In 2006, Quartz Hill residents learned about Wal-Mart's plans to build a store on the corner of 60th Street West and West Avenue L near Quartz Hill High School.
That plan was approved by the Lancaster Planning Commission in 2009, but a local community group called Quartz Hill Cares sued the city. The group argued the city had violated planning and zoning laws.
A court of appeals recently agreed, ruling the city of Lancaster erred in its environmental impact report.
"It's a great feeling to have a community come together, and people from all walks of life coming together for one common cause, and we won, and we beat the giant, and it just feels amazing to have succeeded," said Quartz Hill Cares representative Loretta Berry.
Wal-Mart issued a statement Tuesday afternoon:
"We proposed a store in Quartz Hill in 2007 with strong support from the city of Lancaster. A handful of residents filed a lawsuit soon thereafter but we won the case in its entirety. In an effort to further delay our store plans, the same group appealed but the Court of Appeal upheld the trial court's decision in favor of Walmart, with the exception of one narrow, economic analysis issue. As a result, we are working with the city to provide that additional information. The bottom line is that the court went through every one of our opponents' arguments and dismissed them all with the exception of one easily correctable item. We expect our Quartz Hill plans to move forward and look forward to serving customers there soon." -- Steven Restivo, Senior Director of Community Affairs at Walmart.
