Grove Mediations Continue

The Grove at Shoal Creek PUD saga continues with more scheduling debates. The next public hearing, scheduled for City Council's special-called meeting Tuesday, Dec. 6, when Council may pass the application on second reading, represents a problem for neighborhood activists who say the likely 9am start time will make it hard for working people to participate. There's also a small outcry over the fact that Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, whom neighborhood groups consider a critical eye, may miss part of the hearing because she'll be out of town at a conference in Mayor Steve Adler's stead. Tovo told the Chronicle she's committed to watching the entirety of the testimony to catch up: "It is second reading, and so we'll certainly have the opportunity to participate before a final decision is reached." The Bull Creek Road Coalition, the neighborhood group that's in mediation behind closed doors with the developer, ARG Bull Creek, Ltd., called the entire affair "ridiculous." Vice President Grayson Cox said, "This is wrong, and this Council is giving the clear signal that they don't want to hear the public on this controversial zoning case."