COURT RULES FOR DOLLAR GENERAL IN JOSHUA TREE

For nearly five years, some Joshua Tree residents have been fighting to prevent the construction of a Dollar General store at the corner of Sunburst Avenue and Highway 62 in Joshua Tree. Opponents claimed that the store would be inconsistent with the Joshua Tree Community Plan which encourages small independent businesses and that it would cause urban decay among established businesses in Joshua Tree. Last week, a three-judge panel in the Fourth Appellate District Division Two ruled in favor of Dollar General and against the Joshua Tree Downtown Business Alliance which opposed it for so long. The court ruled “The mere fact that the Project may compete with established local businesses does not make it inconsistent with the Community Plan…. It does not require the County to reject all businesses that are not both small and independent.” Furthermore, the court found that at 9,100 square feet, the Dollar General is not a “big box store,” which, by definition, is at least 50,000 square feet, and therefore is not a business that the Community Plan discouraged. Furthermore, the ruling said, “One could view the Project as “protect[ing] the quality of residential living” by providing an additional source of useful goods.” In its conclusion, the court ordered the lower trial court to enter a new judgment, and ordered the Joshua Tree Downtown Business Alliance to pay Dollar General’s court costs. The Alliance has not indicated whether it will appeal to the California Supreme Court.