7 Apr 2005

Wal-Mart Money Trumps Land Use Process in Bennington, Vermont

by | Date: 7 Apr 2005 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Wal-Mart and an Ohio developer spent heavily and attacked opponents as wealthy elites in a successful campaign to overturn a new law governing large-scale retail stores in the town of Bennington, Vermont. The local ordinance capped retail stores at 75,000 square feet (about one-and-a-half football fields) and required proposals for stores over 30,000 square to pass a community impact review. It was enacted unanimously by the town’s select board in January after three years of extensive review, public meetings and deliberations.… Read More
16 Mar 2005

Vermont Lawmakers Weigh Statewide Big-Box Law

by | Date: 16 Mar 2005 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

If a new ordinance limiting big-box retail development in the town of Bennington, Vermont, is endorsed by voters in an April referendum, two lawmakers say they will introduce bills to extend those restrictions statewide. In January, the Bennington Select Board voted unanimously to ban stores over 75,000 square feet and to require retail development projects larger than 30,000 square feet to pass a community impact review.… Read More
27 Jan 2005

Bennington, Vermont, Adopts Big-Box Ordinance

by | Date: 27 Jan 2005 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In late January, the Select Board in Bennington, Vermont, voted unanimously to ban stores over 75,000 square feet and to require retail development projects larger than 30,000 square feet to pass a community impact review. Town officials said the measure was needed to ensure adequate review of the economic and community impacts of large-scale retail development, protect the viability of Bennington’s existing commercial areas, and maintain competition by preventing a single retailer from dominating the local market. … Read More