[TexasGator]

“Just because something is used in one manner doesn’t legally turn it into something else. “

Google ‘adverse possession’.

[Svartalfiar]

Google ‘adverse possession’.

And what does that have to do with this case?

“But they didn’t combine them. Legally they were still two separate lots. “
Not according to the local zoning laws.

According to local zoning laws that supposedly combined them 30+ years before they tried to sell, which is when this 'combining' was discovered. And, in the meantime, everyone treated them as two separate properties, including the government forces who deal with property taxes. If the government actually combined them, why would they still treat them as separate? Why would the county offer to buy only the second lot, if the lots are combined and must be treated as the same lot?