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UPDATED: Residents unite against proposed Quartz Hill Walmart, again

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Quartz Hill Cares held an Information Rally Monday in front of the proposed site for a Walmart Supercenter. They’re encouraging residents to attend a council meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 11) to oppose the project.

LANCASTER – About 50 residents came out Monday for an Informational Rally at the intersection of 60th Street West and Avenue L.

Residents chanted “No more Walmart!” and flashed signs at passing motorists. They also handed out nearly 2,000 flyers, according to organizers. (See the flyer here).

The rally was organized by Quartz Hill Cares to raise awareness about plans for a Walmart Supercenter at 60th Street West and Avenue L and to encourage residents to attend a city council meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 11) to voice their opposition.

“We need all concerned business owners, parents, students, teachers and citizens to come to the city council meeting on Tuesday,” said Quartz Hill Cares co-founder Loretta Berry. “If you oppose this project, a Walmart Supercenter next to a high school, you need to come to the council meeting and speak out against it.”

Berry said she is one of hundreds of residents who have been battling for more than five years against the city’s plans to construct a 344,752 square-foot commercial shopping center that would include a 196,028 square-foot Walmart (excluding the garden center).

Berry said there are many reasons why residents oppose the project, but three main reasons usually top the list.

“Number one, it’s next to a California distinguished high school, one of the best schools in the Antelope Valley,” Berry said. “People move to the Quartz Hill area specifically to send their kids to Quartz Hill High School, and now they’re putting in a supercenter next to the high school, which is going to sell alcohol?”

She said the project will also doom local downtown businesses.

“Statistics show that all small businesses die within two to five years of Walmart going in, it’s going to be a ghost town,” Berry said.

And finally, Berry said a Walmart Supercenter in Quartz Hill will drastically affect the quality of life for residents.

“Most people move to Quartz Hill and the westside for the quality of life, because we want to get away from the city, the traffic, the noise and garbage,” Berry said. “They put that four-lane road that they’re going to have to put in for the Walmart to be out there and traffic is going to increase, the noise is going to increase, the pollution is going to increase and it’s going to be horrible.”

Lancaster city officials disagree. They said the project will bring 865 construction jobs and 927 permanent jobs to the community, according to a city news release.

The two sides have battled since 2006, when the project was first conceived.

Berry and several local residents packed a pair of public meetings in 2009 and passionately opposed the project before both the Planning Commission and the City Council.

Still, an environment impact report (EIR), along with other actions, was approved by both the Planning Commission and the City Council, paving the way for the project to move forward.

Quartz Hill Cares obtained an attorney and challenged the EIR in court. The Los Angeles Superior Court denied the challenge in 2010, but the group scored a victory this year when California’s 2nd District Court of Appeals reversed the Superior Court’s decision.

“We won the lawsuit on a defective EIR,” Berry said.

In a news release issued shortly after the decision, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said, “Along with the developer and Wal-Mart, we are of course disappointed that the Court of Appeal would reverse the decision reached by the Superior Court on the basis of one aspect of a comprehensive and voluminous EIR.”

“The City Council, along with Wal-Mart, will now consider options to supplement the record in support of the EIR, which is compliant in all other aspects,” Parris continued. Read more here.

The Quartz Hill Walmart project is back, and appears on the agenda for Tuesday’s (Dec. 11) council meeting. The Council will decide whether to recertify the previously prepared EIR, along with a newly prepared addendum that addresses the issue identified in the appeals court ruling. Read the staff report here.

“We knew they’d try again. We’re ready,” said Berry, who is encouraging residents to show up in force at City Hall and oppose the Walmart plan.

“The city officials, the council and the mayor, they work for us, and we need to let them know what we think,” Berry said. “People need to come out and let their voices be heard.”

The Lancaster City Council meeting takes place at 5 p.m., Tuesday in the Council Chambers at City Hall, located at 44933 Fern Avenue in Lancaster.

UPDATED 12/11 @ 11:40 p.m.: After more than four hours of testimony Tuesday night – both for and against the Walmart project – the Lancaster City Council unanimously approved all resolutions necessary to allow the Quartz Hill Walmart project to move forward. We will have more on this story on 12/12.

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145 comments for "UPDATED: Residents unite against proposed Quartz Hill Walmart, again"

  1. When was the last time you heard of robberies or gangbanging in Quartz Hill?

    There’s a reason LA Sheriffs has a large police presence in Lancaster and Palmdale.

    Sad but true. Walmart would just degrade Quartz Hill.

  2. Walmart would be bad news. Just look at Palmdale city center. Huge dip after the large retailers moved in. + Quartz Hill is poised and has been poised to be the developed Beverly Hills of the Antelope Valley (unless you count acton). Walmart would chip away at its identity and suck the profits out of the community.

  3. Wooohooo! This is great news! I live about 500 feet from proposed location and I am glad it passed. Pessimistic QH residents can now move on the next issue they need to waste time and resources on.

    • make another comment after the store has been open for a year. That will be another story I’m sure.

      • Nope but since I own my house outright, I don’t think it is any of your business as long as it is not a rusty eyesore and my yard and home front is kept up!

        • @Leslie. I was replying to George who lives 500 feet from the proposed Walmart. Some people think only of themselves and not the greater neighborhood or community.

          Sorry that you mistook my reply.

