Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has made another move to block the development formerly known as EPIC City, this time writing a letter to the Collin County Commissioners urging them to deny the project’s land use application — which the county did months ago.
The EPIC City proposed housing community, now called The Meadow, is a 402-acre development in unincorporated Collin and Hunt counties, roughly 40 miles northeast of Dallas near the city of Josephine. The project has faced intense scrutiny from top Republicans in the state who’ve accused the development of implementing Sharia Law and creating a no-go zone for non-Muslims, something the developer has repeatedly denied.
The project is in the early stages of planning and is years away from construction.
Paxton, who calls McKinney home, sent Collin County commissioners a letter saying the county should deny any plat applications for the project due to pending state litigations and investigations.
Paxton has filed multiple lawsuits targeting the proposed community, including a recent suit against the municipal utility district that approved an annexation request from the developer. The Attorney General said adding the development to an existing MUD circumvents state scrutiny in the MUD creation process.
“Be advised that my office’s investigation of EPIC City, its developers, and associated governmental or nongovernmental entities is ongoing,” he wrote. “Additional legal action may commence in the future.”
Eric Hudson, an attorney for the developer, Community Capital Partners, accused Paxton of anti-Muslim bias when he filed the lawsuit against the MUD.
“That looks a lot like religious discrimination dressed up as land use enforcement,” Hudson said. “The Constitution doesn’t allow government to pick winners and losers based on faith.”
The county already denied a plat application in January from Community Capital Partners, the developer of the Muslim-oriented community. Collin County Judge Chris Hill said in a post on social media the application was incomplete and lacked proper documentation.
A spokesperson for Community Capital Partners said Hill was singling out the project on social media for personal gain.
“Requests for additional documentation are normal,” the spokesperson said. “What is not normal is the County Judge issuing a public notice singling out a private development by name when no vote has occurred and no legal determination has been made.”
Hill has been outspoken against The Meadow, echoing concerns from state officials about potential religious discrimination. He urged potential voters to back him over his Republican primary opponent, former Plano city council member Rick Grady, because of his stance on the development.
“I will not support any development project that is founded upon discrimination or is otherwise unlawful in any regard,” he said in a campaign email.
Hill accused Grady of being supportive of the proposed housing community, pointing to his attending an event at the East Plano Islamic Center mosque that’s associated with the project. The County Judge defeated his primary opponent with about 78% of the vote.
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