(Texas Scorecard) – In response to a controversial Islamic community planned for an unincorporated part of Collin County, a lawmaker representing the area has proposed legislation that would protect home buyers from “creative” ownership arrangements and remove some religious exemptions in the Texas Fair Housing Act.
State Rep. Candy Noble (R–Lucas) described the planned Muslim developments in House District 89—known as EPIC City and EPIC Ranches, or EPIC 2.0—as “creatively structured.”
House Bill 4211 would address such development schemes by adding a new chapter to the state’s Property Code titled Business Entity-Owned Residential Arrangements.
“This isn’t your typical subdivision or planned community,” Noble told members of the House State Affairs Committee during a hearing on the measure. “It’s innovative in design, creative in structure, and completely outside of what we’ve anticipated in Texas law.”
An individual does not simply buy property in EPIC City. Instead, for a significant investment—at least $80,000—a person might qualify to become an investor, and therefore might be allowed to have access to purchase a lot. Is it a timeshare? Is it a co-op? Is it a MUD, a PID, an HOA? The answer is, it seems to be a little bit of all of those, and technically, none of them.
What’s not clear is whether investors actually own the land or just have access to it to build on it.
“That’s the problem, because when it comes to a person’s home, ownership means something,” added Noble.
She explained how HB 4211 would ensure that “when a person invests into one of these arrangements, no matter how creatively it’s structured, they are still afforded rights under Texas law.”
Noble noted that in addition to hundreds of homes, the planned EPIC 2.0 projects would include a mosque, K-12 schools, a community college, a clinic, and retail that would be “commonly paid for” by the investors.
Plans for EPIC City and EPIC Ranches were launched last year by the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), a Muslim community active in Plano for more than 15 years.
EPIC members formed Community Capital Partners to manage the new project that would allow the group to expand beyond its current campus.
Their marketing describes the developments as catering to Muslim families.
EPIC’s branding as an “exclusive” Islamic enclave, despite later claims of inclusivity, sparked criticism from Collin County residents.
County officials clarified that their issue with EPIC City is not religious freedom, it’s whether the project follows state and federal laws.
The EPIC developments are currently in the early planning stages, consisting mainly of empty farmland.
But after an hours-long public hearing last month on EPIC City, County Judge Chris Hill concluded that based on available facts he “cannot support this project.”
Still, some residents have said they don’t want any Muslim presence in the county or state.
In response to public backlash and multiple investigations launched by Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, EPIC hired a PR firm and a high-profile defense attorney, Dan Cogdell.
It’s unclear how HB 4211 would impact current EPIC shareholders.
Key provisions of the bill affirm investors’ rights to own and transfer shares, prohibit managing entities from interfering in the transfer of investors’ ownership interests, and require disputes to be resolved in courts established by Texas or the United States.
HB 4211 also incorporates deceptive trade practices provisions and removes Texas Fair Housing Act religious exemptions on residential sales in developments of 25 acres or more. Current state law allows religious organizations to limit home sales to people of the same religion.
All of the EPIC properties are larger than 25 acres.
State Rep. John McQueeney (R–Fort Worth) asked Noble if she would be putting the same bill forward if EPIC was a Baptist community.
“That’s a great question, and I’ve actually thought about that a lot, being I’m a Baptist… and the answer is yes,” answered Noble. “No matter what the business arrangement is, we need to have these resolutions allowed under law.”
Local officials from the city of Josephine, located near the EPIC City property, submitted written comments supporting HB 4211’s added property rights protections in response to “evolving residential ownership models.”
Attorney Murtaza Sutarwalla registered opposition to HB 4211, calling it a “constitutional overstep” that would put Texas law in conflict with the federal Fair Housing Act.
HB 4211 was voted favorably out of committee on April 24. House bills must advance through the Calendars Committee before proceeding to the floor for a vote of the full chamber. Then they must move to the Senate to repeat the process.
Just five weeks remain in the 20-week legislative session.