Letter to the Editor: Purgatory Creek HEB Concerns

Dear Editor,

Some members of council must want the Purgatory Creek HEB very badly, since they seem to be willing to break land agreements and ignore ordinance violations. Or, at least, that’s the message they’ll send if they don’t return the proposal to Planning and Zoning and vote No at the September 20th meeting.

In the summer, the city gave Planning and Zoning the Planned Development District (PDD) to vote on. That was an ordinance violation under the State Law and Land Development code. This is because there’s a Preferred Scenario Amendment (PSA) that’s supposed to reach final approval by council before the PDD goes to P&Z, and that hasn’t happened yet. Unfortunately, the PDD was put on the agenda anyway, apparently to move this controversial development along. Notably, this was on the agenda the week that P&Z Chairman Garber was out of town. He would have caught this procedural error immediately, and he too has requested the return of this proposal to P&Z. I urge council to uphold our system of checks and balances and return this to proceed legally.

Secondly, this property falls under the Wonder World Drive Land Use Plan. That document includes an agreement that from RR12 to the corner of Hunter there is to be no direct access to adjacent properties, except for the Craddock Avenue extension. Wonder World is supposed to be an arterial roadway, and it’s important to preserve green space. So, no curb cuts. Any building’s footprint must be small enough for Hunter to be its sole access point. To put an HEB here would be to ignore the promise made to citizens. It would also cause many of us to question where council members’ allegiances lie.

It would be great to have another store. However, there is other property in close proximity that is less contentious. And even if we disagree about the many other risks that this project involves due to its proximity to the spillway—flooding, habitat loss, etc.—these are moot points given the land agreement and procedural violation. Council, please be attentive to the ethical implications, return this to P&Z, and keep your agreements with your citizens.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Shaw Fischer