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Sunland preservationists won a key victory Friday in their drive to prevent a Home Depot from moving into their canyon enclave when a city official ordered the company to halt its almost-finished conversion of a former K-Mart store.
The ruling, made as Home Depot was about to install display shelves in anticipation of a May opening, means that if the decision is upheld on appeal, the project would need a more rigorous analysis by the city, complete with an environmental review and public hearings.
Residents of Sunland, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, had appealed a decision in July by the city's Department of Building and Safety to issue a renovation permit to Home Depot that avoided a long review.
Friday's ruling focused on whether the work Home Depot is undertaking is a major construction overhaul, which requires intense scrutiny and public input, or simply a "tenant improvement," which legally can avoid such an examination.
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