Fairfield Lake State Park is a now closed state park located in Freestone County, Texas, United States, northeast of Fairfield on the shores of Fairfield Lake, the subject of a contentious battle between the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (which leased and operated the park until June 2023) and a private developer (who purchased the land from the prior owner). The park is 1,460 acres (591 ha).
The park was acquired in 1954 by a Department of Army lease, which extended it until 2004. Texas Power and Light Company (now known as Luminant) constructed a dam at Big Brown Creek to impound water as a cooling source for the nearby Big Brown Power Plant. The dam was completed in 1969.[2] The park was opened to the public in 1976.[3]
In the early 1830s, the area was important to Anglo settlers, particularly as a route to Texas and the American southwest. It was also an area of cattle trails.
There are several historical locations in the park, including an historical marker located in the Chancellor Union Cemetery on the park property. This has the graves of many early settlers from the area, including Civil War, WWI, and WWII veterans. The cemetery is still actively used but not maintained by the park. In the Springfield camp loop is an old well left over from the Hill family homestead.
Park's Closure and attempts to purchaseEdit
The park was not owned outright by TPWD; it was leased from Vistra [4] to the state for 50 years at no cost. In 2023, Vistra decided to sell the property (a total of 5,000 acres which included the park and other undeveloped land) and after TPWD declined to purchase the entire acreage (it made an offer for only the park acreage, which Vistra declined) Vistra sold it to Todd Interests. Although the price that the property ultimately sold for has not been disclosed it had been listed at $110M.[5]
It was announced in February 2023 that the park would close effective February 28, 2023, after the notification was given that the lease agreement will be ending.[6] The park would later temporarily reopen while TPWD attempted to buy out the new owners' interest for $20M with an additional $5M for the reimbursement of expenses but the park none-the-less closed, again, on June 4, 2023, so TPWD could remove its assets from the property.[7] In response, TPWD announced a special meeting for June 10, 2023 at 10:30 AM to discuss eminent domain condemnation proceedings for the park and the remainder of the 5,000 acres.[8] At the meeting, the Commission unanimously voted to use eminent domain to acquire the property.[9] Recognizing that the practice is highly disfavored in a state which strongly supports private landownership, the Commission also ordered the Department to develop written policies to state that eminent domain will be used in the future only in "extraordinary and unusual situations".[10]
Under Texas law, since TPWD has declared its intention to acquire the land by eminent domain, the following are the next steps in the process:[11]
Per Chapter 21 of the Texas Property Code,[12] from the June 10 special meeting, TPWD can make a written initial offer to Todd Interests. 30 days after the initial offer is made, TPWD can make a final offer to Todd Interests, which must be equal to or greater than the initial offer. The final offer must include an appraisal of the property TPWD is seeking to take. Todd Interests then has 14 days to accept or reject the final offer; if Todd Interests does not respond to the final offer, it is considered to have rejected it.
TPWD did make a final offer on August 3, 2023; Todd had until August 17 to respond, but on August 16 the Texas Tribune reported that Todd rejected the offer.
If Todd Interests rejects the offer, the Texas Attorney General's office (on behalf of TPWD) has the right to file the Petition in Condemnation (or the lawsuit) to take the property via eminent domain. The lawsuit would be filed in a district court in Freestone County, where the property is situated.
A district judge would then select three property owners in the county to serve as Special Commissioners, who's only duty is to determine the fair market value of the property be taken. Todd Interests is not required to attend the Special Commissioners' Hearing.
If either TPWD or Todd Interests file timely objections to the Award of the Special Commissioners, the matter would proceed like other civil litigation matters. The Court will then set the matter for trial with a scheduling order that will include deadlines for expert reports and a deadline to mediate the matter before trial.
If either TPWD or Todd Interests is not happy with the trial results, the matter could be appealed to the Texas Court of Appeals, and ultimately to the Texas Supreme Court.
Barring some error in the process, it is unlikely that Todd Interests cannot stop TPWD from acquiring the entire property. Unless TPWD elects to not go through with the case, the only matter to decide is how much Todd Interests will be paid, and how long the process will take (Jacob Merkord, an attorney specializing in these cases stated that the process could take from "a few months" to up to three years or longer).[13]
RecreationEdit
The park offers nature programs throughout the year.[14] It has facilities for picnicking, nature study, hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, boating, tubing, jet skiing, water skiing, wildlife observation, horseback trails, wildlife photography, group events, RV camping, tent camping, and primitive camping.
