Settlement clears way for Kerrville cross

The mammoth metal sculpture, the most conspicuous feature of a planned 23-acre religious garden, was opposed by several Mesa Vista residents who asserted in a 2008 lawsuit that it violated their subdivision's restrictive covenants.

The Coming King Foundation contended restrictions for the 12-lot subdivision laid out in 1971 were legally unenforceable.

Three failed mediation sessions preceded Monday's trial setting. The last-minute deal is intended to limit the cross's impact on its neighbors.

Besides building a privacy wall, the group agreed to limit access to “The Coming King Sculpture/Prayer Garden” from Mesa Vista Lane, and to restrict parking there for patrons.

“It's a great day for our community since everybody won,” said Fern Lancaster, of the nonprofit's board of directors.

When the cross is installed depends on the progress of fundraising for the $7 million garden that will be accessible from the I-10 access road just west of Texas 16.

“It will go up in God's time,” Lancaster said.

The defendants also agreed to pay $25,000 toward the legal fees of the plaintiffs, whose lead attorney Richard Mosty, said of the pact, “Privacy protections were paramount.”

State District Judge Keith Williams praised the litigants' efforts to resolve the emotional dispute that he said concerned property law, not religious issues.