HUNTINGTON BEACH

The final step to building a Wal-Mart--strongly opposed by adjacent neighbors--was unanimously approved this week by the Planning Commission. Commissioner Bob Biddle abstained.

While the retailer wanted a 24-hour store at the closed Crest View School site on Lisa Lane, the commission limited operation hours from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Other conditions include a 90-foot landscaped buffer between residences and the rear of the store, installing double-paned windows in homes facing Talbert Avenue, and a parking lot lighting system that dims at night.

Commissioners did express some reluctance in moving forward with the project: “This is not what we wanted to do,” Commissioner Tom Livengood said. “But since the [City Council] changed the zoning, there is nothing legally that the commission can do to deny the project.”

Residents or Wal-Mart representatives have 10 days to appeal the decision. Because Crest View residents are pushing a ballot initiative to overturn the city’s decision, they plan to leave the appeal in Wal-Mart’s hands.