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Wal-Mart Resolution - Save Barton Creek Association
Wal-Mart Resolution - Save Barton Creek Association
Save Barton Creek Association Resolution Letter to Wal-Mart, Endeavor Realty, and S-R Ridge, Ltd.
Save Barton Creek Association calls upon Wal-Mart, Inc., Endeavor Realty, and S-R Ridge, Ltd. (Monaghan) to abandon their plans to build a 200,000 square-foot "supercenter" with additional outlying retail 'pads' on Davis Lane in southwest Austin.
As all parties must realize, the parcel is located on the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, the source of Barton Springs. This community has fought long and hard for the Springs, by passing laws and spending more than $100 million on land, in efforts to preserve the water quality of the aquifer. We implore Wal-Mart and its local partners not to ignore the often-expressed desires of the people to preserve Barton Springs for posterity.
The site on Davis Lane is not large enough to contain and mitigate stormwater pollution from this development. The building footprint and amount of new pavement proposed far exceed 15 percent impervious cover. In fact, the impervious cover will be 51%.
Even at lower levels of impervious cover, adequate on-site treatment may not be possible. There are fragile karst limestone features present - caves, sinkholes, and a large fault line exposed to the surface. Nondegradation-- - no increase in pollutants from pre-developed conditions - is the only acceptable standard to apply in this situation.
The sediment load from the construction phase alone is a sufficient argument for Monaghan and Endeavor to drastically scale back the size of their permitted development whether Wal-Mart locates there or not.
Endeavor has stated its intentions to buy land offsite to achieve a lower average percentage of impervious cover. While we appreciate the gesture, in this case off-site purchases cannot realistically be considered a solution. At the high levels of impervious cover proposed on-site, no effective mitigation is possible for the contaminants originating from that site. Playing averaging games with other lands located far away from the area does nothing to actually clean up Wal-Mart's mess.
Other concerns besides Barton Springs should be noted. The aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for 45,000 people. Barton Creek empties into Town Lake just above the City of Austin's Green Water Treatment Plant, contributing an unknown smaller percentage of Austin's drinking water. We share the neighborhoods' concerns about the Davis site's poor traffic access and incompatibility with nearby parks and residential areas.
We believe the best course of action is for Wal-Mart to seek alternative sites off of the aquifer. The recharge zone ends only one mile further east. We believe that given the large market area typically served by a supercenter that Wal-Mart has considerable flexibility to locate elsewhere. We would actively support Wal-Mart in making such a decision, and praise its social responsibility.
Thank you for considering our views.
Save Barton Creek Association Resolution Letter to Wal-Mart, Endeavor Realty, and S-R Ridge, Ltd.
Save Barton Creek Association calls upon Wal-Mart, Inc., Endeavor Realty, and S-R Ridge, Ltd. (Monaghan) to abandon their plans to build a 200,000 square-foot "supercenter" with additional outlying retail 'pads' on Davis Lane in southwest Austin.
As all parties must realize, the parcel is located on the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, the source of Barton Springs. This community has fought long and hard for the Springs, by passing laws and spending more than $100 million on land, in efforts to preserve the water quality of the aquifer. We implore Wal-Mart and its local partners not to ignore the often-expressed desires of the people to preserve Barton Springs for posterity.
The site on Davis Lane is not large enough to contain and mitigate stormwater pollution from this development. The building footprint and amount of new pavement proposed far exceed 15 percent impervious cover. In fact, the impervious cover will be 51%.
Even at lower levels of impervious cover, adequate on-site treatment may not be possible. There are fragile karst limestone features present - caves, sinkholes, and a large fault line exposed to the surface. Nondegradation-- - no increase in pollutants from pre-developed conditions - is the only acceptable standard to apply in this situation.
The sediment load from the construction phase alone is a sufficient argument for Monaghan and Endeavor to drastically scale back the size of their permitted development whether Wal-Mart locates there or not.
Endeavor has stated its intentions to buy land offsite to achieve a lower average percentage of impervious cover. While we appreciate the gesture, in this case off-site purchases cannot realistically be considered a solution. At the high levels of impervious cover proposed on-site, no effective mitigation is possible for the contaminants originating from that site. Playing averaging games with other lands located far away from the area does nothing to actually clean up Wal-Mart's mess.
Other concerns besides Barton Springs should be noted. The aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for 45,000 people. Barton Creek empties into Town Lake just above the City of Austin's Green Water Treatment Plant, contributing an unknown smaller percentage of Austin's drinking water. We share the neighborhoods' concerns about the Davis site's poor traffic access and incompatibility with nearby parks and residential areas.
We believe the best course of action is for Wal-Mart to seek alternative sites off of the aquifer. The recharge zone ends only one mile further east. We believe that given the large market area typically served by a supercenter that Wal-Mart has considerable flexibility to locate elsewhere. We would actively support Wal-Mart in making such a decision, and praise its social responsibility.
Thank you for considering our views.