A 71-page legal brief on the appeal of Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development was filed last week in Superior Court. PARD is appealing the decision of a hearing examiner which ruled in favor of City of Pullman procedures in approving the 223,000 square foot Wal-Mart supercenter site on Bishop Boulevard in Pullman. It contends Wal-Mart failed to meet the burden of requirements for a site plan and state SEPA requirements. The petition is filed against CLC Associations (sic) of Spokane Valley, City of Pullman and S & W Land Co., the owners of the property on the proposed site.71 pages????? That's hardly a "brief." The Hearing Examiner's decision was only 17 pages.
What a travesty. A handful of loud-mouthed elitists, backed by the money of a power-hungry union, are using the judicial process to try and force their views upon the majority of Pullman residents. And all this litigation is EXPENSIVE. The city has already spent around $17,000. I imagine PARD and Wal-Mart have spent about the same, if not more.
Now, we have this 71-page tome. I would convervatively estimate it took one hour to prepare each page. At a rate of around $300 an hour (I'll bet that's standard for a high-falutin' environmental law firm out of downtown Seattle), that's another $21,300 . By the time this is all said and done, all parties involved could have easily spent over $100,000 in legal expenses. Can you imagine how much better that money could have been spent in Pullman? How many computers in the classroom it could have bought. How many potholes could have been fixed? And for what? Nothing but a two-year delay of the inevitable. All that money may just as well have been put in a big pile and set on fire. This appeal has been an utter waste of financial and personal resources.
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3 comments:
It's not really a waste of union money, since they would never spend a dime of their money to help Pullman in any way. The only reason Pullman warrants even a blip on the union radar is because Wal-Mart is trying to locate here. Now suddenly, the unions ~care~ about Pullman. Union medicine has killed too many patients for them to be considered trustworthy and I don't want Pullman to be their latest casualty.
We are 31 days away from the final appeal. When that day happens, I will be ready to celebrate the final win.
I don't care what Pard or the UNIONS spend their money on. What I do care about is the waste of city time and revenue (our tax dollars) in defense of a frivolous lawsuit just because these people don't like Wal- Mart.
If Pard's members want to make a meaningful contribution to their community there are many worthy causes to devote time and effort without inflicting hardship on their neighbors.
It is too bad this all taking place in the summer when the PARDners have more time to meet since it doesn't interfere with their other duties. It just gives them more time to think up reasons to delay this project.
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