Facilities at the park include a 2,400-acre lake, shaded picnic sites, protected swim beach, playground areas, 136 campsites, primitive camping area, dump station, outdoor amphitheater, a fishing pier, two boat launches, two fish cleaning stations, two courtesy docks, Paddle EZ kayak and paddleboard rentals, rentable dining hall, and over 18 miles of trails to hike, bike, or explore on horseback. Each of the 136 campsites is provided with an RV pad, standing grill, fire ring with grill, and picnic table. All three camping loops have restroom and shower facilities. Water and electric sites are 30-amp hookups. Water-only sites are in the Springfield camping loop and do not allow generators to be run, but batteries are permitted.
^"Fairfield Lake (Trinity River Basin)". Texas Water Development Board. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
^"Fairfield Lake State Park History". Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
^"A Texas park on leased land near Dallas must close because the state's landlord is selling the property to a developer". February 15, 2023.
^"Developer expresses 'astonishment' over hearing to consider state park takeover". June 7, 2023.
^"News Release: Feb. 14, 2023: Fairfield Lake State Park to Close Permanently Feb. 28 - TPWD". tpwd.texas.gov. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
^"News Release: June 3, 2023: Property Sale Prompts Fairfield Lake State Park Closure - TPWD". tpwd.texas.gov. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
^"News Release: June 2, 2023: Meeting Announced to Consider Condemning Property Including Fairfield Lake State Park - TPWD". tpwd.texas.gov. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
^"Texas Parks and Wildlife Department opts for eminent domain to save Fairfield Lake State Park". The Texas Tribune. June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
^"News Release: June 10, 2023: Commissioners Authorize Preserving State Park". tpwd.texas.gov. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
^"Fairfield Lake State Park: What happens next in eminent domain case?". dallasnews.com. June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
fairfield, lake, state, park, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jsto. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Fairfield Lake State Park news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Fairfield Lake State Park is a now closed state park located in Freestone County Texas United States northeast of Fairfield on the shores of Fairfield Lake the subject of a contentious battle between the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department which leased and operated the park until June 2023 and a private developer who purchased the land from the prior owner The park is 1 460 acres 591 ha Fairfield Lake State ParkOverlooking Fairfield LakeLocationFreestone County TexasNearest cityFairfield TexasCoordinates31 46 52 N 96 04 14 W 31 7810007 N 96 0705232 W 31 7810007 96 0705232 1 Area1 460 acres 591 ha Created1976Operated byTexas Parks and Wildlife Department Contents 1 History 1 1 Park s Closure and attempts to purchase 2 Recreation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditThe park was acquired in 1954 by a Department of Army lease which extended it until 2004 Texas Power and Light Company now known as Luminant constructed a dam at Big Brown Creek to impound water as a cooling source for the nearby Big Brown Power Plant The dam was completed in 1969 2 The park was opened to the public in 1976 3 In the early 1830s the area was important to Anglo settlers particularly as a route to Texas and the American southwest It was also an area of cattle trails There are several historical locations in the park including an historical marker located in the Chancellor Union Cemetery on the park property This has the graves of many early settlers from the area including Civil War WWI and WWII veterans The cemetery is still actively used but not maintained by the park In the Springfield camp loop is an old well left over from the Hill family homestead Park s Closure and attempts to purchase Edit The park was not owned outright by TPWD it was leased from Vistra 4 to the state for 50 years at no cost In 2023 Vistra decided to sell the property a total of 5 000 acres which included the park and other undeveloped land and after TPWD declined to purchase the entire acreage it made an offer for only the park acreage which Vistra declined Vistra sold it to Todd Interests Although the price that the property ultimately sold for has not been disclosed it had been listed at 110M 5 It was announced in February 2023 that the park would close effective February 28 2023 after the notification was given that the lease agreement will be ending 6 The park would later temporarily reopen while TPWD attempted to buy out the new owners interest for 20M with an additional 5M for the reimbursement of expenses but the park none the less closed again on June 4 2023 so TPWD could remove its assets from the property 7 In response TPWD announced a special meeting for June 10 2023 at 10 30 AM to discuss eminent domain condemnation proceedings for the park and the remainder of the 5 000 acres 8 At the meeting the Commission unanimously voted to use eminent domain to acquire the property 9 Recognizing that the practice is highly