          • This new wallmart is going to be awesome! I cant wait to travel out of the ghetto to go to QH just to go shop at the new wallyworld!

  4. Great, yet another dump to not shop at…. gotten to the point that the only money we spend in Lancaster is at Costco. Everything else is either in Palmdale or on-line.

    • What? You mean the thrift stores and auto wrecking yards in Lancaster aren’t good shopping destinations?

      A city such as Lancaster isn’t going to attract any more upscale retailers than Walmart or Target.

      They will locate in Palmdale, which is fine with me.

      Lancaster needs the Walmart, COSTCO, Target sales tax dollars cause the BLVD probably doesn’t provide that much.

  5. This deal was signed, sealed, and delivered long before the meeting ever started. Final score: Rex and His Cohorts 1, Residents 0.

    • @Resident Cynic

      You’re probably right, and the tax revenue that TRex and company are counting are will help fund running the city of Lancaster. Now the QH NIBMY brigade who lives in the County area, but use services from the city probably don’t care, but tax dollars from retail sales make the city run.

      That’s been TRex’s story all along, and I think he’s right.

      • Well, there will probably be a 4th Walmart in Lancaster’s future.

        Will a Macy’s or a Dillard’s type store or anything but another Walmart or Target ever locate in Lancaster, ever? EVER???

        Does anyone think that Rex shops in Lancaster or any of the other so-called ‘leaders’?

  6. I JUST WONDER WHO’S POCKETS ARE BEING FILLED WITH $$$$! REX N HIS TEAM DON’T CARE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITIES!!! HE CAN’T EVEN GET A GRIP OFF HIS TOWN!

  7. you know, maybe it is time to relocate to Valencia, where the city council cares about property values, knows significantly more about developing and maintaining high wage jobs, and is smart enough to limit the number of Walmarts and keep them out of residential neighborhoods.
    it’s like these idiots don’t care about the citizens here at all, they want them to live in a $.99 cent only town. it’s sad.
    I also heard tonight that Walmart donated heavily to Parris, Mann, Smith, and Crist during their last elections to make sure they got to build this crap. can we get someone on that council eventually that doesnt trade votes for cash?

    • So I assume they voted in favor of Walmart. They probably made it very late on purpose to get less of a crowd that would react negative to their vote. Listening to what many citizens had to say last night, I understand the concerns people have that oppose it. Hopefully those safety, criminal, and environmental concerns don’t degrade the QH community.

    • “If you build it, they will come” no longer works with these haphazard land-grabs that many with political power seem to be stuck in. They can’t think out of the ‘box-store’, and like Santa Clarita and other well-planned cities, have no plan but only react when their tax revenues start dwindling. All over this valley you see knee-jerk strip-centers pop up, only to disintegrate into rubble when the neighborhoods go south.

      We are a consumer-driven economy, and consumers can be very selective. Our economic survival has become so political, that if it becomes known that a super-store donates to a political cause that many do not agree with, consumers will stop shopping at that store. With this saturation of WalMarts in Lancaster, most likely one super-store will fail, left to rubble, and so it goes.

      If it wasn’t so easy for corporations to claim bankruptcy, and shove the losses on to the consumers – perhaps some wouldn’t be so eager to build something that most likely will fail in the end.

      • Lancaster has had that ‘shopping centers scattered around town’ look since the early 90s.

        The BLVD really isn’t a shopping area.

        Look at the AV Mall and how the shopping and dining grew around it along both 10th West and Rancho Vista Boulevard.

        It seems that in Lancaster the phrase ‘planning commission’ is an oxymoron.

        • ” … It seems that in Lancaster the phrase ‘planning commission’ is an oxymoron”.

          I worked with the planning department/company that designed Santa Clarita’s Master Plan.

          Although LA County Board of Supervisors will rubber stamp just about anything, makes one wonder how/who pulled the strings for this WalMart project to get approval without a valid EIR.

    • These councilmen also have time to be big time Republicans.These men double as our so called Republican leadership that made the call for the party to back Ron [no chin] Smith for the Assembly knowing full well he was a loser in so many ways. They now have to wear “Ron” the dirty diaper so all can see what happens to self serving elected officials. They get stuck with smell!

  8. Don’t you Lancaster residents realize that by having 3 Walmarts, your area isn’t going to attract anything better?

    Are any upscale stores or restaurants going to locate in Lancaster? Just more of the same Walmarts, 99Cent stores, thrift stores, etc.

    You’re headed down that road permanently

    The reason you need another Walmart so bad is that the BLVD isn’t really enough to drive the Lancaster economy and bring in that much sales tax revenue.

    Around the same time Yard House located in Palmdale you guys got a Foster’s Freeze on Avenue K. I like Foster’s Freeze but really folks……

  10. My concern is:

    There is a medical Marijuana Dispensary on 50th between avenue L and M. We are focusing on keeping legitimate businesses out but turn a blind eye to the Medical Marijuana clinic. Hmmmm how many of our 18+ students have medical cards already. A staggering amount from our last count. wasted time in effort. Let the business growth begin!!!

    • Wish we were more like North Dakota. 3.4 percent unemployment, not 16 %. Nobody ramming a shopping center up their bungholes.

  12. Wooks wike Wex’s waskawy wabbits are whiting and whiting and whiting away! White wabbbits, white and Wexie will weward you wiff a wot of woot!

