Ellisville City Council Could Revoke Walmart Permit After Hearing

A public hearing which has yet to be scheduled by the City of Ellisville could lead to the revocation of a conditional use permit for a proposed Walmart redevelopment project, Mayor Adam Paul confirmed Thursday.

The retailer's permit was set to expire at some point on September 5, depending on the interpretation of city statutes, one year after it was approved by city council members and issued by the city. The developer of the project, The Sansone Group, recently acquired a small portion of the land necessary for the overall development and obtained a revised building permit Wednesday. As of midday Thursday, there were no visible signs of construction activity. Sansone needed to demonstrate ownership of the property and to have begun construction before the conditional use permit lapses.

City Attorney George Restovich told Patch after Wednesday night's council meeting that he didn't believe enough had been done to warrant having the permit stay in effect. Council members Wednesday directed Restovich to produce a legal opinion outlining options for terminating the overall redevelopment agreement with The Sansone Group. That measure would not be taken up at the same time as the public hearing to revoke the permit.

Sansone's efforts to purchase the property and otherwise begin the physical work on the project have been hampered by a lawsuit filed by a city resident questioning the validity of the permit. Just last Friday, the city successfully won an appellate court ruling upholding the process used to issue the permit, although the attorney for the plaintiff told Patch that she will seek a rehearing at the Appellate court and potentially an appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court.

Mayor Paul said the hearing, to be scheduled once public notification statutes are met, could be followed by a vote of the council that same day on revoking the conditional use permit.

An attorney representing Walmart deferred comment Thursday to a company spokesperson, who has not returned calls seeking reaction.