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  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Home Towns, Not Home Depot
    • The Case Against Sprawl
  • Victories
  • Blog
    • Share Your Battle
  • Contact

Who We Are

About
Sprawl-Busters

Sprawl-Busters helps local community coalitions remotely or on-site to design and implement successful campaigns against megastores, fulfillment warehouses, and other undesirable large-scale developments.

In hundreds of communities, we have helped citizens groups strategize and carry out a plan to stop the superstores.

Strategic Planning

Developing the basic coalition infrastructure necessary to conduct a coordinated campaign.

Field Operations

On-site assistance with the daily logistics of conducting a grass-roots and media campaign.

Electoral Campaigns

Help with campaigns that involve referendums, town meeting votes, exit polls, and more.

Special
Events

Every campaign needs pyrotechnics. We’ll help you attract the media with our reputation.

Tech
Support

Follow-up support by phone, includng special data searches, strategic responses, and more.

"Norman has become the guru of the anti-Wal-Mart movement"

60 Minutes

The Consultant

About
Al Norman

Al Norman first achieved national attention in October of 1993 when he successfully stopped Wal-Mart from locating in his hometown of Greenfield, Massachusetts. Almost 3 decades later they is still not Wal-Mart in Greenfield. Norman has appeared on 60 Minutes, was featured in three films, wrote 3 books about Wal-Mart, and gained widespread media attention from the Wall Street Journal to Fortune magazine. Al has traveled throughout the U.S., Barbados, Puerto Rico, Ireland, and Japan, helping dozens of local coalitions fight off unwanted sprawl development. 60 Minutes called Al “the guru of the anti-Wal-Mart movement.”

We Will Help You Every Step Of The Way

Our commitment to community groups is that we will coach you from the first press release, through the planning and zoning process,until a project is finally rejected. We are available by phone, online, and in person in your community as needed.

Contact Us

Important Things You Should Know

Questions And Answers

How hard is it to stop an Amazon Warehouse, or Dollar General or Walmart?

There is no way of predicting how a battle will go in your community, but one thing is certain: if you don’t try, you have a 100% chance of not winning. Some projects are easy to defeat, because they do not meet local zoning requirements. But if there is no vocal opposition, local officials may give developers whatever they ask for.

How often do community groups win when fighting these big corporations?

The Sprawl-Busters website contains a list of more than 450 communities where big box projects have been defeated—at least once. Sometimes a corporation will come back a second time at a different location, but these community victories are not isolated events.

What kind of resources do we need to get started?

As soon as you learn about an unwanted development, try to use local social media to pull together a citizens’ group to challenge the project. A good how-to guide is the book SLAM-DUNKING WAL-MART. You can find a used copy on Amazon for a few dollars—or email Al Norman at [email protected] Get a copy of the proposal submitted to your town/city from your town clerk, or other local official. Once a project is submitted, it becomes a public document, available for you to review and copy. Contact a local land use attorney for advice. This is not a real estate lawyer. You need someone who makes presentations before Planning or Zoning Boards. Set up a fund-raising committee to help you raise funding on social media, and assign someone to write press releases to let your local media know you exist.

How long do these battles take?

You should expect the process to last from six months to a year. Some site fights can end quickly, some can drag on for years, especially if you are able to appeal to court. One community appealed a special permit given to a Wal-Mart project in 2011, and the case was in the courts for nine years.

How much money do we need to raise?

For the initial phase, if you are involved with a Planning Board or Zoning Board application by a developer, you will want to be represented by a land use attorney, who may charge $250 to $450 an hour. You may also need a specialist in zoning, wetlands, etc. You should set a goal of raising $10,000 for the beginning phase of your battle. If you go to court, you will need to raise much more. We can tell you where to find financial support, and how to raise the funds needed.

Is there a way for my community to stop big box sprawl before a specific proposal is filed?