  13. Wal-mart, Target, etc.. might be bad, but what about the other businesses that might go up in the same area? Starbucks, In-and out, Sporting goods, etc..this wouldn’t be all that bad. Make plans to turn down town QH into a Blvd. Spruce it up and make it a special and move on.

    • Those that don’t approve of the project, please continue to drive 7 miles east for your shopping needs.

      • Maybe they can get lucky and one of the 6 liqour stores in QH have their product. If not, just pick up a handle of Vodka and call it a day.

        • Enhancing down town QH is just a matter of time. Create a theme for attracting small business in the down town area. Make it the place to go for the west side. Fine dining w/entertainment, specialty shops, maybe even a small theater…I don’t think anyone is going to be able to stop growth. Move on…

          • Right on Peace Maker. I can definately see a Starbucks, Panera Bread, Jamba Juice, or a breakfast cafe other than Karens Kitchen and Scambles.

    • I’ve got some businesses that would fit right in:

      Nail places
      99 Cent Stores
      Welfare Office
      Slipper King (For the discerning Slipper Peoples)
      Bus stop/transit hub to LA supporting the local prison
      Green Cross dispensary
      Liquor and More

      • Economic assumptions at there best. There is a nice place Montana that will keep you from dealing with econmocillay struggling individuals. The Antelope Valley (QH included)is not the right place if your looking for all middle class people who do not need any form of county assistance.

        BTW… there is plenty of Liquor stores and a Marijuana Clinic in QH already. I am sure you were already aware of them before making your stupid remark.

    • Then the powers that be will put bike lanes on all the surrounding streets to make the traffice problems worse.
      I was recently told the bike lanes were put on Valley Central and 25th West between Lanc Blvd and W Ave J in an effort to slow down traffic? Why didn’t they just lower the speed limit? Or remove the barriers down the middle of the streets and make Valley Central, 1 way traffic going north and 25th W, between J and Lanc Blvd, 1 way going south? That would eliminate people trying to turn acrossed lanes of traffic to get in and out of shopping.

      • One of my little gripes about shopping centers is the layout of the parking lots.

        Why, oh, why is there a lane right past the front door of each store which means that shoppers have to dodge cars driving through to park?

        The aisles should run parallet to the fronts of the buildings instead of perpendicular and entrance should be towards the rear to reduce some of the congestion of people driving by the front looking for the closest possible parking space.

        The COSTCO in Santa Clarita is laid out that way. Sometimes, some one does something the smart way instead of the way it’s always been done before.

  14. I live right next to the proposed location. I am in full support of it! I will be there tonight in support of Wal-Mart opening.

    • I am excited! More part time jobs for our high schoolers. No jobs available in QH walking distance. QH has a high school work program but no jobs to send the students too. Now there is one across the street which decreases travel costs/barriers. This will allow our more economically troubled residents to build their resumes and have an avenue for employment! I am all in!

      • And for those of you against big business you can go to….umm… having a loss on where to purchase simple supplies in QH…. maybe CVS..?

      • You people don’t seem to understand. The reason I and many others purchased homes out here on the west side and in QH was to be far away from shopping centers. We don’t mind driving across town to do our shopping. If that was an issue we would have bought a home near a shopping center. I have no problem driving my kids across town to take them to work as I expected to do so when we purchased. I recall checking the area and all this land was zoned for single family housing and agriculture, exactly why I moved here.

        • Oh, they get it – they just don’t give a fly about you, your investment or your quality of life.

        • Times change. Growth occurs. Your concern is over business in your area of living but you decided that a Prison was ok to purchase a home next to? Priorites and concerns seem a little off? None the less. Rosamond is almost all classified single family housing and agriculture. I would be happy to see you move out there so you can still meet the needs you have above.

          • ‘Xuse me George, but I Believe NO CITIZEN in their @#^$@ right mind EVER agreed to have a prison put here in Antelope Valley. I smell an interloper in our midst here folks…. Stay tuned.

  15. @Adam Chant or anyone who knows.

    After spending ~$10,000,000 to redo the BLVD, is it really bringing in that much tax money compared to any shopping center with a couple of restaurants and small shops? I don’t mean something as big as the Mall.

    Is it possible that ReX needs the tax dollars from another Walmart to ‘subsidize’ the little shops and restaurants on the BLVD and Quartz Hill be darned?

    Just asking.

    • Woopsie…some of those complaining loudly are in the County area, not residents of Lancaster….Oh My.

      Here’s an idea, those who don’t want Wally World near their house, buy the land, out of their own pockets and make it into a park.

  19. So we have a bunch on nibby-ites complaining that they don’t want Wal-Mart in their backyard. As a long time resident of the AV, I think a Wal-Mart in QH is a great idea. I didn’t visit ANY of the shops in QH during the time I lived there, and I can’t imagine doing so. The presence of a Wal-Mart would only do one thing-keep me from driving to another Wal-Mart. So it would save me money as well as protect the environment.

    The only arguments against this location are purely selfish and elitist on the part of those residents who feel that QH is something it is not. QH has always been a dump; it is not a small town, just another neighborhood in the crime and foreclosure ridden Antelope Valley.

