CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Nueces County Commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday to authorize "immediate legal action against the Corpus Christi Housing Authority, challenging the validity of the contracts related to the Corpus Christi Housing Authority Tax Exemption scheme and potential Texas Open Meetings Act violations, including, but not limited to, any contractual agreements with the executive director."
The 5-0 vote follows a months-long KRIS 6 News investigation that was the first and only media outlet to uncover potential violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act in the housing authority's approval of controversial workforce housing deals worth $350 million.
6 Investigates spent months examining meeting agendas, legal documents and board recordings, finding that the Corpus Christi Housing Authority failed to provide adequate public notice before its former board approved deals involving 13 high-end apartment complexes between July 2024 and March 2025.
The KRIS 6 investigation found:
Inadequate Public Notice:
- Meeting agendas provided only vague descriptions like "Consider Resolution for MOU" and an apartment name
- No mention of tax breaks or land purchases in public notices
- No proposed agreements made publicly available before meetings
- Executive sessions held without proper justification
The investigation revealed that CEO Gary Allsup may not have had the legal authority to make these purchases at all. The Housing Authority's own bylaws state: "The CEO may not enter into contracts for the purchase or sale of Real Property without specific Commission Resolution so authorizing."
According to a City of Corpus Christi resolution, because that authorization wasn't obtained through legally noticed meetings, Allsup's actions constitute an "ultra vires act"—meaning he acted beyond his legal authority—potentially making the purchases void.
Following today's unanimous vote, Commissioner Brent Chesney emphasized the court's determination to pursue legal action.
"This has been a 5-0 vote from the beginning and every member of this court has, I think in some way, shape, or form spoken out in how disturbing this is," Chesney said. "This is a big deal and I think there were some serious violations as reported by our local media. But if we don't take this action on behalf of the citizens of Nueces County, all that ends up being is good reporting with no action behind it, and so I think it's important again for the citizens to know that we take this very seriously. We're not giving up the fight, and that this is very much of a unified effort on behalf of the entire Nueces County Commissioners Court."
The deals involve 13 high-end apartment complexes valued at approximately $350 million that could have removed $7.4 million annually from local tax rolls. The Nueces County Appraisal District denied tax exemption requests for the properties in July 2025, as first reported by KRIS 6 News.
The Texas Open Meetings Act requires government entities to clearly inform the public about subjects to be discussed at meetings. Courts have established that issues of special public interest require enhanced notice.
