www.beaufortgazette.com/local/story/229687.html -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 3/24/2008
Last Visited: 3/25/2008
The board's decision came after more than an hour of debate between the city and Jim Myrick, an attorney with Buist Moore Smythe McGee in Charleston representing Wal-Mart.Myrick brought several Wal-Mart representatives and questioned city planning director Libby Anderson, who made the decision to reject Wal-Mart's plan.
...
Calling it the elephant in the room, Myrick claimed he was battling an entrenched, "anti-Wal-Mart" sentiment.
"It looks like the odds are stacked against me," he said.
Myrick continued to say the city and Anderson had several meetings with Wal-Mart representatives, including Larry Barthelemy of Hanahan-based ADC Engineering, beginning in October 2007.
...
Myrick also claimed there were no zoning issues and it wasn't the job of Anderson, who also serves as zoning administrator, to reject Wal-Mart's plan.
...
"It's not OK," Myrick said.
...
But Myrick said the development agreement calls for flexibility and that Wal-Mart is eager to work with the city to possibly change the plan but feels the city is too quickly denying them the opportunity.
"That is the nail on the head," he said."Flexibility is the key of the development agreement."
The Wal-Mart building is about 250,000 square feet less than the amount of commercial space permitted on the land, Myrick said, and portions of it could be further developed -- a way to meet the city's desire to see more than one building there.He also said the "illustrative" plan was an example of what could be built there -- not a guideline -- and that it didn't include parking or stop lights.