Ruling clears Suisun City in Walmart approval

Ruling clears Suisun City in Walmart approval
By Ian Thompson | DAILY REPUBLIC | January 22, 2009

SUISUN CITY - Suisun City has met all legal obligations in its approval of a Walmart Supercenter, a Solano County Superior Court judge ruled this week.

Judge Paul Beeman ruled in favor of Suisun City against the Suisun Alliance, a citizens group that opposes allowing Walmart in Suisun City.

'We are very pleased to have this litigation behind us and look forward to this project moving forward,' City Manager Suzanne Bragdon said.

The Suisun Alliance had sued Suisun City, contending city leaders didn't have enough sufficient evidence to overrule a Solano County Airport Land Use Commission decision against the project.

The attorneys who represented the Suisun Alliance hadn't yet received a copy of the ruling, and the alliance's representative couldn't be reached for comment.

Beeman's final decision mirrors the tentative one he issued in early November.

The judge also ruled the findings in the project's environmental impact report in regard to a nearby jet fuel line, wetlands and the potential for urban decay didn't violate the state's Environmental Quality Act.

Beeman's decision came as no surprise to Anthony Moscarelli of Save Our Suisun, another group that has opposed the Walmart Supercenter.

'We figured he would go with the local government,' Moscarelli said.

There is no word yet whether Beeman's decision will be appealed. If it is, Moscarelli expects that Walmart opponents will have a better chance of seeing Beeman's ruling overturned.

Walmart still needs the approval of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board before it can break ground on the project.

See the complete story at the Daily Republic online.