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Let's reset the clock.

Posted Wed, 01/03/2007 - 10:52am

 

At its Dec. 14th session, the Austin City Council said it planned to hold Lincoln Property to no activity at Northcross for 60 days.

UPDATE - Jan 4th, 2007 - Lincoln Property Company is actively moving forward with its plans despite the agreement made with the City to suspend activities at the Wal-Mart site for 60 days.

 

Friends,
 
Responsible Growth for Northcross (RG4N) came into existence in mid-November ‘06. Since then, our list of accomplishments is pretty darned impressive for less than two months of effort, thanks to the tremendous neighborhood support that RG4N has experienced. 
 
From our initial community meeting in late November, which drew a standing-room-only crowd of over 300 neighbors, we have managed to focus significant media, public and City Council attention on the Northcross redevelopment. We’ve submitted thousands of signatures on petitions to City Council, we’ve distributed thousands of yard signs, and we’ve received thousands of dollars in donations.
 
But our work is nowhere near done.

What You Can Do To Help
 
We need your help!  Many neighbors and neighborhood businesses have generously donated their time, talents and treasure.  But we still need many more of you if we are to succeed. We need:

  1. Volunteers to help with survey distribution and collection January 13-14. We need people to table-sit at businesses in the area, serve as neighborhood captains, and distribute and collect surveys door-to-door.
    Sign up to volunteer.

  2. Volunteers to help with fundraising efforts. We need people to help with a fundraising event as well as approach area businesses for donations.
    Sign up to volunteer.

  3. Continued political pressure on City Council. We can’t let up on phone, fax, email and in-person contacts to Council members.
    Contact City Council.

  4. Letters to the Statesman and Chronicle editors. We haven’t had nearly enough of these!
    Contact the Statesman
    Contact the Austin Chronicle

  5. Technical expertise. If you have a background in such areas as water quality, traffic engineering, civil engineering, commercial real estate development, architecture, law or other technical areas, please contact us.
    Sign up to volunteer.

  6. Money! In addition to the cost of printing signs and surveys and meeting announcements and such, we also need big bucks for the lawsuit.
    Donate.

 

 Here’s an overview of where we are and where we’re headed over the next few weeks.

The So-Called Moratorium

·    In mid-December, Lincoln Property and Wal-Mart tried to play the public and the City Council for fools by trumpeting a 60-day moratorium on the Northcross project so that neighborhood concerns could be addressed. RG4N pointed out at that time that what was promised would actually not stop ANY of the planned activity at Northcross Mall during that period. However, a statement from Lee Leffingwell as well as comments from other Council Members at the December 14 meeting reflected the City Council’s understanding of the agreement with Lincoln as a true moratorium.
 
·    Despite the agreement with City Council, Lincoln has been busy working on its building permit and, in fact, received feedback from city staff as recently as December 28. Lincoln did not even wait for the first negotiation process meeting convened by city staff before breaking its promise.
 
·    RG4N issued a press release late Thursday (http://www.rg4n.org/press/releases ) condemning Lincoln’s shameful attempt to fool the Council and the public, and asks for Lincoln to provide a public explanation for going back on the deal.  Furthermore, RG4N requests a new 60 day period during which Lincoln will be held to its word.
 
Working Toward A Better Vision

·    You already know we are against a 24-hour Wal-Mart Supercenter at Northcross. But we are also for something: A development to enhance the quality of life, economic vitality and home values in our area. Throughout January, we will be working with technical experts, neighborhood association representatives and others to put more detail to our vision. Stay tuned.
 
·    Some neighbors support building a Wal-Mart because they have needs they believe a Wal-Mart will meet. However, there are many different ways that neighborhood needs can be met.  We plan to complete a neighborhood survey by mid-January that will reflect the spectrum of what people in this area want at Northcross.  (More information on the survey will be emailed separately in a few days.) Survey results as well as priorities from each neighborhood association will be used to develop a detailed design of our vision for Northcross.
·    Once this process is complete, RG4N will hold another community meeting (targeted for late January) to present our design/vision, and get additional neighborhood input.
 
Working With The City

·    On January 3, city staff convened the first meeting with neighborhood stakeholders to structure the Northcross negotiation process. Representatives from RG4N, the Northcross-area neighborhood associations and the Austin Neighborhoods Council met with Assistant City Manager Laura Huffman and city attorneys to discuss approaches to negotiating with Lincoln.
 
·    RG4N believes the city-led process could lead to a successful negotiation with Lincoln, but only if Lincoln chooses to partner meaningfully with the city and neighborhood stakeholders. Lincoln’s failure to stand by its agreement on the moratorium is a slap in the face to the City Council and staff as well as to the public, but we remain willing to work cooperatively with Lincoln to ensure a project that both addresses neighborhood concerns and is successful for Lincoln.
 
Our Lawsuit

·    So far, Lincoln Property has shown nothing but contempt for the significant neighborhood opposition to the current site plan. Thus, we are pursuing legal means to achieve our goals in addition to participating in the city process and detailing our vision.

·    At its December 14 meeting, the City Council failed to revoke Lincoln’s illegal site plan. And it is illegal, because the city did not follow the law properly in approving the plan.  Unfortunately, the City Council has decided it is better to be sued by citizens than by a developer.
 
·    City attorneys have publicly claimed that RG4N will lose in court.  Don’t be fooled.  This position is only to be expected, because no one who thinks they are going to get sued will admit there is any merit to the case against them.
 
·    The important thing to remember is this: Until we take them to court, Lincoln will pay us no real attention. 
 
Our Goal: A Better Vision for Northcross! 
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