Walmart, Ceres win legal battle over supercenter

A three-year court battle over the construction of a Walmart Supercenter in Ceres concluded this week with a green light on the project.

The city and Walmart learned Thursday that Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Roger Beauchesne ruled in their favor on all 10 arguments filed by the plaintiff, Citizens for Ceres.

The group, of undetermined size and led by Ceres resident Sherri Jacobson, filed suit against Walmart and the city after the City Council’s unanimous approval of the project in 2011.

Citizens for Ceres sought to decertify the project’s environmental impact report on the grounds that it failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.

The group filed 10 arguments to that effect, asserting that the report failed to evaluate the project’s potential to cause urban decay, physical deterioration and blight; failed to evaluate and mitigate solid waste impacts; and has an inadequate health-risk assessment, among other things.

Beauchesne concluded there was “substantial evidence” to support the city’s and Walmart’s claims to the contrary. He wrote in his decision that nine of the 10 findings alone might even be sufficient to justify approval of the project.

“We all feel pretty good about the judge’s decision and believe that, if appealed, it would be supported by the appellate court,” said Ceres City Attorney Mike Lyions. “We are terribly anxious to have the development go forward so the community can reap the benefits of it.”

Walmart first announced plans in 2007 to anchor the 300,000-square-foot Mitchell Ranch Center at Mitchell and Service roads. The company took over the entire project in 2010 when the original owners backed out. It released its 2,500-page EIR six months later.

Beauchesne ruled that there was sufficient evidence that the project would generate about $327,000 in sales tax annually.

He wrote, “Although the projections for job growth are not particularly overwhelming and/or expansive,” he agreed with the city’s and Walmart’s estimates of 250 jobs created by the project, including 85 for the Walmart store.

In a prepared statement, Jacobson responded to the findings Thursday: “Although Citizens for Ceres disagrees and is disappointed with the court’s findings, at this time we do not know if we will appeal the decision to the higher court. Members and our attorney will meet to discuss this matter, and decide where to go from here.”

Before the 60-day appeal period begins, Lyions said the city and Walmart first must prepare a notice of judgment and get it signed by the judge, a process that likely will take a few weeks.

Walmart paid for all lawyer fees to defend against the lawsuit, Lyions said.

This story was originally published November 6, 2014 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Walmart, Ceres win legal battle over supercenter."