A court judgment this week has breathed new life into the Terrell Creek development in northwest Christian County and southwest Greene County.

Greene County Circuit Court Judge Calvin Holden has ruled that Christian County cannot prohibit Missouri Partners Inc. from developing subdivided 20-acre tracts.

The county "failed to meet its burden to prove that it is entitled to injunctive relief" in its petition to prevent MPI from moving forward with its Terrell Creek development, Holden said.

The judgment announced Monday is the latest in a 5-year saga that has seen several failed negotiations in the 1,500-acre project that would include the 20-acre parcels.

Patrick Platter, who represented Christian County, said the county's concern is the way the 20-acre tracts will be developed. However, the court found that MPI's "proposed marketing and sales of subdivided tracts of 20 acres or larger is not governed by the Christian County Unified Development Code."

According to a press release issued by Platter Tuesday, "Christian County respects the choices that the court faced in this litigation but must disagree with the ruling."

Platter said his clients are concerned on behalf of residents in Christian County regarding the implications of development.

"The one concern is Missouri Partners claims that the 20-acre developments are for agricultural purposes," Platter said. "But our concern is that it's going to be used for residential and further subdivided purposes, which would then trigger zoning regulation and the need for protection for the surrounding area."

Christian County first approved development in July 2005, based on an intergovernmental agreement in which Christian County gave the Greene County town of Republic authority to impose its rules over the project and oversee the development, but several proposals during the pre-application process of a permit for the project was denied because it didn't meet county regulations, Glenda Hammons, then-acting county planning and zoning administrator, said in November last year.

MPI attorney Bryan Ward, who has also represented the News-Leader, said the company changed the development plans in 2006 to allow for 20-acre parcels and to pave the road that had been started for the development.

Christian County filed a stop-work order on the development and the road, followed by a lawsuit, Ward said. In December 2006, a judge ordered an injunction that said once the appropriate permits are granted to MPI, they can finish the road.

In 2007, MPI began advertising the 20-acre tracts for sale, but Christian County filed another lawsuit requesting injunctive relief on the project. Then shortly after, MPI filed a counterclaim against Christian County for damages, Ward said.

"The counterclaim we have pending is for the damages MPI suffered as a result of their (Christian County) -- as the court indicated -- arbitrary refusal to work with MPI to develop their property when they had no legal authority to stop it," Ward said, adding that the counterclaim has not been resolved.

Now that the court has ruled in favor of MPI, the developers will once again continue with its road work and advertisements for sale of the tracts, Ward said.