I never really understood the attitude of the city government and politically powerful residents towards the lakefront. Basically, they wanted it to be 100% privately controlled
That's how the majority of the lakes in Texas are. It's funny studies have been done about water access. Basically, if the front is privately owned, then the property adjacent is worth quite a bit. Lake view property (across the street) sells at a premium. Non-lake view but nearby is of no added value vs no lake nearby at all. The drop off is that severe.
Comparatively if the lake front is publicly accessible the value is spread over about 3 miles, and land near a lake (say within 1 mile) but no lake view still sells at a premium. To put it another way, city government and politically powerful take all the value and leave the rest on the table to be wasted.