication period to describe a longstanding dispute over irrigation easement rights affecting her family's 75-acre organic farm on Morris Road. Padilla said the matter has progressed to court, including a hearing on an injunction and a temporary restraining order.
Padilla said the dispute began when "mister Leonard Simmons took part in a decision to transfer easement rights over our property to the city based on a 1912 law that created a regional blanket easement for…
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