Newport Pass Property

Nueces County Judge Connie Scott announced in May that county officials were taking an inventory of county-owned land as a prelude to the possible sale of tracts currently not in use. The idea was to provide money for the county’s reserve fund.
“We have $15 million in our reserve fund and our financial advisors tell us we need at least $25 million in case we have an emergency,” Scott told the Nueces County Coastal Parks Board at its May meeting. “Right now we are just taking an inventory of what we own. I am surprised that we don’t already have that so that is what we are in the process of doing.”
As the process has played out over the past two months clarity is emerging with regards to which tracts are most likely to be put up for sale. Precinct 4 County Commissioner Brent Chesney said this week the county likely will sell parcels in the north end of the county near Robstown with one parcel likely to be sold to the Port of Corpus Christi and a second, the site of the baseball field there, put out for sale to a second buyer.
According to records at the Nueces County Appraisal District, Nueces County owns a total of 249 acres of land on Padre and Mustang islands. The land is split between two tracts, 210 acres at Newport Pass just north of Packery Channel, and 39 acres between Horace Caldwell Pier in Port Aransas and the ship channel. The Newport Pass tract is valued at $22.8 million by the appraisal district and the Port Aransas tract is valued at $63.5 million due to its beachfront location. When the inventory process began it was thought that the land most likely to be put up for sale was two beachfront tracts in Port Aransas. Those tracts consist of two five-acre parcels at the intersection of Beach Street and East Cotter Avenue, however, Chesney and Nueces County Coastal Parks Board President Troy Adler said this week that no longer appears to be likely.
Chesney said this week that the 210-acre tract at Newport Pass appears to be the most likely tract on Padre Island to be sold. The last known survey of that land, taken a decade ago shows about 63 acres of land there which can be developed with development on the remainder likely prohibited by state and federal environmental protection rules. The rules that apply there are similar to those in place when the Lively Beach Resort Condominiums were build more than a decade ago which call for the preservation of the dune structures there and also require Base Flood Elevations at twelve feet above the mean high tide line in order to be eligible for backing of federal flood insurance. Due to its beachfront location that land falls under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) of 1982 which comes with a set of restrictions governing design and building rules.  
Chesney said this week no final decision on the sale of the land has been made by the Nueces County Commissioners as the process is still ongoing. However, Scott told the commission in May that part of the urgency for county officials is the need for a $12 million upgrade of the fire protection system at the Nueces County Courthouse which is required by city officials to meet the city code.
“This is not something we are taking lightly,” Scott said at the time. “Once we get a complete inventory of property, we will put the land out to bid and sell it at fair market value. Everything will be done correctly, with transparency, the public will be kept informed as we move forward.”