Freestone County commissioners ask Texas to halt eminent domain on Fairfield park

The Freestone County commissioners are decrying the state’s decision to move forward with eminent domain to seize the Fairfield Lake State Park property in their county.

At a Wednesday morning meeting, the five commissioners voted unanimously to send a letter to Texas Parks and Wildlife, asking them to “stop right now.”

The commissioners were responding to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission’s June 10 decision to use eminent domain to seize 5,000 acres of land in Freestone County. That land includes the 1,800-acre Fairfield Lake State Park, which the state operated on leased land for about five decades.

The former private owner, energy company Vistra Corp., sold the full 5,000 acres to Dallas-based developer Todd Interests. The development firm finalized its purchase at the beginning of June and plans to build a high-end, gated community on the property. The state’s lease on the park land was slated to end in mid-June.

The Parks and Wildlife Commission’s unanimous vote to move forward with eminent domain had been met with mixed reactions. Some residents have applauded the effort to keep hold of public land. Others, now including the Freestone County commissioners, have said that the state should’ve worked harder to obtain the land before a private buyer did.

And while eminent domain experts have said that the Parks and Wildlife Commission appears to be well within its legal rights to seize the property, developer Shawn Todd has said that the state’s move sets a dangerous precedent.

Freestone County Judge Linda Grant has for months been a vocal proponent of saving the park, and has spoken at legislative hearings about the importance of the park to the local community. She said at Wednesday’s meeting, though, that she believes public sentiment has changed over time, as the discussion shifted from purchasing the park land to seizing the park land.

“I think the opinions have changed and I think people are not as supportive as they used to be,” Grant said at the meeting.

She added that Todd Interests’ planned development would also add to the county’s tax base.

“The tax revenue that this project is promising, that we will get, will be a great benefit to our county and to our taxpayers,” Grant said. “Hopefully more services will be able to be provided to our citizens, and I know we need a lot of things in our county that we’ve not been able to afford over time.”

The Freestone County commissioners voted to draft the letter Wednesday morning. By early afternoon Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said the agency had received the letter but did not yet have a response.

The Fairfield Lake property has not yet been seized by the state. At this point, the Parks and Wildlife Department has made an offer, based on an appraisal report, to Todd Interests and asked the developer to voluntarily sell the land, according to a department spokesperson.

This step is required by the state’s eminent domain laws, and the offer itself is confidential. If the two sides don’t reach an agreement on a voluntary sale, then the state will move forward with condemning and seizing the property, although the state will still be required to pay a fair price for the property.

In the meantime, several Parks and Wildlife commissioners have asked Todd to pause any demolition or development plans on the property. In an interview with reporters last week, Todd would not commit to that and said that the property remains fully under the ownership of his firm at this time.