Warehouse Foes Continuing Battle

A lawyer representing residents who have opposed a large carpet-distribution warehouse at Valley View Street and Orangewood Avenue said Monday that the legal battle is continuing.

Attorney Daniel Wildish said the homeowners’ appeal of a lower-court decision is still being pursued before the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana.

“I recently filed a brief, and we expect to get an early hearing because this is an environmental matter,” Wildish said. He predicted that the court would hear the case by September.

At issue is the Shaw Regional Distribution Center, already essentially built and in operation. Nearby residents started a battle against the facility in September 1994, when the City Council first approved it.

The long fight since then has included a recall election in November 1995 that targeted City Council members who supported the project. The recall effort failed.

In May 1995, Orange County Superior Court Judge Francisco F. Firmat ruled that his court did not have jurisdiction in the homeowners’ suit against the warehouse.

Firmat said during a court hearing, however, that he believed the city should have conducted a new environmental impact study before approving the warehouse project.

The city has contended that no full-scale environmental study was necessary for the project.

Wildish last year appealed Firmat’s jurisdictional ruling. The lawyer said Monday that he is optimistic about the result.

“The second phase of development [on the carpet warehouse] still has not been done,” Wildish said.

A court ruling favorable to the residents could halt any new construction, he said: “In a worst-case situation, the court could shut down operation of the warehouse.”