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

Local Stores Produce Bigger Economic Benefits, Survey Finds

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/local-stores-produce-bigger-economic-benefits-survey-finds/

Three times as much money stays in the local economy when you buy goods and services from locally owned businesses instead of large chain stores, according to an analysis by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Friends of Midcoast Maine.

The study tracked the revenue and expenditures of eight locally owned businesses in the Maine towns of Rockland, Camden, and Belfast. The businesses—which represented a range of goods and services—collectively employed 62 people and had sales of $5.7 million in 2002.

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

San Francisco Weighs Restrictions on ‘Formula’ Businesses

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/san-francisco-weighs-restrictions-formula-businesses/

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez has introduced legislation requiring that neighbors be notified whenever a formula retail store or restaurant seeks to open in their neighborhood. Residents would have the option of requesting a public hearing and formal review by the Planning Commission. Continue reading

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

Retail Sprawl Impairing Nation’s Waterways

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/retail-sprawl-impairing-nations-waterways/

As big box stores and chain retailers consume more and more undeveloped land, polluted runoff from their parking lots is placing an ever greater burden on the nation’s rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Storm water control measures and filtration systems produce only modest improvement, according to experts. A better solution is to channel commerce back into compact downtowns and neighborhood business districts, which are far less polluting. Continue reading

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

Santa Monica Mandates Small Storefronts on Promenade

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/santa-monica-mandates-small-storefronts-promenade/

In an effort to prevent further consolidation of small storefronts into large chain outlets along the Third Street Promenade, the city of Santa Monica has adopted an ordinance that limits stores to no more than 50 linear feet of street frontage. The City Council has also directed city staff to compile data on the number of formula businesses in the district and draft options for limiting their proliferation.

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

Minnesota Town’s Ad Campaign Takes Aim at Chains

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/minnesota-towns-ad-campaign-takes-aim-chains/

"Secede from Starbucks Nation" is the tagline of a new advertising campaign by the small town of Excelsior, Minnesota. The tongue-and-cheek ads take jabs at chain stores and promote Excelsior as a place where one-of-a-kind, locally owned businesses are embraced.

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

As Police Costs Rise, Towns Reconsider Big Boxes

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/police-costs-rise-towns-reconsider-big-boxes/

"When . . . a large development wants to be in your town, you see the tax values surrounding that. . . I think the tendency is to think this is really going to give us a solid foundation," George Fowler, mayor of Pineville, North Carolina, told the Charlotte Observer. "But you don’t realize at that particular point the impact it’s going to have on the services you have to provide."

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

Carbondale Voters Defeat Shopping Center

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/carbondale-voters-defeat-shopping-center/

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.

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

Oregon Towns Block Supercenter Expansion

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/oregon-towns-block-supercenter-expansion/

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.

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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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