Ellisville Hearing Tuesday To Revoke Walmart Permit

Ellisville's City Council meets in special session Tuesday at 6 p.m. to conduct a public hearing, followed by a vote on revoking the conditional use permit granted in September 2012 for a Walmart store to be located on Manchester Road west of Kiefer Creek Road.

Walmart announced earlier this month that it was pulling out of the project, but since then, residents have received phone calls and mailings from research firms trying to gauge public opinion about Walmart. The retailer said it was not aware of the polling.

While some on the city council think the hearing and vote is essentially a moot point once Walmart walked away, opponents of the project says it is necessary to shut it down in case parties returned to the table claiming to have a valid permit.

The permit was due to expire September 5. The developer on the project, The Sansone Group, obtained a few parcels of land and a building permit prior to the deadline, but the city's attorney said at the time he didn't believe that by itself was enough to satisfy requirements for keeping the conditional use permit active.

A lawsuit challenging how the conditional use permit was issued is waiting for the the Missouri Court of Appeals to decide if the case will be reheard there or potentially get taken up by the Missouri Supreme Court.

Representatives for Walmart and The Sansone Group have not responded to messages asking if they would be represented at Tuesday's hearing in Ellisville.