    Spewing useless facts about the wealth of the Waltons, that the stuff come from China, that the jobs are low paid is a waste of time. The jobs will just remain somewhere else and the community will lose the benefit of the store. If you don’t want Wal-Mart to be successful, don’t shop there. If enough people do that, Wal-Mart will have no reason to open in your community.

    P.S. I can see where the AV (and California) is going, which is why I left 6 years ago and will not come back. And this type of nonsense is why.

    • Whoever you are? Now that your not in the AV you must have moved next to a Walmart, based on your myopic observations. People such as yourself are entitled to an opinion, however why the H.. Are you even stating a opinion when you are not part of either community affected by this project..that would be Lancaster& QH. There is something suspicious about yourself under your disguise that you don’t live here but you your point to not shop there is well taken. The citizens of these communities are NOT selfish, they only wish to have that quality of lifestyle that they moved here for, and bought, invested & raised there families here! Get a clue, sounds like you have high transportation costs relayed to your move. Now you aren’t selfish, but you moved for these reasons..oh know I know who you are, another Lawyer that has moved up the food chain..enjoy your ride elitist

      • Wow, no dealing with any of the issues raised, just attacks on me. And calling me myopic because I disagree with you is a stretch at best, but if you can’t argue the facts, ATTACK. Liberalism 101.

        I am not a lawyer. I lived in the AV for 11 years and watched as people moved into MY neighborhood and pushed this type of nonsense. I moved to a TRUE small town area that has a Wal-Mart. It is welcome here, it provides jobs and INCREASES the standard of living because people can buy more things at a lower price than if I shopped the small stores. However, the small stores COMPETE on service and variety and do very well by providing things and services you can’t buy at Wal-Mart. The owners of these businesses do not fight Wal-Mart based on liberal talking points, they compete.

        What does the presence of a Wal-Mart on a now vacant, overgrown, trash spewed lot do to affect your quality of life? In fact, wouldn’t having Wal-Mart fix the flooded, congested, and dangerous Avenue L an increase in your standard of living?

        • Todd, first & foremost when you have a slanted Uneducated opinion you become myopic. Liberal, you way off base in challenging back, I guess uneducated people that don’t reside here(yes that is a fact for you)really don’t count, & why are you commenting. You have no basis to the current site specifics of a rezoning project.wake up Sheep raiser in your new destination..glad your out, because you once live here as a flock herder, honest tax abiding parents who call this home plain don’t want Trash , & stupid, uninformed pneighbors like you. Oh yea, it’s the City of Lancaster prior responsibility to fix drainage problem, not come up that the deal with the developer & wally world for approval is that They pay for it now…Why wasn’t this fixed before… Because Lancaster don’t give a damn about their constituents on the Westside in West Lancaster & QH. Your still an unintelligent outsider so keep your pie hole shut until your educated fool.

    • Then why are you here on this site? Let go already. You can’t be that happy wherever are if you’re still clinging to the AV for some strange reason.

      • Brilliant! You really refuted all of my arguments. /SARCASM

        That’s it? You don’t even know the ideology you subscribe too. You just attack the messenger since you can’t deal with the truth of the arguments.

        • He/she/it is a Republican – no sense of humor!

          Is most likely living on a high-dollar-California-based retirement they don’t deserve and we have to work at WalMart to pay for. Thanks!

          • Nope, wrong again. Which party do you think pushes and votes for those big dollar retirements that are breaking California’s bank?

            Oh, and “Forward”, do you know the history behind that term as a political slogan? It has been used by many, including the Nazi’s (Vorwaerts!)…..

            http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/apr/30/new-obama-slogan-has-long-ties-marxism-socialism/

            How long have you been working at Wal-Mart to pay for the liberal nonsense you support yet despise?

          • Well played Todd! You finally where able to bring to light the truth behind the name “Forward” which I’m sure he had no idea since he’s become obviously silent about it. Do you think he did his research on the name? Nope, because just like other Owebama zombies on the site they are his Sheeple.

  20. Everyone on this post has shopped at Wal-Mart and will continue to shop at Wal-Mart, so stop fighting against it. It’s coming and we as a community have to deal with it. If we see something suspecious, call the Sheriff, the prison is conveniently down the road! That said, I would much rather have a Wal-Mart than a prison – but now we got both!

    • The real issue is NOT the Wally World, its the location. Move it two miles north where you have 1000’s acres of open land. Then you could put all the big box stores and others there. It would counter Palmdale’s 10th west project (mall, Best Buy) and as you move north you have Office Depot, Wally world, Sams, etc.

      Use a little common sense. That’s the issue. If people would come to 60th and L to shop at Wally World, the they would drive 2 miles further to Ave J and 60th to shop.

      • The opposition to this project is varied. Some don’t want it because they bought homes next to what was zoned as residential. Some don’t want Walmart period. Some don’t want any commercial big boxes in Quartz Hill. I simply do not want ANY commerical big box development across the street from a high school. Period. End of debate and discussion. That is my reason for getting involved and for fighting. And no, QHR, I will not stop fighting this. Ever. I have a child that goes to that school and I see first hand the traffic situation already. I have seen a young lady struck by a car. It will be far worse with a big box store there. As AV Town Crier has stated, there are 1,000s of acres of open land where this could go.
        So, we fight on.

    • Listen up. Like many others, you’ve failed to distinguish between a Walmart store and a Walmart store in an inappropriate location. Got that?

