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Sierra Club Seeks Hearing On Mall Permit

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com

Published: January 21, 2009

WESLEY CHAPEL - Federal regulators say they haven't decided whether they'll hold a public hearing to discuss whether to issue a new development permit for the Cypress Creek Town Center.

The Tampa Bay chapter of the Sierra Club requested a public hearing last week as the Army Corps of Engineers was closing the period for accepting written comments about the project.

The Corps of Engineers shut down the mall project nearly a year ago after heavy rain caused a retention pond to overflow, dumping muddy water in Cypress Creek and wetlands alongside it.

In an 87-page letter to the corps last week, Sierra Club spokeswoman Denise Layne of Lutz said last month's public notice about a new permit didn't spell out in enough detail how the developers plan to change their site to protect the local environment.

Layne also urged the corps to force developer Richard E. Jacobs Group to drop a planned SuperTarget store to reduce the mall's footprint.

The Corps of Engineers, she wrote, "has the power through federal law to reduce the footprint of this project to minimize wetlands impacts and to allow groundwater to filtrate into the soil."

She also argued that the economic downturn and the presence of other malls nearby were reasons for the corps to force Richards to shrink its proposal.

"The bottom line is the need for Cypress Creek Town Center is negligible compared to the potential harm to Cypress Creek, Hillsborough River and the region's drinking water," Layne wrote.

Tracy Hurst, who is reviewing the Cypress Creek project for the corps' Tampa office, said her office hasn't made a decision about holding a public hearing.
Hurst wouldn't say how much weight the corps would give Layne's comments.

"We will consider all comments received in our decision to reinstate, modify, or revoke the permit," Hurst said.
Hurst said the corps is not obligated to hold a public hearing just because members of the public request one.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201.

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