Collin County holds public hearing on proposed 'Epic City' development; no development application yet

Collin County officials held a public hearing focused on a proposed master‑planned development known as Epic City, which County Administrator Eun Kim said would straddle unincorporated Collin and Hunt counties near Josephine but has not yet submitted a development application to the county.

The hearing, convened before a packed commissioners courtroom, drew more than 60 public speakers and a delegation representing the property owner. County staff emphasized limits on local authority over residential land use while residents and other speakers pressed officials for reviews of fairness, public safety and infrastructure commitments.

Eun Kim, Collin County administrator, told the court the tract identified by the project proponents covers roughly 402 acres outside city limits and outside any extraterritorial jurisdiction and that “as of today ... Community Capital Partners … has not applied to develop with us.” Kim summarized the county’s role: it regulates plats and infrastructure (roads, drainage, floodplain, septic and permitted utilities) but “the county does not have the type of zoning powers that municipalities generally have,” and “the final plat approved by the commissioners court is a ministerial duty” once regulatory checkboxes are met.

Representatives for the owners, Community Capital Partners, said they remain in due diligence. David Califfer, senior planner for Westwood Professional Services, said the team has completed water, flood and traffic studies and is reviewing options with potential water providers: “We do not. We’re still going through the process of redesigning based on our findings ... we anticipate it will be sometime this year,” he told the court.

Speakers on both sides described strong views of the proposal. Several residents and local leaders cited the development’s public materials and said they show the project intends to market or prioritize buyers who share the developer’s faith‑based goals. Pastor and licensed real estate broker Brandon Burton told the court the proposal raised civil‑rights questions under federal and state housing law, saying, “Under the Fair Housing Act it is illegal for a real estate agent to advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based on race, religion, [or] familial status.”

Other public commenters raised a range of concerns that county staff said would be part of any future formal review: water supply and pressure, fire protection, road and traffic impacts, endangered species and floodplain effects, and whether the development would rely on a municipal utility district (MUD) or other large‑scale sewer system rather than septic. Several speakers noted news reports and public statements by state officials: Kim recited recent announcements he said the county had tracked, including that the Texas attorney general’s office had issued a civil investigative demand to Community Capital Partners and that the governor had directed a Texas Rangers inquiry; Kim also said the Texas State Securities Board and the Texas Workforce Commission had opened investigations into affiliated entities.

Local officials at the hearing reiterated how county authority would apply if a formal filing arrived. Kim said because of the density described in promotional materials, the site would likely require central sewer (not septic) and that any developer would have to resolve water and sewer arrangements — including TCEQ approvals where required — before a plat could proceed. Judge Hill added that county staff should notify the court when an application is formally filed; no plat or MUD application had been submitted at the time of the hearing.

The developers and their representatives told the court they would return for additional meetings with residents and county staff as studies finish. Kim and others told the court they would monitor state regulatory and enforcement actions now pending. County officials did not take any regulatory action at the hearing.

What happens next: because the property is in unincorporated areas, a formal plat and infrastructure plans would come to the commissioners court for ministerial approval only after county inspections and statutory approvals. That means the earliest opportunities for the court to impose conditions or deny a filing would follow the developer’s formal submission and after required utility and environmental approvals are in place.