Critics back off suit to block mall's construction

Opponents had challenged federal oversight of the Cypress Creek Town Center project.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP
Published June 28, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - Opponents of the proposed Cypress Creek Town Center dropped a federal lawsuit to block the mall's construction Wednesday, a day after they filed it in Tampa's U.S. District Court.

Tuesday, the mall's opponents sought to kill a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' permit for the proposed "lifestyle center, " which is retail-speak for an outdoor mall.

Land O'Lakes resident Dan Rametta and the environmental group Citizens for Sanity filed a 51-page lawsuit challenging the Corps' permit, awarded May 15 to the mall's developer, the Richard E. Jacobs Group, which gave permission to fill 56 acres of wetlands on the mall site.

The group also sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying it did not hold formal consultations with the Army Corps before the permit's issuance.

But at 3:10 p.m. Wednesday, a court filing gave notice of the group's "voluntary dismissal" of the lawsuit.

Rametta and his lawyers did not return several messages for comment.

At slightly more than 1-million square feet, Cypress Creek Town Center will be located at Interstate 75 and State Road 56. The Jacobs Group hopes to open the mall by the end of 2008.

Chuck Underwood, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said his agency did hold formal consultations with the Army Corps on March 14.

Underwood said his agency agreed with the Army Corps' opinion that the development did not pose a major environmental impact to the wood storks, an endangered species that was the subject of the two agencies' talks.

The lawsuit was an attempt to stop work at the mall site, which began two weeks ago.

Neither the Army Corps counsel's office nor the developer's attorneys had been officially notified of the lawsuit by the time it was dropped Wednesday afternoon.

A judge could have required plaintiffs to post a bond for a restraining order to stop the mall's construction, said Charles Rose, a law professor at Stetson University College of Law. The bond amount would be set by the judge.

Last month, Rametta and Citizens for Sanity also tried to stop the mall's construction by filing a complaint with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

They alleged that the mall developer's environmental consultants did not have all the permits required - specifically referring to Pasco County's site development permit - before relocating gopher tortoises from the mall site to another property.

Pasco and state wildlife officials disagreed with Rametta and Citizens for Sanity, and the gopher tortoise relocation permit was upheld.

The state wildlife agency is required by law to deal with the complaint. It is now deciding whether to hold an in-house hearing or pass the complaint on to the state Division of Administrative Hearings.

Chuin-Wei Yap can be reached at 813 909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 27, 2007, 21:26:53]