Walmart Expansion Denied by Oregon Supreme Court!
It’s Over. . . Finally!
Walmart Expansion Denied by Oregon Supreme Court
Walmart’s expansion plans for its Hood River store finally reached the end of the road this week when the Oregon Supreme Court denied review of Walmart’s case.
If you remember, the City of Hood River denied Walmart a permit to expand its non-conforming store by 30,000 square feet for the second time in December 2014. Walmart appealed that decision to LUBA which upheld the City’s denial. Walmart then appealed again, this time to the Oregon Court of Appeals. In October, the Court again upheld the City’s denial.
After losing at the City, LUBA and the Oregon Court of Appeals, we all thought that would be the end. But Walmart has vast resources, so they directed them at one last hail mary, an appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court. Unlike the lower courts, the Supremes get to choose which cases they take. They normally only take cases with questions of unsettled law, which was not the situation here. On January 14, the Supreme Court issued an order denying review of Walmart’s case.
Before the Supreme Court, Hood River Valley Residents Committee and Hood River Citizens for a Local Economy joined the City of Hood River in filing a brief in support of the earlier decisions.
We want to thank everyone who helped with the case, especially Becky Brun, Board President of Hood River Citizens for a Local Economy, and the wonderful attorneys who worked on the case: Sean Malone, Ken Helm (now a State Representative), Mary Ellen Barilotti and Brent Foster.
For a summary of the long history of the case.
Support our work by by becoming a member.