      We all use gas stations but do you want one or a car-wash next to your home in what had previously been zoned for single family homes and that is the reason you moved there.

      Get back to me when you’ve understood that!!!

  21. the bottom line is: NO MEANS NO!! I am SO tired of Rex and Company doing whatever the hell they want no matter what the people say. They need to schooled that they SERVE, not Do whatever they want, when they want, where they want, with OUR money! The face of the valley is changing! We are sick and tired of being sick and tired and we won’t take it anymore! I quit shopping at Walmart a long time ago. And just how the hell do you justify ANOTHER walmart?? We already have more than we need – like 4 more than we need!

  22. No mentions how terrible these stores are. I live across from the W. Lancaster. That store always looks like it is going out of business. It is never stocked, food is out of date, items that are clearly marked KEEP FROZEN are stored in refrigerated sections. I started to drive out to E. Lancaster or the W. Palmdale but these stores have since lowered their standards to match.
    As for employment, these are not long term jobs. More & more of the long term ppl are being let go or forced out. Notice all the greeters are gone? They have gotten rid of most of their over night stock ppl and most are classified p/t (under 30 hrs) so they don’t have to offer Obama Care.
    Corporate can’t stock & maintain the 4 the have now, what are they going to do with a 5th? Just spread the limited supply even thinner.

  23. I’m in seventh grade and evn I think this is a bad idea since the wal-mart is supposed to be right across the street allowing others to see the students and idiotic students to try to infuriate the shoppers . Some drunks hang out around wal-mart allowing them near the children , but then again its kinda cool for those high school seniors during lunch giving them a chance for close by lunch giving them no excuse for tardies . Then again this really makes me feel unsafe. Just saying .

  24. I have a simple solution.
    We need to find someone that has a spotted owl, desert tortoise or some other endangered species and implant it on the proposed property. Now we have a endangered species habitat that can’t be developed.
    Anyone?

  25. Quartz Hill needs a Wallmart! Now they can stop overcrowding the Wallmarts here in the ghetto! You people in quartz hill want your own little closed off section of town away from reality. You say the wally world will bring in crime and drugs and they will be selling alcohol right by your beloved high school. Your kids probabally raid your liquor cabinet every weekend while your out in Vegas and everyone know QH high is full of drugs! Get off your god dam high horses people!

    • This valley is already ranked having the most super walmarts within such a close distance of one another. Many people who live in QH do so to get away from the more crowded parts of this valley. At least they’re trying to bring jobs here. But they’re bringing minimum wage or lower jobs. They should focus on better high tech jobs to bring here.

    • Uh, It’s Quartz Hill we all have high horses.. and we are allowed to be on them.. it’s a rural community..

      • It isnt a rural community anymore hasnt been for years get over yourself, you all need wally world in quarts hill, we are tired of you people comming here and causing congestion in the wallmart stores here in the ghetto, most of the shoplifting that happens at the wallmarts here in the AV is from people that live in quarts hill. I hope you all get a super targetto also you def deserve it!

  26. I hear you all complain about a Walmart being built in QH. You complain about how it’s going to increase crime in your community. You complain about how it will destroy to small business in QH. So far I have only heard of people complaining. I have not heard a valide reason why Walmart can not build a store out in that area. The complaint about crime. The only criminals that will be causing crime out there are the criminals that live in QH. I don’t see the crap from east Lancaster or east Palmdale driving all that way to go to Walmart. Will it destroy small Business? Good question, will the people of the community of QH destroy there small business? It’s your community and it’s your dollar, you decide. Will you be going to the new Walmart or will you conitnue to support your small business. My guess will be that when it get’s built (which it will) all the people out there will go to it and support it. Walmart does not destroy small business. The community makes the choice to destroy small business. They make the choice with every dollar they spend. Just to let you know I am not a supporter of Walmart. Infact I hate Walmart. All that store pedals is low cost, low quality garbage. It has been years since I’ve been in a Walmart and I don’t plan on every returning. So if the people of QH don’t want a Walmart then the easy anwser would be to not shop there, but I know you will flock there in you mass as soon as they open the doors and the real vote will be cast with you dollars. Since I know it will be built, I would demand street improvement from 40th W. to 75th W. on ave L and also 60th W. from L-8 to Ave K. to handle the increased traffic flow. At least Walmart can pay for that.

      • Who QHR, you really are ill informed. Walmart TEACHES their employees HOW to apply for government assistance. WHY? Because on the wages Walmart pays, their employees need both food stamps AND government healthcare! Keep trying.

        • @ ^%$

          Do you actually know someone who works at Wally World, or you just parroting the UFCW line?

          Do you know that a large percentage of the folks working at Wally World would have no other job save for working there for many reasons rooted in education, past work history and other factors related to their own personal backgrounds?

          • PofS: ” … Do you know that a large percentage of the folks working at Wally World would have no other job save for working there for many reasons rooted in education, past work history and other factors related to their own personal backgrounds?”

            And who set-up the road to nowhere by providing no education, only tests; which provided lack of work history by voting NO on all job bills and other factors like robbing pensions so older people have to work til they drop dead?

            Gee, I know, it’s a hard one – try to think …..

            OH! THIS IS the Republican “job-opportunity” project!!!

