 "Photo: Jon Huang")
Northcross residents said they are not done fighting a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter even after a district court ruled in favor of the City of Austin and Lincoln Property Co, both of whom are fighting on behalf of the retail giant.
About 150 residents gathered at a Responsible Growth for Northcross meeting Friday night in the St. Louis King of France Catholic Church
Community Center to voice their concerns.
"I thought it was just a bad idea in general," said Carl Lambert, a resident in attendance. "It's an inappropriate development in the neighborhood. There's no easy access off any of the main streets. Anyone who has driven on MoPac during rush hour can tell you it's bumper-to-bumper traffic now, so you add to that the impact of a Supercenter, and that just worsens the situation."
The group lost its legal battle Dec. 21 when State District Judge Orlinda Naranjo ruled in favor of the City of Austin and Lincoln Property Co., the development company building the store. Construction on the store was halted during litigation.
Group spokesman Jason Meeker said the organization is still unsure whether they will file an appeal. Meeker said the group also hopes to amend the city's big-box ordinance, which regulates retail stores of more than 100,000 square feet.
The organization began a petition calling on the city to pass an ordinance limiting "24-hour operations for big-box retail stores in close proximity to residences ... and includes a provision that limits public shopping hours as well as overnight operations, including delivery truck arrivals and engine idling."
"What we want to have addressed in the ordinance is some language that addresses the impact," Meeker said. "It's not the size, it's the impact."
Meeker said that the Allendale Neighborhood Association plans to file its own appeal. He said the city has already spent $684,000 in lawyer fees.
"You were paying to have the city help the developer help Wal-Mart," Meeker said.
Responsible Growth's President Hope Morrison said she believes city leaders should be held accountable.
"We aren't done yet," Morrison said. "We've had a failure of leadership in the city that directly contributed to what happened here."
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