At 2pm, two hours after more than 150 protesters descended on City Hall, it’s finally quiet. Council has temporarily absconded behind closed doors into executive session, following a whirlwind of action and new developments in the Northcross/Wal-Mart saga. Not that it’s over by half; with Supercenter foes Responsible Growth for Northcross still signing in to speak by the dozen, discussion of Wal-Mart’s expansion plans, scheduled during council’s 6pm public hearings, will likely stretch long into the night. This even despite a self-imposed 45 minute time limit, plus response, on the protesters’ part – it’s just that there’s so much to say.
The biggest news currently is an announcement from Lee Leffingwell’s office that Northcross developers Lincoln Property Group has joined Wal-Mart in their 60-day moratorium on building at Northcross. Wal-Mart’s moratorium announcement yesterday left RG4N members cold, as it was developer Lincoln who stood to swing the wrecking ball. Their fears were seemingly confirmed by a story in today’s Statesman, announcing Lincoln filed another site plan yesterday “to basically lock in the one it already has.” The 60-day moratorium could conceivably grant Lincoln and Wal-Mart enough time to nullify neighbor’s shaky legal arguments by renotifying all groups of the refiled site plan, this time with every conceivable legal failing fixed. But any hopes they had of the moratorium serving as a cool-off period look unfounded; if anything, judging from earlier, the heat can only build.
This article appears in December 8 • 2006.