NIMBY, sayeth the Heights.

​It's been quiet on the Heights-area Walmart front lately, but that ended today when residents went to court to sue the city and the developer over the proposed project.

The residents' group, called Responsible Urban Development for Houston, is suing over the "380 agreement" between the city and developer Ainbinder, which will reimburse the company for public infrastructure improvements.

RUDH says the 380 agreement violates city codes because it does not promote economic development.

"Ainbinder has stated publicly that it does not need the 380 agreement in order to build the development," the lawsuit says.

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Latest from the Heights: inaccuracies in the city council's "request for council action."

​It's been about three weeks since we last wrote about the Heights Walmart and a possibility of a missing 380 application from developer Michael Ainbinder.

We still haven't gotten any clarification from the city about whereabouts of that application, if it does exist, or if the developer was even required to submit any documents prior to the city council's vote.

We imagined the 380 information would be readily available, considering the Walmart vote was one of the most publicized council actions this year and the Annise Parker administration prides itself on transparency. But it's been three weeks.

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Photo by Dawn McGee

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It's tough to say whether this weekend's "Carnage" protest in the Heights was a success or failure, but we can say for certain, it happened.

Here are a couple conflicting accounts.More >>

The Heights Walmart deal worked despite missing documents from the developer. That's sure to drive some people crazy.

​Hair Balls obtained new e-mails this week that reveal an interesting detail about the controversial 380 agreement between the city and developer Michael Ainbinder: The application, which city ordinance says is essential to the process, doesn't exist.

The local group Responsible Urban Development for Houston filed an open records request on October 6 for, among other things, a copy of the application, but two weeks later, Tam Nguyen, an administrative assistant for the city, sent Responsible Urban Development's attorney, via e-mail, the following message:

We have been advised from Finance Department that for item #1 (Ainbinder application) there is not yet a completed application on file. There must be one before we begin to process this 380 process.

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Heights residents plan to stage a protest to show how bad traffic will be with a new Walmart.

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There hasn't been much noise lately about the Heights Walmart, except those embarrassing e-mails from city officials, but one group opposed to the development still has hopes that the project can be derailed.

Responsible Urban Development for Houston has organized a Walmart "Carnage" protest for next Saturday, October 30.

Colton Candler, a representative with the group, told Hair Balls he's hoping that a couple hundred cars will show up, decked out in anti-Walmart red, to drive around the proposed site and illustrate how just a fraction of the traffic from a new Walmart can clog up the area.

"If just a few hundred cars can back up Yale, it'll be pretty good [to show how bad traffic will be]," Candler says.More >>

Let the City Council record reflect......

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Channel 13 and the Houston Chronicle have exposed e-mails from city staffers regarding the proposed Walmart near the Heights (a/k/a The Walmart In The Area To Which No One Can Agree On A Name).

The e-mails are fairly typical intra-office political stuff, but Heights residents are aghast that Andy Icken, the city's chief development officer, refers to them as "effete" at one point. Because apparently no one has ever called the Heights that before, unless you count the thousands of times they have.

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The City Council is set to vote this morning on a proposed 380 agreement with developer Michael Ainbinder, who plans to build a Walmart near the Heights. More >>

The mayor says the Walmart vote can't be delayed any longer; City Council must decide tomorrow.

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The public had its last chance today to talk to the mayor and city council members about a proposed "380 agreement" between the city and developer Michael Ainbinder, who plans to build a Walmart near the Heights.

Not everyone who spoke at today's council meeting wants the city to vote "No." One older gentleman, for example, who said he helped get lights on bridges in the Heights years ago, asked the council to consider all the retired people in the area that need cheap groceries.

"These snobs that have moved to the Heights in the last ten years think it's fashionable to be anti-Walmart," the man said. "I hope y'all consider us old folks."

But that was short lived, because a young attorney spoke next, beginning his speech with, "I rise before City Council to oppose Walmart..."

And that was the general sentiment.

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The City Council could vote today to bring a Heights Walmart one step closer.

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This morning, the Houston City Council is set to vote on a proposed "380 agreement" with developer Michael Ainbinder that would help him build a Walmart-anchored retail center near the Heights.

The agreement, posted on the city's Web site, is a huge step toward breaking ground on a Walmart that has been protested since it was first announced this summer. There's been a couple public meetings hosted by the city, and an anti-Walmart study was commissioned and released.

But the council vote actually matters. The city has defended the agreement, saying it's the only way to regulate the development and ensure infrastructure improvements to the site. The people against Walmart say "NO!" to the 380, because they don't want public tax dollars to help build something they desperately don't want.

We're sure it will be an animated council meeting, so to gear up for our coverage -- check back later today -- Hair Balls offers three other Walmart vs. Neighborhood fights.
 
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When an Austin company says the Heights doesn't need a Walmart, television news reporters listen.

​Unlike the first Heights-area Walmart meeting, area residents showed up for a second go-round armed with some real ammunition.

Apparently, a local neighborhood nonprofit called Responsible Urban Development for Houston hired an Austin consulting firm to find out if a Walmart near the Heights will, in fact, create jobs and spur new economic activity, requirements for getting a 380 agreement from the city.

The results (shockingly, the firm that was hired by the anti-Walmart people decided the Heights didn't need a Walmart) were presented before Wednesday night's meeting during a mini press conference in front of the venue.

The consultants decided that residents of west central Houston already have plenty of retail options.

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