Court May Decide Amphitheatre Argument
Attorney for neighborhood groups says the approval of outdoor venue was made improperly
By Amy Smith, Fri., March 23, 2012
Two Southwest Austin neighborhood groups say they will file a lawsuit this week against the city seeking an injunction against the ongoing construction of a 1,000-plus-seat amphitheatre in a residential area. PromiseLand West Church is building the outdoor music venue as a key feature of its new church campus development called Dream City on Highway 71.
Austin attorney Eric Taube, who is representing the homeowners' associations of Hill Country Estates and Covered Bridge, says a city staff member's arbitrary religious-use determination, which cleared the way for the amphitheatre project, "was decided erroneously." The decision was made two years ago in what was then a private email exchange between Planning and Development Review Director Greg Guernsey and an agent for PromiseLand West. Neighbors were unaware of the approval until the email surfaced last year; they immediately asked for an appeals hearing, but Guernsey denied the request, citing the amount of time that had already passed.
Taube believes his clients' claims are further bolstered by the City Council's recent approval of a resolution, passed on consent, directing the city manager to draft amendments to the land-use code. Council Member Laura Morrison has said she sponsored the resolution as a direct result of the PromiseLand West case.
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