disfavored in a state which strongly supports private landownership the Commission also ordered the Department to develop written policies to state that eminent domain will be used in the future only in extraordinary and unusual situations 10 Under Texas law since TPWD has declared its intention to acquire the land by eminent domain the following are the next steps in the process 11 Per Chapter 21 of the Texas Property Code 12 from the June 10 special meeting TPWD can make a written initial offer to Todd Interests 30 days after the initial offer is made TPWD can make a final offer to Todd Interests which must be equal to or greater than the initial offer The final offer must include an appraisal of the property TPWD is seeking to take Todd Interests then has 14 days to accept or reject the final offer if Todd Interests does not respond to the final offer it is considered to have rejected it TPWD did make a final offer on August 3 2023 Todd had until August 17 to respond but on August 16 the Texas Tribune reported that Todd rejected the offer If Todd Interests rejects the offer the Texas Attorney General s office on behalf of TPWD has the right to file the Petition in Condemnation or the lawsuit to take the property via eminent domain The lawsuit would be filed in a district court in Freestone County where the property is situated A district judge would then select three property owners in the county to serve as Special Commissioners who s only duty is to determine the fair market value of the property be taken Todd Interests is not required to attend the Special Commissioners Hearing If either TPWD or Todd Interests file timely objections to the Award of the Special Commissioners the matter would proceed like other civil litigation matters The Court will then set the matter for trial with a scheduling order that will include deadlines for expert reports and a deadline to mediate the matter before trial If either TPWD or Todd Interests is not happy with the trial results the matter could be appealed to the Texas Court of Appeals and ultimately to the Texas Supreme Court Barring some error in the process it is unlikely that Todd Interests cannot stop TPWD from acquiring the entire property Unless TPWD elects to not go through with the case the only matter to decide is how much Todd Interests will be paid and how long the process will take Jacob Merkord an attorney specializing in these cases stated that the process could take from a few months to up to three years or longer 13 Recreation EditThe park offers nature programs throughout the year 14 It has facilities for picnicking nature study hiking biking fishing kayaking paddle boarding swimming boating tubing jet skiing water skiing wildlife observation horseback trails wildlife photography group events RV camping tent camping and primitive camping Facilities at the park include a 2 400 acre lake shaded picnic sites protected swim beach playground areas 136 campsites primitive camping area dump station outdoor amphitheater a fishing pier two boat launches two fish cleaning stations two courtesy docks Paddle EZ kayak and paddleboard rentals rentable dining hall and over 18 miles of trails to hike bike or explore on horseback Each of the 136 campsites is provided with an RV pad standing grill fire ring with grill and picnic table All three camping loops have restroom and shower facilities Water and electric sites are 30 amp hookups Water only sites are in the Springfield camping loop and do not allow generators to be run but batteries are permitted See also EditList of Texas state parksReferences Edit Fairfield Lake State Park Geographic Names Information System United States Geological Survey United States Department of the Interior Fairfield Lake Trinity River Basin Texas Water Development Board Retrieved February 14 2018 Fairfield Lake State Park History Texas Parks amp Wildlife Department Retrieved February 14 2018 A Texas park on leased land near Dallas must close because the state s landlord is selling the property to a developer February 15 2023 Developer expresses astonishment over hearing to consider state park takeover June 7 2023 News Release Feb 14 2023 Fairfield Lake State Park to Close Permanently Feb 28 TPWD tpwd texas gov Retrieved February 16 2023 News Release June 3 2023 Property Sale Prompts Fairfield Lake State Park Closure TPWD tpwd texas gov Retrieved June 6 2023 News Release June 2 2023 Meeting Announced to Consider Condemning Property Including Fairfield Lake State Park TPWD tpwd texas gov Retrieved June 6 2023 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department opts for eminent domain to save Fairfield Lake State Park The Texas Tribune June 10 2023 Retrieved June 10 2023 News Release June 10 2023 Commissioners Authorize Preserving State Park tpwd texas gov Retrieved June 11 2023 Fairfield Lake State Park What happens next in eminent domain case dallasnews com June 12 2023 Retrieved June 13 2023 Property Code Chapter 21 Eminent Domain Texas use of eminent domain in the Fairfield Lake case is unique dallasnews com June 13 2023 Retrieved June 13 2023 https www facebook com FairfieldLakeSP user generated source External links EditOfficial site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fairfield Lake State Park amp oldid 1170676534, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
