<DIV>"The ordinance, crafted by Lawrence and<BR>the Bitterroot Good Neighbor Coalition, was ultimately<BR>repealed due in part to the efforts of the group Citizens<BR>for Economic Opportunity (CEO), which organized a<BR>petition drive to put the ordinance on the November<BR>ballot. Although the ordinance was repealed, Lawrence and<BR>the coalition kept up efforts to keep the Wal-Mart from<BR>opening."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>This is very upsetting in a democracy, and to the poor individuals that have to keep buying at thrift shops instead of owning something new for once. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I hope someday a group of poor people get together and ban the shops that rich people go to so they have to buy everything at Wal-Mart. Then they can feel what it is like to have another social class determine their shopping habits. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best Regards,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Donovan<BR><BR><BR><B><I>bookpeople
<bookpeople@moscow.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"><BR>This article was mailed to you by bookpeople at bookpeople@moscow.com.<BR><BR><BR><BR>This feature is provided as a free service to our readers. If you believe this email service is being abused and/or used improperly, please send all concerns to mailabuse@bookweb.org<BR><BR>[Banner_BTW]<BR><BR>Bitterroot Coalition Hails Withdrawal of Plans for<BR>Wal-Mart Supercenter<BR><BR>Mar 26, 2008<BR><BR>After two years of opposition, Wal-Mart has withdrawn<BR>plans to open a supercenter in Hamilton, Montana. "They<BR>cited economic conditions and a strategic plan into which<BR>we no longer fit, but I know that if we hadn't put up<BR>strong opposition for two years, they'd be open today,"<BR>said Russ Lawrence, owner of Hamilton's Chapter One Book<BR>Store and ABA president.<BR><BR>Keeping Wal-Mart out of Hamilton required
perseverance on<BR>the part of Lawrence and the Bitterroot Good Neighbor<BR>Coalition. In spring 2006, the county commissioners in<BR>Ravalli County, Montana, unanimously passed a regulation<BR>placing a size cap of 60,000 square feet on new retail<BR>outlets, a move that had the potential of keeping out the<BR>proposed Wal-Mart. The ordinance, crafted by Lawrence and<BR>the Bitterroot Good Neighbor Coalition, was ultimately<BR>repealed due in part to the efforts of the group Citizens<BR>for Economic Opportunity (CEO), which organized a<BR>petition drive to put the ordinance on the November<BR>ballot. Although the ordinance was repealed, Lawrence and<BR>the coalition kept up efforts to keep the Wal-Mart from<BR>opening.<BR><BR>According to the Bitterroot Star, Wal-Mart spokesperson<BR>Josh Phair said, "Basically it's a decision related to<BR>our announcement last June that we were going to kind of<BR>slow down on supercenter growth. Hamilton is one of the<BR>projects we're
withdrawing."<BR><BR>However, Lawrence believes that the more than<BR>150,000-square-foot store would have been built if not<BR>for unrelenting opposition. "We always tried to keep two<BR>or three levers in place just looking for a point where<BR>we could get some leverage and apply some muscle," he<BR>explained. "If one point didn't work, we put a lever<BR>somewhere else."<BR><BR>Ravalli's first effort at countywide planning is now<BR>underway, and the Bitterroot Good Neighbors Coalition is<BR>involved in the process. Rather than focusing on another<BR>size cap ordinance, "we're looking at a number of<BR>inventive ideas," Lawrence explained. "We're considering<BR>a conditional use permit, which allows a little more<BR>flexibility...."<BR><BR>Many in the Bitterroot Valley were relieved to have won<BR>the Wal-Mart fight, but Lawrence said that it is<BR>essential to capitalize on the momentum. "If we don't now<BR>take the opportunity to get the planning and regulations<BR>in
place before the next big box proposal, the fault will<BR>be ours," he explained.<BR><BR>Acknowledging that there were challenges, including<BR>aligning a "fractious community," Lawrence underscored<BR>the importance of collectively deciding "what the<BR>community should look like" and then instituting the<BR>planning and regulations to ensure that vision. "It's<BR>never easy to get people to agree on something like that,<BR>but I think this has galvanized people into realizing<BR>what's at stake." --Karen Schechner<BR><BR>More news from Bookselling This Week:<BR>http://news.bookweb.org/<BR><BR><BR>(C) Copyright 2008 American Booksellers Association. All<BR>Rights Reserved<BR><BR>=======================================================<BR>List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR>http://www.fsr.net
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