Barstow, Calif. (Sept. 9, 2009) — City of Barstow officials expressed their satisfaction with the California Superior Court judge’s decision in one matter, and tentative decision in another, issued on September 25, 2009, in regards to two lawsuits challenging the City’s approval of the proposed Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Barstow.

The judge ruled on two petitions filed against the City.  In Hodges v. City of Barstow, the petitioner alleged that the City’s public hearing notice for the final City Council hearing on the approval of the Wal-Mart Distribution Center was defective.    The Court denied Mr. Hodges’ petition, and found in favor of the City of Barstow.

The second petition, Build Barstow Smart v. City of Barstow, was brought pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  The petition asserted, among other things, that the City failed to conduct adequate analyses in the lengthy Environmental Impact Report concerning water supply to the Distribution Center, and the effect of the project on greenhouse gases, climate change and energy impacts, as well as the Council's decision to reject a smaller, but environmentally superior, project. 

Although the Court has not issued a final ruling in the second petition, the Court prepared and read into the record a tentative ruling, favoring the City on each issue raised.   The Court has offered the Petitioner a limited opportunity to consider whether it wishes to return to Court and argue against the tentative decision as well as to address issues raised about Petitioner’s standing to maintain its suit against the City.  If the Petitioner wishes to do so, the Court will set a hearing date to entertain further argument.  While the Court’s ruling is only tentative and subject to change until a final judgment is issued, the tentative ruling shows that the Court recognizes the efforts of the City Council and Planning Commission in preparing and considering the environmental requisites and that the decisions made were within the City’s discretion.

“We are very optimistic with what we have heard so far from the court on the Wal-Mart Distribution Center lawsuits,” said Barstow Mayor Joe Gomez. “We felt from the beginning that we had a strong case. We are optimistic that this case will be resolved in an expeditious manner so Wal-Mart can move forward with the construction of this job-generating facility,” added Gomez.

In December 2005, Wal-Mart announced its plans to build and operate a $60 million, 900,000-sq.-ft. distribution center, encompassing approximately 140 acres in the Barstow Industrial Park. The company announced that 500 full-time jobs, providing competitive wages, initially will be created and that number could grow to 700 within the first three years of operation. The City of Barstow has always contended that the Wal-Mart Distribution Center project complies with all laws, including the CEQA, in preparing their environmental impact report for the project.

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