How Lowe's Can Brewster Go?

Wal-Mart, no, but Lowe's is a go -- Brewster's support of the settlement has drawn ire not only from Shudde Fath (top), who wasn't backin' McCracken back in May but from his own supporters (like Brigid Shea) in the spring council race.

People who know Shudde Fath know that her best weapon is her fax machine. Most recently, the eightysomething environmentalist has put her fax machine to use to fight the city's proposed settlement agreement with Lowe's Home Centers -- which could lead to the construction of a home improvement store in the Barton Springs zone of the Edwards Aquifer, along Brodie Lane a few doors down from competitor Home Depot. This Thursday, the City Council is expected to cast the second of its three required votes on the settlement and to schedule a public hearing and final vote for Dec. 11.

For her part, Fath is concentrating her efforts on Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Goodman and Council Member Brewster McCracken, who are thus far both "yes" votes on the deal and who were responsible for putting the proposal on the agenda in the first place. With three "no" votes already in the bag from council members Raul Alvarez, Daryl Slusher, and Danny Thomas, Fath and other Lowe's opponents are putting pressure on Goodman and McCracken to either change their votes or to abstain. (Fath figures she'd be wasting her fax paper on Mayor Will Wynn and Council Member Betty Dunkerley, who are, by most accounts, sold on the Lowe's settlement and the extra sales-tax revenue the big-box retailer could add to the city's coffers.)

Fath is most proud of her transmission to McCracken. "I faxed him a copy of his big ol' postcard that he sent out on June 2, just before the run-off," Fath said, reciting his "no big-box development in the recharge zone" pledge on the mailer, which she had saved for future reference. (Fath supported McCracken's run-off opponent, Margot Clarke.) "The postcard has my name and address on the other side, so I faxed that to him, too, so he would know it came from me," she said. "I haven't heard anything from him." She said she also "dropped a little note for Jackie" to try and sway the mayor pro tem's vote.

McCracken, who was the first candidate in his race to glom on to the "no aquifer big box" campaign theme, has similarly heard from some of his own supporters -- most notably Robin Rather and Brigid Shea -- who met privately with the council member and gave him a stern dressing-down for his seeming unabashed support for the Lowe's deal. "Brigid and Robin went out on a limb for him during the campaign," said Fath, "so you can't blame them for being upset with him." McCracken defends his switch by claiming that Lowe's -- which has gone both to court and to the Legislature to enforce its purported development rights on the Brodie Lane tract -- has Austin over a barrel and that by settling with Lowe's now, the city can avoid a far worse project being built on the site.

Unlike Wal-Mart, which after abandoning its own aquifer big-box plan managed to round up some citizen support for a Supercenter at I-35 and Slaughter (which subsequently won the council's support), Lowe's has made no outreach overtures to nearby residents or neighborhood groups. The only support the Lowe's settlement has secured so far is from the four council members who voted for it last month; from the city Zoning and Platting Commission; and from the Statesman editorial board, which seldom meets a development agreement it doesn't like.

On the other side is the city Environmental Board, which unanimously rejected the agreement, and the Planning Commission, which turned it down by a 4-2 vote. They join the usual enviro suspects like the Save Our Springs Alliance, Save Barton Creek Association, and Clean Water Action in opposing the Lowe's settlement, as do a number of area neighborhood associations -- not to mention the city of Sunset Valley, which last year released the Lowe's property to the city of Austin's jurisdiction, never imagining that Austin would turn around and try to broker a deal with Lowe's.

"My basic feeling is, if you vote yes now, it's a done deal," Fath said. "But if you vote no, then they've bought us another day. In something like this, I say it's better to punt and hope something good will happen."