Yes. There are some simple, legal changes to zoning that can limit big box sprawl—but it can take time to get community leaders to embrace such changes. For example, any community can place a cap on the size of retail stores, say 40,000 square feet. Its legal, its been done in a number of forward-thinking communities, and it doesn’t cost anything to do it. The size cap can vary based on local conditions.
Contact Sprawl-Busters at [email protected] or (413) 834-4284 for this and other ideas for pro-actively making big box/warehouse sprawl impossible.

What’s the best way to contact Sprawl-Busters?

Call us at 413-834-4284. We are on Eastern Standard Time. Or send us a text at that numbers. You can also email us at: [email protected]. Check out this website’s Sprawl-Buster’s blog daily for new posts on sprawl and small business issues.

What is the best solution for me?

Sprawl comes in many sizes and forms. Each community battle is unique. Let’s review the details of your case, the proposal submitted, and your zoning rules, to help come up with the best solution that works in your city and town.

Your Quality of Life
is Worth More than a
Cheap Pair of Underwear

If a warehouse or big box store is causing you a big problem, call on Sprawl-Busters! Local visits can be arranged. Contact us for more information.

Contact Us

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  • [email protected]

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Recent Posts

BERNIE TWEETS: “Taxpayer dollars should not go to companies like AMZN & mult…

April 28, 2022

THE COUNTDOWN IS ALMOST OVER: In 2 days the city of Greenfield will take title t…

April 27, 2022

A 16-year former Walmart employee with Down syndrome was awarded $300,000 after being fired. Now, Walmart is seeking a new trial.

April 27, 2022

SEND BEZOS A POSTCARD: During the pandemic, Jeff Bezos has seen his wealth ball…

April 26, 2022

MY DAUGHTER, WINTER MILLER, IS QUOTED IN PROGRESSIVE MAGAZINE: “Winter Miller, a…

April 25, 2022

SORE LOSERS! AMZN BLAMES “INAPPROPRIATE & UNDUE INFLUENCE BY THE NLRB” for i…

April 25, 2022

AMZN IS THE #1 COMPANY WHERE AMERICANS WANT TO WORK IN 2022—according to LinkedI…

April 24, 2022

A 31 YEAR OLD CT. MAN WAS CHARGED WITH ASSAULT, CARRYING A DANGEROUS WEAPON, REC…

April 23, 2022

A “WIDESPREAD THEFT RING” AT HOME DEPOTS ACROSS 5 CALIFORNIA COUNTIES TOOK MONTH…

April 22, 2022

Les salariés des grands centres logistiques d’Amazon France sont en grève

April 21, 2022

Recent Tweets

Al Norman 10 hours ago

IT NEVER STOPS. HEADLINES LIKE THIS ARE HAPPENING EVERYDAY AT WALMART, the most dangerous place in America to shop. https://t.co/vwqP8IX8Gg

Read More
Al Norman 1 day ago

CA. LAW STRUCK DOWN THAT PUBLICLY HELD COMPANIES MUST ADD RACIAL, ETHNIC & LGBTQ PEOPLE TO THEIR BOARDS. Shareholders ask Home Depot, Tesla, Google, & Wells Fargo to add diversity: “Having a 3rd woman or minority just doesn’t cut it,” said one investor.

Read More
Al Norman 2 days ago

DENTON, TX REZONED LAND FOR A 134 K SF HOME DEPOT. One City Council member called HD “inherently incompatible with our pedestrian & bicycle mobility goals...we need to ask ourselves if this is the kind of development that we want to see in our city.”

Read More

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Learn How To Stop Big Box Stores And Fulfillment Warehouses In Your Community

The strategies written here were produced by Sprawl-Busters in 2006 at the request of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), mainly for citizen groups that were fighting Walmart. But the tips for fighting unwanted development apply to any project—whether its fighting Dollar General, an Amazon warehouse, or a Home Depot.

Big projects, or small, these BATTLEMART TIPS will help you better understand what you are up against, and how to win your battle.