CRESTVIEW — Upcoming negotiations with a planned shopping mall’s developers will require an additional attorney, city officials said.
City attorney Jerry Miller said that representing the city for a quasi-judicial hearing — during which the council will discuss impact fee waivers — legally precludes him from representing city Public Works staff preparing project proposals.
Watkins Retail Group, the mall developer, is expected to request impact fee waivers for the Crestview Crossings Power Center shopping center, which is planned for a 144-acre site northeast of Lowe's home improvement store.
The requests must be handled in different settings, Miller said.
"Ordinance allows public safety impact fee waivers, and water and sewer impact fee credits," Miller said. "Easement issues are not quasi-judicial. It is a complicated matter."
The city awaits Watkins' applications, Public Works assistant director Carlos Jones said.
"Everything is going by plan as far as we know," he said.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview needs additional attorney to advise staff for mall project