The last issue of this Bulletin reported on a grassroots effort in Petoskey, Michigan to stop a 400,000 square foot chain retail development in a neighboring township.

In April, to the thunderous applause of a packed town hall, the Bear Creek Township Board voted 3-2 to deny the developer’s request to rezone the land from residential and farm-forest to commercial, effectively nixing the big box project.

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On May 15, the citizens of Glendale, Arizona voted to uphold city zoning rules that will prevent Wal-Mart from building a 220,000 square foot, 24-hour supercenter. Nearly 60 percent of voters favored maintaining the zoning and keeping Wal-Mart out.

In 1999, the City Council rezoned a 39 acre site from agricultural to commercial in order to allow construction of a shopping center. City officials and nearby residents were led to believe that the center would house small, neighborhood-serving shops in a pedestrian-oriented design.

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More than 300 residents turned out for a Town Council meeting last month in Ocean Beach, California to voice their opposition to Starbucks. The chain plans to open a store on Newport Avenue, one of the main drags running through this town of 15,000 just north of San Diego.

"There has never been a chain store on this street," noted Dawna Perkins, a member of the Town Planning Board. Ocean Beach is home to numerous locally owned businesses, including eleven coffee shops.

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In February, the Domini Social Equity Fund removed Wal-Mart from its portfolio. The decision to dump the Fund’s 1.2 million shares of Wal-Mart stock was prompted primarily by concerns about the company’s labor and human rights policies abroad.

Domini had initially sought to alter Wal-Mart’s practices through shareholder activism.

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Located on Lake Michigan, the small town of Petoskey in northern Michigan draws thousands of visitors every year. They come for the spectacular scenery and for an opportunity to experience what many communities have long since lost: a vibrant downtown.

Renowned for its distinctive character and century-old buildings, downtown Petoskey is more than a quaint destination for tourists. Its a place that serves the everyday needs of residents.

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In the last issue of this Bulletin, we reported on a massive citizen effort in New Rochelle, New York to block a 300,000 square foot Ikea furniture superstore. In late January, Ikea and the city jointly announced that they would drop the project.

Although the press release issued by Mayor Tim Idoni, who strongly favored the chain, focused on certain unresolvable traffic issues, opponents contend that the organized and sustained citizen opposition ultimately led to the project’s demise.

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Residents of a Madison neighborhood were shocked to learn in early December that a 20-year-old local grocery store would be closing its doors. Ken Kopp, owner of Ken Kopp’s Fine Foods on Monroe Street, one of the last independent grocery stores in the city, announced he was retiring. Unable to find a buyer for the grocery business, Kopp planned to sell the property to a developer who intended to build a 14,000 square foot drive-through Walgreens.

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