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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Jul 1, 2003

Local Retailers, Neighbors Stop Walgreens in Tampa

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/local-retailers-neighbors-stop-walgreens-tampa/

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.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Jun 27, 2003

Saving Banff

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/saving-banff/

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. Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Jun 27, 2003

Saving Banff

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/saving-banff-2/

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… Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2003

Missouri Coalitions Works to End Big Box Subsidies

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/missouri-coalitions-works-end-big-box-subsidies/

In Missouri, a coalition of independent businesses and union members are backing a bill that would reform the state’s tax increment financing (TIF) law and put an end to subsidies for suburban big box stores, shopping malls, and other sprawling developments.

TIF allows a municipality to issue bonds to pay for part of the costs of a new development. Future tax revenue from the development is then diverted from the public coffers to pay off the bonds.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | 1 Comment | Updated on Apr 1, 2003

Cincinnati Planning Department Abolished at Behest of Big Box Developer

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/cincinnati-planning-department-abolished-behest-big-box-developer/

In an effort to reduce a budget deficit and make the city more "developer friendly," in the words of Mayor Charles Luken, Cincinnati has abolished its planning department.

Eight staff members and the remnants of the city’s planning activities have been transferred to the community development department. The department will carry out state-mandated functions, such as zoning and historic preservation. Planning will largely be subordinate to economic development.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2003

Iowa Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Activists, Against Wal-Mart

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/iowa-supreme-court-rules-favor-activists-against-walmart/

Years of fighting a Wal-Mart supercenter slated for a flood plain in a rural area of Decorah, Iowa, have finally paid off for a tenacious group of residents and small business owners.

On April 2, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the Decorah City Council acted illegally when it approved a Wal-Mart supercenter in the Upper Iowa River flood plain.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2003

Shenandoah Valley Residents Fight Big Box Development

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/shenandoah-valley-residents-fight-big-box-development/

Citizens in Front Royal, Virginia, a town of 13,000 in the Shenandoah Valley, are organizing to block a 184,000-square-foot Wal-Mart superstore. The development is slated for 121-acre tract of flood plain land bordering the south fork of the Shenandoah River. In order to proceed, Wal-Mart must convince the town to re-zone the land from residential to commercial.

Residents have organized under the banner "Save Our Gateway" to fight the project.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2003

Independent Business Alliances Forms in Santa Fe

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/independent-business-alliances-forms-santa-fe/

Local businesses, nonprofit organization, and residents are uniting in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to bolster the local economy and build a more self-reliant community.

The Santa Fe Independent Business Community Alliance (SFIBCA) formed in December and has already attracted more than 370 members. About 60 percent of the members are independent businesses supplying a broad range of goods and services: bookstores, pharmacies, banks, radio stations, auto repair shops, accountants, printers, builders, beauty salons, and physicians.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2003

Coalitions Key to Survival of Independent Music Stores

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/coalitions-key-survival-independent-music-stores/

Album sales dropped more than 11 percent last year. Forecasts predict they will dive another 6 percent this year. The internet is partly to blame; the record industry says 2.6 billion music files are downloaded from the internet each month, many of which are burned to CDs. Music is also facing competition from other forms of entertainment, especially among teenagers, who are spending more money on DVDs and electronic games.

Radio consolidation hasn’t helped either.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2003

Thailand Adopts Local Planning to Control Superstores

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/thailand-adopts-local-planning-control-superstores/

The Thai government has issued a new directive designed to control the expansion of superstores. The measure requires provinces to establish committees to draft new planning rules that stipulate where large-scale stores may locate.

The directive covers all of Thailand’s 76 provinces, except Bangkok and three other major cities, which already have zoning in place. The government estimates it will take three years to implement land use planning nationwide.

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