It was learned today that the case against the Wildomar Walmart has been denied a hearing by the California Supreme Court.
The attached notice from the California Supreme Court says that they will not accept the appeal. Also, the Court of Appeal's opinion that was a published opinion will remain the published opinion.
There are now no more appeals left through the state court system.
The red arrow points to the decree, "the petition for review is denied."
I reached out to Mayor Ben Benoit for his thoughts on the matter and he said:
• It's a huge win for the city of Wildomar and now it's only a matter of time before Walmart turns dirt. Once they turn dirt, inside of a year [they'll be opened]. It's just a question of when do they want to start.
• A secondary story in this case is about the attorney behind the lawsuit. He's a known goofball in San Diego, and has done these kinds of lawsuits so much that about five other groups joined in a amicus brief to the Wildomar case, to make sure this case got published. Just so everybody knew he lost this case and how. The how was that he could not find a single person to say that they were the person of interest in this case.
The unfortunate part of this silly case is that it has cost the people of Wildomar many years in the process. I asked if the improvements on Bundy Canyon, near the freeway, were waiting on Walmart, and the answer came back as an affirmative. Once they start the building process, they've been conditioned to have all the road improvements in before they can open for business. Though Walmart famously touts it's about 360 days from groundbreaking to doors opening, the final site and building plans could take a year after they begin the process in earnest. So if they were to go to the planning department this week, it would be about two years before they'd be opened. For an example, in Lake Elsinore, near the Costco, they are building a Super Walmart too. They approached that city a couple of months ago, indicating that they'd like to be opened for business by December of 2020. For a more detailed blog about the Walmart plaintiff (December 2017), click this link.
Addendum
For a reminder, the Super Walmart will be over 170,000sf of retail space. They are conditioned to have all the road improvements completed before being allowed to open their doors for business.
This graphic was in a WR Blog from January 2015. If you enlarge it, you'll be able to see the signal lights at Sellers and Monte Vista.
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Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. – Dale Carneghie Wildomar Rapis too busy to worry about fear.
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No, there are no dates set for grading or construction of the Walmart site on Bundy Canyon and the I-15, but the court case is now over and it should be an open road from here on out for the retail giant.
From a flyer distributed by Walmart at a Wildomar Chamber of Commerce breakfast back in January 2015.
It's been reported that The 4th District Court of Appeal published a ruling that upheld the dismissal of an action against Wal-Mart as a sanction for high-profile San Diego plaintiffs' attorney Cory Briggs defying discovery orders. Though he was slapped down at the appellate level, he still could try and take this to the next step; the California Supreme Court. From what I've seen with other groups that dabble in this type of thing, incessantlythinking they know better than the courts with fruitless appeals, I wouldn't be totally surprised if that happens here too.
Future Wildomar Walmart at Bundy Canyon and the Freeway.
A great article was written about attorney Cory Briggs and Creed-21, by Brad Racino of inewsource.org.
The case came down to the law firm not following court orders. I could try to rehash the article, but that would be doing a disservice to it (not to mention stepping on Brad Racino's toes - to say the least). One quote from the inewsource article suggests that the Wildomar Walmart case could quite likely be cited as precedent in future cases.
“This case is a piece of evidence that’s going to get cited in other cases,” said San Diego attorney Charles Bird, “by people who think that Cory [Briggs] doesn’t really have clients.”
— inewsource.org, Brad Racino, December 28, 2017
If this case interests you, be sure to read the article linked above, it's quite informative. Giving insights as to what that law firm has done over the years, including trying to squelch inewsource's 1st amendment rights in one case.
After 17 stories, SDOG – Briggs’ most litigious nonprofit – sued inewsource and San Diego State University (where inewsource is housed). It did not challenge the accuracy of inewsource reports about Briggs. Instead, it challenged the terms of the contract inewsource and SDSU have for space. For the first time, the nonprofit was represented by an attorney other than one from the Briggs Law Corp. inewsource won the case at the Superior Court. SDOG appealed and lost again at the appellate court level, with a three-judge panel agreeing that the lawsuit was an attempt to curtail free speech rights. The case is pending before the state Supreme Court. — inewsource.org, Brad Racino, December 28, 2017
No matter which side of the Walmart in Wildomar issue you find yourself on, it has to be galling to watch groups and individuals look to game the system, costing the tax payers money and lost opportunities, as court cases drag on for years.
Much needed road improvements to Bundy Canyon Road, near I-15, will come with the construction of the "nearly" 200,000 SF Super Walmart.
I had the chance to read the Daily Journal's article on this case; it was a scathing assessment of attorney Cory Briggs. Sorry, I don't have a link to it but thought I'd share one of my favorite parts of it.
In one opposition to a discovery motion, Briggs "claimed a paralegal was unable to serve the revised discovery responses for a variety of reasons, including (1) because her grandmother had to undergo emergency surgery; (2) because Mr. Briggs's associates aunt passed away, and (3) because Mr. Briggs' parents' house exploded, caught fire, and was rendered uninhabitable — all simultaneously,"according to the letter by Deputy San Diego City Attorney Carmen A. Brock, which was submitted Monday. — Excerpt from Daily Journal, Dec 21, 2017
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Always do right — this will gratify some and astonish the rest. — Mark Twain It's gratifying to announce that Astonishment isWildomar Rap'smiddle name.
