HomeMy WebLinkAboutMULBERRY LEMAY CROSSINGS, LOT ONE, FILING ONE - FINAL PUD - 36-96D - MEDIA - (29)Wal-Mart
Continued from Page Al
t Xarnes, however, is dropping
out of the fight.
:, "I've got a business that I have
neglected for too long,",the insur-
ance agent said., i
Carnes believes, that if the
council's approval goes unchal-
lenged in court, Tuesday night's
decision will unravel the city's
land -use system.
"The city has just opened itself
up for all kinds of assaults on the
city planning process," he said.
Councilman Mike Byrne made
the motions to approve the project.
"It seems to me the issue is
more about big -box stores and
whether you like them or not," he
said, adding some think the proj-
ect will serve as a Camelot for
north Fort Collins shoppers while
others believe it will resemble the
Death Star when completed.
"What we are here to rule on
tonight is, given the rules that
are in place, were the (develop-
ment) guidelines met and fol-
lowed," Byrne said.
His fellow council members
agreed that Goldberg's project ei-
ther met or exceeded the city's
regulations.:.
'Phey crossed every `t' and dot-
ted every `i,' " Mayor Ray Mar-
tinez said. "I don't know what else
we could have asked them to do."
VISITING: Julie Jimenez, left, and C
Wal-Mart Supercenter project; chatTi
City Council meeting. The council vc
Board's approval of the project.
The planning Board .first de-
nied the project in: 1998. The
council also turned down Gold -
berg's appeal to the original deci
sion that year.
But Goldberg and his b 'ckers
did not give up.
They spearheaded a citiz
tiated ordinance to approtbe 4"
projects prehnunaiy de i y..
ers approved the liallot�;2.-
in April 1999, sendirig e $
"4, t
y,�elasquez, who are in favor of the
tay.d _ 'a break in the Fort Collins
the.Planning and Zoning
T„ r.
l i " the planning board.
Faced" yv_IW an' endorsement
fiVn, ft e�eral publi the plan-
prog �aubsly am,
Is design
ang 3 Rther by
sup th
P
Peal they
lat8s Court.: ,.'.
projeil,
1.
Vote affirms P&Z's decision
on Mulberry-Lemay Crossings
By DAVID RUISARD
The Coloradoan 3 -a4) - OD
Wal-Mart is on the way.
City Council finished one
more chapter in the Mulber-
ry-Lemay Crossings epic by
upholding the Planning and
Zoning Board's January ap-
proval of the project at an
appeal hearing Tuesday
night.
The appeal, filed by Citi-
zens Against Regional Su-
percenters, questioned
whether the 375,000-
square-foot project, planned
for the Northeast corner of
the Mulberry Street/l emay
Avenue intersection, was a
potential traffic hazard, and
asked if the citizen -initiated
ballot item that gave the
project preliminary ap-
proval last year was legal.
The council voted unani-
mously that the ballot meas-
ure was appropriate and
that the project, which will
feature a Wal-Mart Super -
center, met all of the city's de-
velopment guidelines.
Councilman Bill Bertschy
excused himself from the
hearing due to concerns
that a $50 donation he
made to CARS during last
year's Wal-Mart election
would taint the process.
Site of proposed
Wal-Mart Supercenter
The project's developer,
Mark Goldberg, was pleased
with the result but predict-
ed CARS would file a law-
suit to block council's ap-
proval.
"We absolutely think
that's a possibility," Gold-
berg said.
CARS spokesman Gary
Carnes said the group's attor-
ney, Lawrence Rider of Boul-
der, will meet with members
next week to discuss the next
course of action.
See WAL-MART, Page A2