Ellisville Council Could Still Revoke Walmart Permit

Later this month, after more than two weeks will have passed since Walmart announced that it was backing out of a land development deal in Ellisville on Manchester Road, the city council plans to convene a meeting where it will hear discussion and potentially vote to revoke the conditional use permit for the project.

The decision to hold the hearing was made before the retailer backed out of plans for a tax increment financed store.

The developer for the project, The Sansone Group, acquired some of the property it would have needed and did obtain a building permit before the conditional use permit was set to expire September 5, although Ellisville's City Attorney earlier this month told Patch he didn't believe that that by itself was legally enough to extend the life of the conditional use permit. Walmart confirmed within the next two days that it was exiting the project.

So why continue with plans to revoke a permit for a project for a retailer who pulled out?

"If we don't close it, who's to say they don't come back knocking on our door to say we still have an open permit," said councilman Mick Cahill, an opponent of the TIF project.

Representatives for The Sansone Group have not returned calls and emails seeking comment since Walmart announced it would not move forward.

A lawsuit challenging the validity of the conditional use permit was recently upheld by the Missouri Court of Appeals. A motion was filed Friday for a rehearing there and a transfer to the Missouri Supreme Court.