Courier Journal - August 9, 2005, By Bill Pike
Outer Loop hotels and stores planned
Plans for a 60-acre complex with a Wal-Mart, hotels, condominiums, stores and restaurants on Outer Loop at Interstate 65 have cleared one hurdle more than two previous proposals for the same site.
On Friday, Jefferson Circuit Judge Geoffrey Morris upheld zoning form-district changes that the Louisville Metro Council approved for the complex last year.
Morris’ ruling came in an appeal of the council’s decision. Residents of the area made the appeal, because they feared the complex would cause traffic congestion, flooding and noise and would be incompatible with nearby residential areas. The developer is Hagan Properties, formerly Hagan Seay Properties.
The residents’ attorney, Tom FitzGerald, argued that the council’s approval of the changes was capricious and inconsistent with the law. Morris disagreed, writing that the council’s decision “was supported by substantial evidence.”
To be called Shadow Wood Town Center, the project would include a Wal-Mart SuperCenter with 203,000 square feet of floor space; two hotels with a total of 298 rooms; 50 condos; stores and restaurants totaling 166,500 square feet; and an 11-acre wetland.
The site is in the northeast quadrant of the interchange. Neighbors have twice helped defeat development proposals for the same site in the past eight years.
FitzGerald said he and his clients would decide by early next week whether to appeal Morris’ ruling. They have 30 days from the date of the ruling to take the case to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
Charles Guyer, one of the appellants, said he was “disappointed, but not surprised,” by the ruling, which he said indicates that developers’ economic interests take precedence in law over residents’ quality of life. “It’s systemic,” Guyer said.
The other appellants in the case were Guyer’s wife, Dana Guyer; James Peach; Corrine and Michael Ruffra; and Darryl and Barbara Bridwell.
On the other side were the Metro Council, Hagan Seay Properties and the owners of the property – Mary Arlene Miles, Evangel Tabernacle of Assemblies of God, Jeff Eleath Harvey Jr. Living Trust, and Jerrold and Ramona Harvey.
In one of his arguments, FitzGerald faulted the Louisville Metro Planning Commission’s recommendation that the council approve the project. The recommendation was based on findings of fact that FitzGerald said were “sweeping conclusions” without evidence to back them up.
Deborah Bilitski and Jonathan Baker, assistant county attorneys who represented metro government, noted that the record of the case runs to more than 3,100 pages. They argued that there probably has never been a local rezoning proposal as “thoroughly presented, carefully considered, painstakingly decided and exhaustively resolved” as this one.
The developers and officials gave Shadow Wood extra attention because it was the third Hagan Seay proposal for the same site since 1996. The Planning Commission conducted four public hearings on the current proposal.
The Army Corps of Engineers rejected the first proposal in 1997, refusing to allow the developers to drain a wetland. The old Jefferson Fiscal Court rejected the second proposal in 2000, but a judge voided that decision, leading to the current proposal.
The latest plans include spending $2 million to build additional lanes on Outer Loop and make other road improvements to address traffic issues. In addition, two lakes and a wetland immediately north of Shadow Wood would provide flood control. Also, Shadow Wood’s design and architecture would be superior to that in the earlier proposals, according to the current plans.