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E-mail StoryWal-Mart stores remain in limbo
Judge has yet to set hearing on case but may do so soon
| Sunday, Jan 27 2008 8:30 PM
Last Updated: Sunday, Jan 27 2008 10:03 PM
If you've been waiting to shop at a Wal-Mart Supercenter, keep on waiting.
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The Wal-Mart on Panama Lane, east of Highway 99, sits unfinished since construction stopped in 2004.
The last hurdle for the environmental impact reports is Judge Kenneth Twisselman, the judge who first stopped the stores back in 2004.
Twisselman isn't even scheduled to hear the case yet.
"I'm hoping that the hearing date can be set some time in late February," said Bakersfield City Attorney Ginny Gennaro.
She said she's not sure whether the judge will want to have a hearing with arguments.
Lee Jamieson, developer of the shopping center that includes the empty Wal-Mart shell at Panama Lane and Highway 99, said he doesn't want to even hazard a guess when the store will open.
"The judge could not approve it," he said. "Speculating right now is not a good idea."
Opponents of the shopping centers, Bakersfield Citizens for Local Control, could not be reached.
Timeline of Wal-Mart Supercenters
Oct. 3, 2002: Opposition to two Wal-Mart Supercenters is launched.
Feb. 12, 2003: The Bakersfield City Council approves the Panama Lane/Highway 99 and Gosford Village projects that contain the two Wal-Marts.
March 12, 2003: Bakersfield Citizens for Local Control files suit against both projects.
Jan. 31, 2004: A Kern County Superior Court judge says the city didn't do enough environmental work on the projects and orders work on the Wal-Marts to stop. Other parts of the projects are allowed to move forward.
March 3, 2004: Bakersfield Citizens appeals, looking to halt the entire projects.
Dec. 13, 2004: The 5th District Court of Appeal sets aside all city approvals of both the Panama/99 and Gosford Village projects.
June 10, 2005: A settlement in the Panama/99 project is approved.
Sept. 16, 2005: A judge rules construction must stop, but existing stores can stay, at the Gosford Village shopping center.
April 6, 2006: The Bakersfield Planning Commission decides future big-box stores must be analyzed for the possibility they'll cause urban decay.
June 7, 2007: The new environmental impact reports for the stores, totaling 30,000 pages, get their first hearing.
Nov. 28, 2007: The Bakersfield City Council approves the environmental impact reports for both stores.