Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has appealed a Sacramento court decision requiring the city of Elk Grove to revisit its sanction of a store on the city's south side.
The filing late last week asks the state's 3rd District Court of Appeal to review the decision by Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly, who earlier this year found in favor of a group of Elk Grove residents.
The residents, calling themselves Friends of Madeira, had sought to block the nearly 100,000 square-foot store proposed for the Vineyard at Madeira shopping center.
The group successfully complained in its lawsuit that the city failed to follow proper planning in 2009 when it approved the retail store at the southeast corner of Whitlock Parkway and Bruceville Road.
Connelly essentially agreed and said the project needed environmental reviews.
Stockton attorney Brett Jolley, who represented the residents, said Tuesday that the judge's decision "was sound and well-reasoned" and that the plaintiffs see no reason why it would be overturned.
"The appeal shows Wal-Mart is only focused on its bottom line and not the citizens of Elk Grove," Jolley said. "Rather than complying with the judgment ordering environmental review and public hearings for the project, Wal-Mart seeks to have their project declared exempt from public input."
"Now more than ever, Elk Grove customers are looking to stretch their dollar on fresh and affordable food, and Walmart can serve as a part of that solution while also creating approximately 300 new jobs and increasing tax revenues and economic development," spokeswoman Amelia Neufeld said today.
"Our hope is to meet the needs of the community as soon as possible, and we continue to work with local officials and community members to do just that."
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