I was wondering about the pros and cons of the town's rejecting the cc application and defending a lawsuit and am struggling with identifying the cons. The pros, as I see it, are as follows:
1. net revenues for the town - ie the town still collects the $630,000 in Agilent revenues since the megachurch has not taken title to the property. This should more than offset legal costs with the difference benefiting the town.
2. qualtity of life - during the lengthy litigation process the roads are free from the additional traffic, the streams bordering the property are not subject to contaminants from the site.
3. There seems to be a decent chance that sometime during this period:
a. the CC contract with Agilent expires and is not renewed,
b. CC finds a better deal somewhere else and withdraws the application,
c. RLUIPA is favorably reinterpreted via other court cases,
d. Our case is resolved in our favor and this mess goes away.
It would the seem that the town has little if anything to lose by standing up to the megachurch and a heck of a lot to gain. Why are people cautioning about a costly and ill advised legal battle?
Does anyone know where Agilent stands on this? I am sure they are aware of the issues and don't want to fund this mess for the next 5 years. Are there any discussions between Agilent and the town administrators? If the BOE started eminent domain proceedures, wouldn't Agilent have to disclose the terms of there existing contract with CC.
I am sure things are going on behind the scenes that we are not prevy to.
