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World Herald story...
Wal-Mart gets Papillion's final OK
The only weapon left for neighbors fighting the Wal-Mart shopping center near Papillion is a lawsuit, now that the project has cleared its final hurdle with city leaders.
The Papillion City Council gave unanimous final approval Tuesday night for the 74-acre Market Pointe shopping center at the southeast corner of 72nd Street and Giles Road.
The council voted 8-0 to rezone the property from agricultural to commercial and approve several agreements, including one requiring the developer, the R.H. Johnson Co. of Kansas City, Mo., to build the center as attractively as promised.
Neighbors made what their lawyer called "a final plea" to sway council members to oppose the project.
"I'm begging you not to make this mistake for the city of Papillion," said Jon Smith, a Hickory Estates resident.
Smith said the project will kill neighborhoods that make Papillion strong.
Opponents won a few small concessions, such as a ban on outdoor intercoms common in Wal-Mart garden shops and assurances that outdoor lighting wouldn't stray beyond property lines. Only three stand-alone drive-through restaurants will be allowed, and 600 trees will be planted on the site.
Mike McClellan, an attorney representing the opposition group ProPapillion, said that the council's handling of the project raises "significant legal issues" but that the decision on whether to sue rests with neighbors.
McClellan said a legal challenge would probably focus on the council's decision to change Papillion's comprehensive plan to allow the big commercial center. The plan originally called for houses and neighborhood businesses at the site.
He said evidence suggests that the council's primary motivation in changing the plan was to capture tax revenue from the project, despite the effect on surrounding residents.
McClellan has found success elsewhere taking court action on behalf of neighbors.
Representing residents in Omaha's Keystone neighborhood, he filed a legal challenge that stopped the Omaha Housing Authority - at least temporarily - from building low-income housing units in the neighborhood. The fate of that project is still in the courts.
Papillion Mayor James Blinn said it's premature to worry about a lawsuit in the Wal-Mart issue.
"It's the democratic process we're going through," Blinn said. "If a lawsuit comes along, we'll worry about it at that time."
He said city officials have adhered to the law and he hopes taxpayers will not have to pay to defend the city.
Developer Owen Buckley, president of the R.H. Johnson Company, said after Tuesday's meeting that he was pleased with the vote and that a lawsuit would be "counterproductive."
He said, however, he is prepared for the possibility.
Buckley said he hopes to start grading the site this year. He said he hopes to open Market Pointe's two announced stores in fall 2005: a 200,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter and an 88,000-square-foot Kohl's department store. The center would have a total of 550,000 square feet of retail space, including smaller stores and restaurants.
Once it is filled with stores, the Market Pointe shopping center will generate $2.3 million annually in property and sales taxes, according to city estimates.
The city will have to spend $355,515 a year for 20 years to pay for public improvements, primarily streets.