            There are 4 such JOB “opportunities” in this Valley already, all called WalMart with the same dead-end jobs!!! We figure you’re counting on the entire population to fill these jobs, since you’ve worked so hard to get the 4 COMPANY STORES built so far!!!

            This race to the bottom that you endorse for all is just amazing! As far as you’re concerned EVERYONE should STRIVE to work for less than minimum wage – after all, according to you, it’s the American Way!

            (even though everything’s made in CHINA!)

            After all, these Oligarchs’ must hang on to their money, we must be sympathetic, and in awe of their accomplishments, of how they hired slave labor in 3rd world countries to achieve their ‘wealth’:

            IT’S STUNNING!!!

            Collectively, the Waltons, who own WalMart control over 48% of the company,

            and are worth a combined total of $102.7 BILLION (as of 2012).[2

            List of Walton’s family fortune as of 2012 published by Forbes.

            Christy Walton and family US$25.3 billion[2]
            Jim Walton US$23.7 billion[2]
            Alice Walton US$23.3 billion[2]
            S. Robson Walton US$23.1 billion[3]
            Ann Walton Kroenke US$3.9 billion[2]
            Nancy Walton Laurie US$3.4 billion[2
            en.wikipedia.org

            How much were those sweatpants made in North Carolina? Outrageous!

          • Yes I DO know walmart workers. And unless you are a floor supervisor or better, chances are you seldom see 40 hr weeks, much less a livable hourly wage. But you shop there all the time, so figure it out yourself P-S.

    • Sure Quartz Hill is a good community with little, if any crime. But study after study shows that once you build a walmart, it attracts crime. That’s one of the few reasons to why walmarts constantly face community opposition when one is being proposed in an area.

    • Sounds like you know what peoples actions will be..are you a marketing demographic specialist that is competent to make these assertions listed below. Here is one good reason, it’s called our homes, we bought here as it was zoned residential Not commercial when signing Doc’s. A quality of lifestyle, rural Westside living not the issues of Eastside al real reasons for fighting this. Since you are knowledgeable please provide the opponents with statistics that Walmart Supercenters increase our home values as stated by Public affairs corp officer Walmart from where..bettonville,AK look forward to receiving the copy . Hey, when communities join together & say no it flat out I should be the civic leaders primary fiduciary duty to listen & protect the citizens of the community.. No their agenda. Rip Westside Lancaster by the way beautiful home for sale/lease next to A CA distinguished Scholl & shopping Center-feel the passion now clown. Awaiting stats, & for the record we never ever shop Walmart

  28. I shop there…you shop there and why can’t I have one in my area..because your afraid it will lead to more crime..lol come on. look at the amount of meth heads at 50th and M..its unreal and now worry about a wallmart?

    • Come on rexbot, you don’t shop at walmart! You might get your maid to pick up cleaning supplies there, but that’s about it.

  29. Don’t you just love that the shopping center will be called ‘The Commons at Quartz Hill’? I guess the name ‘Lancaster’ is too low class for a even a Walmart. Heck, why don’t they name it ‘The Commons at Bel Aire’?

    Everything Parris and his cohorts do stinks and usually pi**es off neighboring cities and towns if not the residents of Lancaster.

    Rex will get his just desserts eventually. The surprising loss of Ron Smith is just the beginning.

    • Sorry to burst your bubble but the name of “Lancaster” is derived from a British city in England. It’s not “low class” by any stretch!

      Now, let’s talk about the name “Palmdale” which was named by an ill informed bunch of Germans who thought Joshua trees were actually palm trees.

      • Lancaster’s name may of originated in England, but Rex has made it synonymous with “in debt loser town to the north!”. Regardless of Palmdale’s origins.

        • I musta been writing my reply while yours was being posted.

          Dontcha love the lame defenses of everything Lancaster?

      • @Tim B. Then, why for heaven’s sake, will it be called The Commons at QUARTZ HILL if the name Lancaster reeks of such class and distinction? The Walmart would be in the city of Lancaster and not in the county and in the township of Quartz Hill.

        Doesn’t matter where the name Lancaster originated. Parris has made the name an object of derision and scorn.

        Invariably, you missed the point of my original comment.

      • They weren’t ill informed, they had never seen a Joshua tree before and palm was the closest thing they knew. And there were Swiss in that group too. Sorry, I take enough crap for being German (still).

        • Don’t pay Tim B. no nevermind. He missed the whole point of my comment and, instead, fussed about something irrelevant.

          • Thanks William…I didn’t mean to distract from the point…I just get really tired of German stereotypes. BTW, Hitler was from AUSTRIA.

  30. I’ve heard Parris saying Lancaster is becoming a ‘world class city’.

    That should read a ‘3rd world class city’.

    TRUTH IN ADVERTIZING.

  31. I wonder what would have happened if Quartz Hill had wanted the Walmart on their side of the city limits. I bet Parris would have sued.

    • You need to look at a map of the Antelope Valley before further commenting dear William! QH is not a city! It is county property.

      Furthermore, QH High School is in the Lancaster city limits which extend all of the way up to Avenue M and all of the way out to 70th West.

      • @Tim B. Did I write that Quartz Hill was a city. The city limit reference was the Lancaster city limits.

        Again, you missed the point which is that Parris is a big fat hypocrite and would have sued if the situation was reversed somehow.

        • William, do you not read what is being written? You said you were referencing Lancaster City limits, but did you not see what it says about where the city limits end. And, William, when was the last time you shopped at a Wal-mart?

