Mike Brooks
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is doubling down on efforts to stifle a controversial planned development led by the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) in Collin County.
On Tuesday, Paxton sent a letter to county commissioners urging them to reject EPIC’s development proposals for its planned 400-acre mixed-use project in Hunt and Collin counties. The development, formerly known as EPIC City, was renamed as The Meadow in January.
Paxton’s letter cites allegations of illegal annexation of county land and securities fraud among other reasons to deny a plat application submitted in December.
“From beginning to end, the East Plano Islamic Center development has been an illegal scheme designed to circumvent state law and destroy beautiful Texas land,” Paxton said in a Wednesday announcement. “We must protect Texans from illegal schemes, and that’s why I’m advising the Commissioners Court to refrain from approving any new development and platting applications by the EPIC City developers.”
County judge Chris Hill told The Dallas Morning News Wednesday that he has not yet received the letter. In January, Collin County engineering staff said the application lacked required documentation and asked developers to submit proof of plans for electrical and wastewater utilities.
The Background
Located near the small town of Josephine, the Meadow is expected to have a new mosque, upwards of 1,000 homes, a K-12 faith-based school, senior housing, an outreach center, commercial developments, sports facilities and a community college.
Since its announcement in 2024, the development has faced significant obstacles from state and federal officials. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development launched a fair housing investigation into EPIC in February over allegations that the community would be open to only Muslims. The U.S. Department of Justice briefly launched an investigation into the development in 2025 after U.S. Sen. John Cornyn also raised concerns about religious discrimination.
In 2025, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered investigations into EPIC by a dozen state agencies, including the Texas Rangers. Abbott has been vocal in his resistance to the project on social media, calling it an example of “sharia cities” in a post from February of last year and asserting the community would discriminate against non-Muslims. Aside from social media attacks and investigations by state agencies, Abbott signed a bill targeting religious discrimination in housing and preventing “sharia courts” from mediating in property disputes.
In a previous statement from Community Capital Partners, the EPIC-formed for-profit corporation responsible for the project, developers said that concerns about potentially blatant violations of the Fair Housing Act are unfounded.
“The plan allows for multiple houses of worship, reflecting the community’s open and inclusive design,” the statement says. “From the outset, the project has been open to anyone who chooses to live there and is being developed in full compliance with all local, state, and federal laws.”
Lawsuits and MUD
Paxton has followed Abbott’s lead and launched two open lawsuits targeting the development. One alleges EPIC and Community Capital Partners have violated securities laws and “engaged in fraudulent practices while soliciting funds. The other, detailed at length in Paxton’s letter to the Commissioner’s Court, targets a municipal utility district which he alleges has aimed to help EPIC avoid state regulations.
“I write today to advise you that issues relating to some of these deficiencies are the subject of active litigation brought by the State of Texas—namely, the composition of the Double R board of directors and the validity of the purported land annexation designed to facilitate development of the proposed EPIC City project,” Paxton wrote in the letter. “Accordingly, as the State’s chief legal officer, I advise you to reject any relevant plat applications, including the application package submitted on December 23, 2025, for the proposed development called ‘The Meadow Phase 1.’”
Municipal utility districts (MUD) are governmental subdivisions operating in unincorporated territory, often established to facilitate development by providing access to utilities in remote areas. Paxton’s lawsuit alleges that Double R Municipal Utility District No. 2A, located in Hunt and Collin counties, dissolved its board in September and replaced it with members who then voted to annex 402 acres roughly corresponding with the planned development’s boundaries.
Paxton alleges the new board members are unqualified to hold public office under state law and that the annexation was designed to “avoid state oversight by expanding this existing MUD, rather than going through the process of creating a new one.”
A new MUD can be created through the state legislature or, more commonly, by petitioning the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. In April, TCEQ ordered EPIC to stop work on the development
“The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that the group behind the proposed EPIC compound did not submit the required permits to begin construction,” Abbott said in a release announcing the order. “They must confirm within seven days that they are immediately ceasing any construction of their illegal project or face the full weight of the law. The State of Texas will enforce its laws and protect our communities from unlawful actions or threats posed by EPIC or its affiliates.”
EPIC and Community Capital Partners did not return requests for comment in time for publication in this article.
Paxton is currently facing a May runoff election in the Republican Senate race against Cornyn. President Donald Trump has yet to endorse a candidate.
