Carbondale Voters Defeat Shopping Center

Date: 1 Jul 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

On July 15, citizens in Carbondale, Colorado, voted 57 to 43 percent to reject a 252,000-square-foot shopping center anchored by a Target store. The hotly debated referendum produced the largest election turnout in the town’s history. Carbondale is a community of 5,200 people in the Roaring Fork Valley between Glenwood Springs and Aspen. Carbondale has a lively downtown of locally owned businesses, including hardware, book, and clothing stores. … Read More

Oregon Towns Block Supercenter Expansion

Date: 1 Jul 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Several Oregon communities are hindering Wal-Mart’s growth. The retailer wants to open new stores in ten locations around the state, but has been blocked in two communities and is facing organized opposition in at least five more. In Hillsboro, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to reject a proposed supercenter. Hundreds of residents turned out at public hearings to argue the store would inundate the area with traffic and harm nearby neighborhoods. … Read More

Local Retailers, Neighbors Stop Walgreens in Tampa

Date: 1 Jul 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

At the urging of a broad group of residents and local business owners, the Tampa City Council voted unanimously in June to reject a proposal to level a neighborhood shopping center to make way for a Walgreen pharmacy and a bank. The shopping center is currently home to nine locally owned businesses, including three restaurants, a fitness center, beauty parlor, and laundry. A developer sought to tear down the center, annex parts of two residential properties, and construct a large, box-like Walgreen’s and a bank. … Read More

Stoughton, Wisconsin, Citizens Declare “Uff-da Wal-Mart”

Date: 1 Jul 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Residents of Stoughton, Wisconsin, have come together under the banner "Uff-da Wal-Mart" to fight the company’s plans to turn a nearby cornfield into a massive supercenter. Uff-da is a Norwegian expression of disdain. In mid-July, Uff-da Wal-Mart scored a significant victory when the City Council adopted a 90-day moratorium on big box retail development. The ordinance temporarily bans development of stores larger than 50,000 square feet. … Read More

Coalition Fights Massive Big Box Subsidy in Arizona

Date: 1 Jul 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In July, the Scottsdale, Arizona, City Council voted 4-3 to approve one of the largest subsidies ever given to a big box retail development. Those voting in the minority described the subsidy, which could amount to as much as $183 million over 40 years, as "obscene" and "insane." The 600,000-square-foot development includes a Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and Lowe’s Home Improvement store. The project is slated for a 42-acre site occupied by a derelict mall in south Scottsdale. … Read More

Citizens in Aurora, New York, Press for Big Box Ban

Date: 1 Jul 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

A citizens group in Aurora, New York, has fought off Wal-Mart twice, first in 1996 and again in 2000. Now, with rumors circulating that the company may return for a third attempt, Aurora Citizens for Smart Growth is pushing for a permanent law banning stores over 55,000 square feet. That’s about one-third the size of the stores Wal-Mart previously proposed. Bruce Davidson of the citizens group says the size cap is needed to maintain the character of the community and its small, locally owned businesses.… Read More

Ireland May Rescind Superstore Ban

Date: 1 Jul 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Ireland’s Environment Minister Martin Cullen has announced that the government may lift a five-year-old nationwide policy banning superstores. The policy, adopted as a temporary measure in 1998 and made permanent in 2001, prohibits stores over 3,500 square meters (38,000 square feet) in Dublin and 3,000 square meters (32,000 square feet) in the rest of the country. … Read More

Saving Banff

Date: 27 Jun 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Banff, like many communities in western Canada, is facing a growing influx of multinational chains. Determined to save their community from becoming"Anyplace, North America," Banff officials are investigating ways to buck the chain store trend. Luckily, they are not in uncharted territory. Communities across the continent have devised effective strategies for limiting chains and nurturing locally owned businesses. … Read More

Saving Banff

Date: 27 Jun 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Saving Banff by Stacy Mitchell originally published in Calgary Herald, June 27, 2003 Banff, like many communities in western Canada, is facing a growing influx of multinational chains [“Banff fears ‘corporate branding’ of resort”]. Stores like The Gap and Starbucks are multiplying rapidly, undermining the unique character of this lovely mountain town and displacing locally owned … Read More

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