While Todd Interests was intent on getting dirt turning on its gated luxury golf course development planned for what was formerly Fairfield Lake State Park, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission had other ideas. The commission, chaired by Buc-ees founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin III, voted to condemn the 5,000-acre Freestone County property and plans to acquire the land, which includes the park and the lake, for “fair market value.”
The rationale for the June 10 vote was to preserve what had become a popular North Texas fishing and recreational spot for public use. However, as part of the commission’s vote, the agency will enlist TPWD Executive Director David Yoskowitz, Ph.D., to craft a policy that will allow the commission to only use eminent domain in “extraordinary and unusual situations.” The commission plans to consider the policy when they convene Aug. 24.
In the commission’s statement, they say that the use of eminent domain is only occurring after the commission has taken “persistent and extraordinary steps to acquire and preserve the park under more amicable terms.”
“Condemnation represents an extraordinary step and last resort for TPWD, and it is not one we undertake lightly,” said Commission Chairman Arch “Beaver” Aplin III. “However, TPWD’s mission calls for managing and conserving the natural resources of Texas for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Fairfield Lake State Park has welcomed millions of visitors over half a century, and we have a clear mandate to preserve this public resource that is beloved by so many.”
That’s, however, a stark contrast to how Todd Interests categorized the proposed taking in a letter sent to the commission last week.
“Chairman Aplin made no secret of his desire for our transaction to fail, and after we refused to simply walk away from our business transaction he made numerous verbal threats, apparently orchestrated multiple failed legislative actions and in our opinion, spoke many untruths,” the letter states. “These, along with many other actions, have been catalogued diligently by our firm and others. While receiving much interference and efforts of sabotage, we did not receive a written proposal to purchase our contractual right until May 12, 2023 — eight months after engaging in conversations with Chairman Aplin.”
What’s Fair Market Value?
According to reports, Todd Interests put Fairfield Lake State Park under contract from Luminant subsidiary Vestra Corp. for $110 million, while the commission attempted to purchase the property for around $25 million.
To determine “fair market value” in cases of eminent domain, the state will consider the size of the property, zoning laws, whether it is improved, its current use, and whether it’s accessible from major thoroughfares. Of course, like almost everything in life, fair market value is negotiable.
Why Use Eminent Domain?
One of the state’s main arguments for condemning Fairfield Lake State Park is the dearth of public land. The park, which welcomed more than 80,000 visitors each year, is one of only 89 state parks and publicly managed lands in the state. Only 5 percent of Texas’ almost 172 million acres is publicly owned.
“One hundred years ago, Governor Pat Neff presented a vision of Texas dotted with state parks ‘to be held in sacred trust by the State for the public good, now and forever,’” Yoskowitz said. “We have made great progress in fulfilling that vision, but demand for outdoor recreation has only increased, so while condemnation presents an extremely rare outcome we would have rather avoided, we cannot stand by and watch the permanent closing of a park and fishing location that has provided so many benefits to Texans and the local community for five decades.”
We’ve reached out to Todd Interests for a statement regarding the state’s action but did not hear back before publication.
