The excitement thus far: Well, I’m not sure if testimony on water drainage engineering qualifies as excitement, but that’s what we got – first Responsible Growth for Northcross President Hope Morrison testified on how a Wal-Mart at Northcross will negatively impact quality of life for the neighbors, with very little cross-exam from Casey Dobson (of Scott, Douglass & McConnico, hired to represent the city). Dobson asked whether she was an expert on the engineering concerns relating to the redevelopment, to which she answered “no.”
Then Lauren Ross, who holds a doctorate in water resources engineering, gave testimony on how she believes Lincoln Property’s site plan is not in compliance with city regulations because it could slightly increase flood runoff from the property, based on her own floodwater calculations. Judge Orlinda Naranjo broke for lunch before Dobson or the Lincoln attorneys could cross-examine.
The real fireworks came from Dobson in his opening statement: “This city, to the point of distraction sometimes, loves a conspiracy theory. And if all you hear about this case was what was on RG4N’s website and what you read in the Chronicle and what you heard in the media, you would believe that this site plan was approved because the City Council lacks courage, the city staff are feckless developer lackeys, and everybody was just out to get them. … This site plan was approved because that’s what the law required the city to do. Period.”
This article appears in November 9 • 2007.