TEXAS SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART OPPONENTS HEADED TO COURT

Northcross Wal-Mart headed to Trial [News 8, Austin, Texas]

The controversy over a planned Wal-Mart Supercenter at Austin’s Northcross Mall continues. The mall’s owner, the city of Austin and two neighborhood groups will be fighting it out in court in November.

Responsible Growth For Northcross and the Allendale Neighborhood Association have combined their lawsuits against the city of Austin and Lincoln Property Company, the owners of Northcross Mall.

Part of the mall at Anderson Lane and Burnet Road is already being demolished. The 198,000-square-foot site planned for the retail giant, however, is on hold.

“They’ve agreed not to do any external demolition of the part of the mall that’s suppose to become the Supercenter until after we go to trial,” Hope Morrison of Responsible Growth for Northcross said.

Two neighborhoods groups are suing over the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter at Northcross Mall.

The neighborhood groups have been opposed to a Wal-Mart Supercenter since the plan was announced almost a year ago. They say the store would bring traffic, noise and ruin the area’s character.

“We are in it as long as it takes. We feel like we have a really good case. The people in this community have come forward with a lot of money to help us fund this lawsuit. This really is the neighborhoods lawsuit,” Morrison said.

The lawsuit claims the site plan for the redevelopment of Northcross Mall is illegal based on four reasons - one of them being a 1970s-based tree ordinance.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim the city illegally approved the destruction of 29 mature trees on the property. But, for the time being, most of the trees will be saved. Morrison said Lincoln agreed to preserve all but three of the 29 trees until the trial starts.

J. Bruce Scrafford, the attorney for Lincoln Property said his client isn’t changing its demolition schedule because of the lawsuit. He said they agreed to the schedule to “let the court and the plaintiff know that they were not going to speed up their demolition schedule and try and knock the building down before a judge hears the claims.”

The trial will begin Nov. 13 and should last a week.

If a judge finds the site plan was approved illegally, Lincoln Property will have to get a new site plan approved. But it would be subject to the big box ordinance passed earlier this year by the City Council.

Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, August 28, 2007