A Texas lawmaker wants to use eminent domain to block development of a popular state park southeast of Dallas.
Texas Parks and Wildlife announced Tuesday that Fairfield Lake State Park will close Feb. 28 after months of negotiations between private companies and the state failed to secure a deal.
But Texas Rep. Angelia Orr filed a bill that would give the state the power to acquire the land through eminent domain, saying it has a vested interest in preserving the park.
Although Fairfield Lake has been open to the public since 1976, the property is actually owned by Vistra Energy, which leased the land to the state at no cost.
Vistra is now selling the land to Todd Interests, the developer responsible for high-end projects in downtown Dallas, including The National and East Quarter. The developer, Shawn Todd, has indicated he will not lease the land to the state and instead plans to develop a high-end gated community with multimillion-dollar second homes and a private golf course.
Fairfield Lake lies along a rural stretch of land in Freestone County, roughly 90 miles southeast of Dallas. The park offers miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, but its biggest draw is catfish and bass fishing.
“This treasured piece of Texas has blessed our local families and countless visitors for generations, and losing it is hard to comprehend,” Orr, a Republican who represents Freestone County, said in a statement about the park’s closure.
It’s not yet clear whether the eminent domain bill will gain traction in Texas, which has historically been supportive of private landowner rights. Under eminent domain, the government can acquire land for public use as long as it pays the owner a fair price. In this case, the property is listed for more than $110 million.
But a slew of elected leaders have called on the private companies to work with the state to keep the park open.
“The prospect of a developer taking this treasure out of our state park system is deeply troubling,” Rep. Trent Ashby, a Lufkin Republican and chairman of the state’s culture, recreation and tourism committee, wrote in a statement.
Todd Interests has not responded to requests for comment.
Vistra Energy declined to comment on the bill. On Tuesday, spokeswoman Meranda Cohn said the company has never received compensation for the lease and has worked with Texas Parks and Wildlife for the past several years to keep the park open.
“We are proud to have made this privately-owned land available to generations of Texans for the past 50 years,” Cohn said.
