The Los Angeles Times reports that:  Malibu residents made it clear last year how they felt about chain stores and large-scale commercial developments. They approved the “Your Malibu, Your Decision” initiative with 59% of the vote.

Measure R — with the stated aim of preserving the coastal city as a “unique oasis in the midst of urban and suburban sprawl and generic development” — set its sights on “formula retail,” or chain stores.

….Just last month, voters rejected such a plan for developer Steve Soboroff’s project in the Civic Center area. Fifty-seven percent gave a thumbs-down to the Park at Cross Creek — a 38,425-square-foot commercial shopping center anchored by a 24,000-plus square-foot Whole Foods Market.

Power to the people, or so it seemed, until a state judge ruled Tuesday that Measure R was unlawful.

Read more, Los Angeles Times