          • Why don’t you and Tim B. talk amongst yourselves? He said that I referred to QH as a city. I didn’t.

            The point was that wherever the Lancaster city limits are, and if QH built something like a Walmart on the QH side of the Lancaster CITY LIMITS, Parris would probably sue.

            I shopped at Walmart, maybe a week ago. Why?

            The point is not ‘A’ Walmart but that it’s being built in an location that is not appropriate.

            Sheesh. Do you work for Parris? I’ve never seen your name here before. Please reply.

  32. I have to agree. There are way too many walmarts out here and they want to build another one??? If they build the one in Quartz Hill, sure it will be all nice for the first year or so but it won’t be long before it starts looking all trashy and filthy on the inside just like the one on 47th. I hate Walmart. I hate shopping there. Every time I go, doesn’t matter what time of day, there are only 3 checkstands open with what seems like 500 people in each line that have like 2000 items each. Last time I shopped at walmart, I spent more time waiting in line to pay than I did actually walking the store doing my shopping. What a joke. Ever gone into walmart after dark, especially the one on 47th? I always shop target. It is a little more expensive but the stores are by far, much cleaner than walmart, their employees actually care about the customers, you don’t stand in line long at all.

    • I always wonder why they have so many check stands set up. They never have more than 3 open by each door. Looks good though. I wonder if they even have enough people who know how to work all those registers?

    • if you hate it, why do you shop there? Don’t you know that by giving them your business you are creating the situation that you are now rallying against? Do not shop there! It really is that simple.

      • @Shelly,
        I don’t shop there anymore, haven’t shopped there in a long time. Being there in the middle of the day with only 3 checkstands open with seas of people in each of them was the final straw. I much prefer shopping at Target.

  33. This is sad, I totally agree that we have more than enough Walmart’s in this freaking town however that will not stop them. They will build it will happen no matter what. All we can hope for is that with the “increased revenue” will come increased deputies for the QH Area you now have one that is assigned to that area anything major happens you get Lancaster units. Section 8 Problems will never go away as long as you have bleeding heart activists claiming discrimination when enforcement of the program happens people living on the (Most People) S8 program were taught from a young age that is how it works you sell drugs and live off the state and federal dime. these things will never change as the american people have become complacent with this and do nothing to fight back. I did not hear of any major groups going to defend the city they live in when the state housing filed law suits or the ACLU that is another group only out for themselves. I commend the QH cares group for standing up for what they believe in I just wish the rest of the city would on other issues. people can make a difference you just have to be willing to fight until you no longer have any fight left and that should be when you are laid to rest. Enjoy the holidays people

  34. There are now too many Walmarts in the AV.
    Plus Avenue L has just 1 lane in that area which is already a bad situation.

    No Mores.
    No Mores.

  35. Walmart is a drain on city resources. We already have two. The Sheriffs department responds there a lot.

      • Thats a whole other debate. The facts are proven Walmart lowers property values, increases traffic, taxes public safety resources, and creates numerous neighborhood issues. Walmart trains employees how to take advantage of social programs because of low salaries. You need to go rent the high cost of low prices.

  36. We need a Wal-Mart (or Target) in Quartz Hill. If only the locals shop there, crime should not be an issue. I’m for this project as it will add more jobs and convenience to the residents in the area. Thanks Rex!

    • Nobody has a problem with a store out there (Wal-Mart pr Target), but why does it have to be right across from the high school?

      It would serve everyone better at another location!

      • I went to Burbank High School. We had a K-Mart right across the street, there were no problems. It was nice to be able to walk across the street and pick up a snack. It was also nice to be able to go to some eating establishments right across the street such as Subway, Taco Bell and McDonalds to name a few. Do you ever see the line at AM/PM on 60th and L8 after school? It’s the only place high school students have to grab a snack or drink after school.

        In regards to the alcohlic beverage sales, you have to be 21 and over to purchase and no high school student is going to fall into that category. If any thing, maybe we can have the council to vote no alcoholic sales during school hours (they do this in some Texas cities).

        • Don’t blame the alcohol….I think it’s more a matter of truants, shoplifting, vandalisim, traffic, loitering and all the people who seem to hang around out front of a Walmart store. Scammers begging for money, breaking into cars, and doing dope.

        • Of of the reason many of us moved to the AV was to get out of the congestion and urban sprawl of the LA basin. The schools up here were particularly desirable because they were all located a ways from major business districts. One of the many great things we have to offer here in the AV is the fact that our schools are situated in the safest possible locations. This project will jeopardize it. There are thousands of acres on the Westside where this project can be located. It does not and should not be across the street from a high school. I am there daily and see firsthand the traffic and potential for tragedy if you bring in even more traffic and congestion.
          Simply put, this is the wrong location. I hope it gets moved.

          • What really stinks is that the property was originally designated for single family homes, if I recall correctly.

            So, prospective home buyers bought near there with that understanding.

            Then, some fishy business dealings happened to change the zoning after people bought their homes.

            That is unacceptable.

    • Want Wal-Mart/Target well your going to get both! The Lane Ranch on the East side of the street is going to the Home of a Super Target once the Wal-Mart’s built. You can Thank Mr. Gilley for that one as well. I agree with the AV Town Crier he should be in jail and while i’m at who could trust a personel injury lawyer, he is only looking out for numero uno and a select few and Gilley is one of them! Gilley owns a lot of property here in the AV and it is only a matter of time when the market changes all his plans will be pushed thru the council!

