The five Freestone County Commissioners unanimously voted Wednesday to send a letter to the state asking the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to not use eminent domain to prevent Fairfield Lake State Park from being developed into a luxury gated community with multi-million dollar homes.
Dallas-based developer Todd Interests bought a 5,000-acre swath of land in Freestone County that includes the now-closed Fairfield Lake State Park, Fairfield Lake and surrounding land for more than $100 million. The firm closed on its contract June 1 with privately owned energy company Vistra, which previously let the state of Texas lease the land that included the park at no cost for nearly 50 years.
Wednesday’s meeting was the first time the county commissioners publicly discussed the land war over the state park since at least September when Todd Interests entered its contract negotiations with Vistra, according to a review of the commissioners’ meeting agendas by The Dallas Morning News.
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