It was an overflow crowd to hear about Walmart. I was able to horse trade my way to my usual seat, though it had been designated for the applicant (Walmart). It was a long meeting with many things on the agenda. Let's just go down the list as I highlight the memorable parts.
Library Update: There is an adult book club, the first book will be In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Mention of a Lego Club and a Crochet Club. A Summer Reading Club is in the works slated to start June 13th. Be sure to call the library for details (951) 471-3855
2014 Mayor Marsha Swanson getting recognition as her name was added to the plaque of past mayors by 2015 Mayor Ben Benoit.
Hey guys, you need to look at Grace next time so she can get a better shot.
Recognition for two Wildomar Soccer teams.
Boys U10 that made it to the "equivalent" of the Super Bowl.
There were many public speakers on the matter. Most were in favor of Walmart, though there were only two that spoke against it.
Miss Miller and Kenny Mayes.
Miss Miller brought her A-Game tonight so I thought she deserved to be seen in real time on video. No trick edits here, just her as the good lord intended... Au naturel.
Meryl Streep... move over, there's a new Drama Queen on the rise.
From my count, there were 42 speaker slips. Though to be fair, that number was aided by a little bit of Walmart thumb on the scale action. You see, just before the meeting they held a rally of sorts at a local Pizza place, and they were giving out buttons showing support, and urged people to fill out speaker slips in support of the project. Of the 39 in support, only about 10 spoke.
The proponents touted the jobs, the convenience, the affordability, less pollution since Wildomar residents won't need to drive as far to shop.
The opponents mentioned traffic concerns, Autumnwood, and the city falling on Walmart's sword in desperation only to bleed when the changing face of retail causes the sales tax to be collected elsewhere by goods purchased by citizens of Wildomar.
Next were the Council Comments of the matter.
The comments that stood out for me came from Council Member Bob Cashman and Mayor Ben Benoit.
Cashman wanted to know about the traffic around the project, particularly on Monte Vista to Baxter.
"You have to assume that trucks and cars are going towantto go to Walmart."
Charlene So, Walmart traffic consultant, mentioned,
"The traffic study does identify that there are future needs to widen the roads. Which includes signals along Baxter Road at Monte Vista and future [I-15] interchange improvements, but the project itself doesn't generate the need for those improvements."
Cashman came back with,
"Future impacts???" said with the vigor of three question marks, "As soon as you build the thing you're going to have impact. I don't think we have to wait for the future to see how a flock of Walmart shoppers —which I think there will be— have to leave Walmart and go someplace and they're going to go down that road [Monte Vista].
He ended by saying he has no "Intrinsic" objections to Walmart.
Mayor Benoit's thoughts on the Monte Vista/Baxter intersection.
My big concern is Monte Vista and Baxter, and the signalization of that. I know it's only a 24% [responsibility] share [of yours] according to the traffic report. I know it's off the site, but I was wondering if there was any way possible that Walmart might look forward to helping our community out by developing that, then getting their share back as other developments come in.
Other interesting points from the council included:
Marsha Swanson mentioned not having to drive to other communities, giving them our money and our tax dollars. Services like having your eyes checked in town.
Bridgette Moore had So confirm that the light at Bundy and Monte Vista would be going in before Walmart would open.
Tim Walker in favor of the project, speaking about what it takes to do business. That "it's hard and it takes money to do anything".
For a full look at the council comments, watch the video below.
Interesting factoid. The proposed sign along the freeway is set to be 30 feet high... whereas the Shell sign is 71 feet high.
Nothing is ever complete without a document dump and the threat of a lawsuit in our city. This time it was by Walmart's own remora Briggs Law Corp.
We did get a letter from the Briggs Law Corporation, about 8 pages long with a number of attachments. City staff and the applicant have not had enough time to digest what is in there. We've done a cursory review and because of that last minute —as we call it "document dump"— Walmart has asked us to continue this item to the March 11th meeting..
—Matt Bassi Planning Director
Since the item was continued, we'll have to wait another month to watch the vote go 5-0 in favor of the project.
There were a few more things on the agenda, but you should have attended if you wanted to hear about them. ♥
City Manager's Report:
The new council chambers are under construction, with a target opening of May.
WM is sponsoring this year's Easter Egg Hunt at Marna O'Brien park.
CR&R charged $2400, factoring in a 50% discount, for the west side's green waste clean up.
Congressman Calvert will be at a special City Council meeting February 20th at 1:30pm.
Another Great Day of Service is being proposed, and the meeting discussing it will be at Wildomar Elementary at 2:30pm Thursday February 12. Open to the public.
The only other thing of note was that the new multi city trail that is slated to open this June, known as the Murrieta Creek Regional Trail got a new logo. It was selected from more than 20 local entries. More will be discussed about the trails as we get closer to June.
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Bureaucracies were invented by people with nothing better to do than frustrate those who did.
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