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RG4N Trial: Wednesday Morning 

Lee Nichols  Wed Nov 14, 12:39pm , 2007
Tags: Development, Wal-Mart


Stations of the Northcross
Photo by Wells Dunbar
Testimony in Responsible Growth for Northcross' suit against a proposed Wal-Mart at Northcross Mall (see previous posts below to get up to speed) continued this morning, with a continued focus on flood control, especially in relation to a decades-old plat note on the property. Again, the complexities of flood control are too much to go into in this blog space (and I'd probably explain it incorrectly anyway), but the basic gist of RG4N's argument this morning is that the city's approval of Lincoln Property's site plan violated the note, which mandates that "Rainfall runoff shall be held to the amount existing at undeveloped status by use of ponding or other approved methods." The city – with testimony from city engineers Benny Ho and Jose Guerrero – countered that "undeveloped status" means status at the time the application is filed, not a reversion to the status of when the property was a green pasture. Attorney Casey Dobson, representing the city, said "To use a legal term, that [would be] silly." Guerrero further testified that the law only requires that a project not make flooding worse, and that Lincoln's site plan will actually reduce impervious cover and presumable send less floodwater off-site.

Testimony resumes at 1:30pm.

 

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COMMENTS
2
 
Pleasantly Surprised guest Nov 14, 2007 - 05:12 pm
I'm pleasantly surprised by your coverage of the event. Your attempts to *understand* and simplify the heavy technical material and communicate *what actually happened* at the trial are greatly appreciated.

You've done a much better job than most of the larger news departments around Austin. Thank you.


Silly Casey guest Nov 14, 2007 - 06:20 pm
Silly Casey.

$424,000.

So silly.




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