Photo: A view of the North side of Fairfield Lake’s fishing dock, November 2022, by Misti Little.
By Misti Little and Victoria Howard
Community advocates and environmental groups like the Sierra Club have reason to cheer after the decision by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to issue a decree to save Fairfield Lake State Park via eminent domain on June 10, 2023.
Located approximately 95 miles south of downtown Dallas, Fairfield Lake State Park was sold to developer Todd Interests, who plans to develop the land into multi-million dollar homes.
Fairfield Lake State Park has been a crown jewel of the state park system for decades and was named Park of the Year in 2022, with more than 80,000 people enjoying its greenspace, most of them from Texas.
Until recently, the State of Texas leased the land from Vistra Corp, the energy company that operated the Big Brown coal plant nearby. However, after the coal plant’s retirement, the lease with the state was not renewed, and Vistra sold the land to Todd Interests, a real estate firm led by Shawn, Patrick, and Phillip Todd.
Timeline of recent action:
- June 1, 2023 - Todd Interests completes the purchase of the Fairfield Lake State Park and additional acreage, including Fairfield Lake, totalling approximately 5,000 acres from Vistra Corp. for a reported $110.5 million.
- June 8, 2023 - the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department offers $25 million to Todd Interests to incentivize the developer to relinquish the contract, hence allowing TPWD to purchase the park directly from Vistra Corp. Todd Interests subsequently rejects that offer.
- June 10, 2023 - TPWD Commissioners vote unanimously to use Texas condemnation laws to seize the property.
Where things stand now
Thirty days have passed since the initial offer from TPWD to Todd Interests for condemnation, and many parks advocates presume Todd Interests has denied that offer. They suspect that the eminent domain process is in its second phase where TPWD would have issued a final offer to Todd Interests in an effort to complete these proceedings. However, park advocates say the exact status is unknown at this time.
If there is no agreement reached, condemnation proceedings are filed in court and a special commissioners’ hearing will be created. The commissioners will be three judge-appointed, local Freestone County landowners who are disinterested in the case and who will determine adequate compensation to Todd Interests. Should the special commissioners’ award be disputed by either party, it will then end up as a civil case in court with a trial by judge or jury.
What’s happening at Fairfield?
Todd Interests had already been working on clearing vegetation in the park before the TPWD lease was over. In addition, according to an article published in GreenSource DFW on July 7, 2023:
“[Shawn] Todd hosted a press event at the Freestone County Courthouse on Thursday, June 6, 2023, to complain about the state’s latest move. He cast himself as the underdog and says his property rights are being infringed upon… In late June, Freestone County Judge Linda Grant, who had been a vocal supporter of saving Fairfield Lake State Park, abruptly reversed her support and led the Freestone County Commissioners in urging TPWD to stop the eminent domain process…According to Fox4, Todd admits his company is already developing the land and intends to start selling lots soon, despite the ongoing legal dispute.”
As of today, local residents report heavy removal and thinning of native underbrush, Post Oak, and Blackjack Oak forest habitat along the park’s picnic and swimming area peninsula, which is in addition to the complete removal of an estimated 5.5 acres of critically imperiled prairie habitat near the park's campgrounds (which is a habitat that has been in active preservation by the park prior to its closure).
The Sierra Club will continue to support the ongoing efforts of the park’s advocates as they rally to fight wholesale habitat removal and the development of the state park during these eminent domain proceedings.
Photo: A white pelican on a February morning in 2023 taken on a cove of Fairfield Lake, East of the Nature Trail, by Misti Little.