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Published: October 11, 2008
The Tarpon Springs City Commission voted more than three years ago to approve the development plan for a Wal-Mart Supercenter on U.S. 19 near the Anclote River. Now, however, people who don't want the large retail complex built on the river say the development agreement between the city and Wal-Mart is no longer valid.
City land use officials and City Attorney James Yacavone say Wal-Mart is in compliance with the January 2005 development order and the city has no legal basis for scrapping the agreement. If the City Commission were to try to force Wal-Mart to go through the development review process again, the retailer could sue the city and would almost certainly prevail, Yacavone warned this week.
Nevertheless, the commission decided Tuesday to hold a public hearing at which it will decide whether the Wal-Mart development order has lapsed because construction of the Supercenter did not begin within one year of the development plan's approval, as Wal-Mart opponents say it should have.
In deciding whether the Wal-Mart development order is still binding, the City Commission should give serious weight to the warnings against voiding the agreement that the professionals the city pays to advise the commission have rendered. Failing to do so could prove a popular but ultimately fruitless and costly exercise.
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