Tug-of-war continues over Fairfield Lake State Park

A Dallas developer is swinging back after the state’s decision to take Fairfield Lake State Park through eminent domain.

The park and surrounding land were privately owned for decades, with Texas Parks and Wildlife serving as a tenant. Developer Shawn Todd bought several thousand acres, and he’s now fighting the state to keep the deal afloat.

Todd hadn’t publicly addressed the press since September of last year. On Thursday he invited the public and media to a press event to talk about the 5,000 acres of land he bought, including Fairfield Lake State Park, roughly 90 miles south of Dallas.

“It’s not about a park and it’s certainly not about my real estate deal,” Todd said about the event.

For decades the park was privately owned with the state serving as a tenant free of charge. When the land went up for sale, the Parks board said they didn’t have the money to make a purchase. So, deals were then made with developers.

Last month, though, Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioners voted to use eminent domain to keep the park.

Todd had plenty to say about the move and called it self-serving.

“[It is] The open and brazen abuse of power by appointed officials, not elected officials,  and their weaponization of a state agency to wrongly take something that is not theirs,” said Todd.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department did not respond to our requests for an interview on Thursday. However, in a statement to NBC 5, TPWD referred to a recent op-ed written by Chairman Arch Aplin in the Dallas Morning News.

The piece reads in part:

“While there has been criticism of TPWD not acting sooner to acquire the state park from Vistra, the fact is we engaged in good-faith discussions and made multiple offers to purchase the 1,800-acre park site and even the entire 5,000-acre tract from both the original owner and the real estate developer. These offers were rejected, including an offer to the developer for $20 million plus expenses to buy out his contract.”

A small group of protesters gathered at Todd’s event Thursday as well. They held signs in support of leaving the park as is.

“We planted over a thousand trees. We didn’t plant them to be a golf course. We didn’t plant them to be a gated community. We wanted it to be a place for the public. For the future,” said Dennis Walsh, a former park manager.

Todd said he never received a bona fide offer from the TPWD, and he refutes claims that he has plans to drain the lake.

“I want to dispel any notion that we will drain the levels of this lake,” he said. “There are zero economics in my business plan of monetizing that water.”

Ultimately, Todd said this fight is about private property rights. Last month, the Freestone County commissioners sent a letter to Texas Parks and Wildlife demanding the agency not use eminent domain to stop the development.

Full Dallas Morning News op-ed can be found here: Aplin: Here’s why eminent domain is the appropriate way to save Fairfield Lake State Park (dallasnews.com)