  37. North Korea is trying to test launch a missile that can reach the US, our troops are dying left and right in Afghanistan, 870 million people do not have enough to eat our world, alcohol and tobacco kill around 500,000 people per year, and they want to build a Wal-mart in Quartz hill. Hmm which of these issues do you think I really dont give a friggen hoot about?

    Kids will get alcohol anyway if they want it bad enough, a supercenter by a high school wont make a difference – will it hurt small businesses? of course.. wal-mart is a company that wants to make money and profit, you expect them to have some kinda moral limit on how far they will go, but would YOU? If you invented a chainsaw that was better then any other on the market, would you NOT sell it because you would worry about putting every other chainsaw company out of business? or would you just worry about your own profits and your own prosperity? Wal-mart is no different.

    • yeah i agree, so just get every other butthole to think the same way, but if a town doesnt want or need something, then abide by the communities wishes. F**k WaLLy World

  38. The only way to keep Wal-mart from building in our communities is to STOP SHOPPING AT WAL-MART!!! Everyone I know who protests the building of a Wal-Mart in their town, is shopping at the Wal-Marts across town. So, it is OK to go to the one that is already in the bad neighborhood, as long as they don’t bring it into your neighborhood? The only reason this store can keep expanding is because everyone keeps shopping there. Get real people, why do you think they ask for your zip code as you are checking out? To see where they need to build another store. If X% of their business is making the drive over from QH, then logically they are going to think, “Oh, we need to get one into that area.” STOP GIVING WAL-MART YOUR BUSINESS AND THEY WILL STOP TRYING TO BRING IT TO YOU!!! It is that simple! How many of you complaining STILL shop at Wal-Mart? Get a grip people.

  39. ANTELOPE VALLEY HAS MORE CRIME THAN “LA” COINTY!!! THEY SEND ALL THE BS OUT HERE BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT TO DEAL WITH IT. I WISH THESE POLITICIANS WOULD LIVE NEXT TO A SEC 8 PERSON WITH ALL THERE KIDS,LOUD MUSIC, FURNITURE IN THE FRONT LAWN, CARS PARKED IN FRONT LAWN, SMOKING WEED AN DRINKING IN THE FRONT LAWN, AN PROSTITUTION!!! TRUST ME, I’VE SEEN IT ALL!!! YALL CAN KEEP YO WAL MART AN TAKE IT TO ROSEMOND OR MOJAVE!!!!

    • Call up code enforcement ASAP if you are having these kinds of problems. I have zero of these problems in my westside neighborhood, partly because I report anything that even starts to seem like a problem, and it is taken care of. Report yards, cars, graffiti, etc as soon as possible.

      (661) 723-6121 This is the code enforcement number for the city of Lancaster.

    • 1) Antelope Valley is IN L.A. County.
      2) Even if it wasn’t, I seriously doubt that it would have more crime. L.A. Metro area has something like 8 million+ people, the A.V. has maybe a little less than half-a-million.

    • Notagain,

      WE do not want a Walmart in Rosamond. It can stay right here in Lancaster.
      We do not mind the drive, and we help the tax base for your city.

  40. NO TO WALMART- If you want to make a EIR- take a look and take a picture of the desert field across from the Walmart in Palmdale at 10th and 0-4 and see all of the thousands of walmart bags litering the countryside. There are too many to count. We dont want the trash, the quadruple increase in dirtbag crime, triple the car wrecks, damage to the nightscape of dark skies with light pollution, and lowlife shoppers that will infect our nice neighborhood. I want to know how much is Walmart paying our Mayor Perrisite? to f**ck our town. How is this clown in office anyway? KICK HIM OUT!! WE DONT WANT OR NEED A F**KIN WALMART HERE WHEN THERE’S ONE 4 MILES FROM HERE!!!! IN AN INDUSTRIAL SITE ALREADY!!

  41. The real bad guy here is George Lane, he’s the one making a zillion dollars when the project breaks ground and he gets paid by Wal Mart. Face it Quartz Hill is doomed. I hate what the Antelope Valley has become.

  42. DEAR MR PERRIS!!! I ASK MYSELF, HOW MUCH IS WALMART PAYING YOU! YOU CAN’T EVEN GET A GRIP OFF YOUR CITY AN NOW YOU WANT TO BRING MORE CRIME TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD!!! WHY DON’T YOU FOCUS ON ALL THE CRIME THAT’S BEEN RUNNING IN YOUR TOWN. FOCUS ON A NEW LAW IN LANCASTER KINDA LIKE A 3 STRIKES YOUR OUT OFF HERE!!! INVITE SOME OFF THESE LA POLITICIANS TO LIVE OUT HERE NEXT TO GOVERNMENT FUNDED LOW HOUSING COMMUNITIES! PLEASE DON’T RUIN THIS CITY ANYMORE!! STICK TO YOUR ” LEAP” PLANE!!! 

  43. A woman has to say NO only ONE time before it is considered RAPE.

    How many times does a town have to say it???

  44. Quartz hill will get a walmart just like the prison we got that they said we would not get ,Every low life in town will shop there