Thanks to a well-organized grassroots campaign, Plaistow, NH, residents voted down (80% opposed) a request by Wal-Mart to rezone residential property to make way for a supercenter.
The retail giant needed to acquire an additional three residential lots to make room on Main Street. Seeing the project as unfit in terms of both character and traffic, residents spread the word about the upcoming vote on the rezoning. David Averill, a resident of Plaistow, organized an email campaign to notify residents about the vote and the project. “All you can do is reach out and let people know it’s a safety issue and it’s just changing the character of Main Street,” said Averill in an Eagle Tribune article.
1,700 of the town’s 6,000 registered voters made their way to the polls, with 331 in favor and 1,285 opposed to Wal-Mart’s rezoning request.
