On August 29, 2006, Sprawl-Busters reported that a group called CARE, Citizens Against Residential Encroachment, had filed a lawsuit against the town of Knightdale, North
Forget local citizen’s groups. One of the most effective ways to stop a Wal-Mart supercenter is with an endangered species, and one of the best
Residents in Pullman, Washington continue to wage a legal battle to block a Wal-Mart supercenter in their community. Sprawl-Busters reported that in March of 2006,
Wal-Mart, the corporation that has been happy to see communities use eminent domain powers to advance its stores, now doesn’t like being on the other
The epic saga of the residents of Coconut Grove in Miami, Florida vs. Home Depot reached another milestone this week, when 3 neighbors filed a
Residents in Wisconsin report that Wal-Mart won’t be moving into River Falls, Wisconsin, ending years of wasted work and investment. The word of Wal-Mart’s collapse
Big box stores can be stopped with one little sentence. A growing number of communities are amending their zoning code to keep out very large
A survey of 1,000 adult Americans released this week by Rasmussen Reports of Asbury Park, New Jersey shows that 29% of Americans have an unfavorable
The Saint Consulting Group, based on Hingham, Massachusetts, has released a second annual national survey on Americans’ attitude towards Wal-Mart land use proposals. The study
Wal-Mart has announced two superstore projects along interstate 99 in Freedom and Antis, Pennsylvania. The Freedom location is off the Roaring Spring exit of route
On September 14, 2005, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Planning & Zoning Commission in Avondale, Arizona had unanimously rejected Wal-Mart’s application to build a superstore in
Sand Springs, Oklahoma has a shiny new Wal-Mart Supercenter on one side of the city, but the trade off was — — they now have
There are towns in America known as communities that Wal-Mart killed twice — once when they opened, and a second time when they closed. This
Wal-Mart was stunned last Friday by a court ruling in a superstore project in the city of American Canyon, California, where local officials tripped over
Sprawl-Busters began writing about Gresham, Oregon almost two years ago. The retailer’s plans to put a store in this city probably seemed like a sure
A Wal-Mart VP for international marketing has suggested that Wal-Mart will soon announce its expanding ownership of the Japanese retailer, Seiyu, which Newsflash reported last
The Wal-Mart store in Geneva, New York did not like its property tax assessment, so it sued the town to get it dramatically cut. But
It’s possible to stop a Wal-Mart with one sentence. A growing number of communities across the country have done it. Covington Township, Pennsylvania found out
Democracy can be very messy. Wal-Mart now has an unplanned mess on its hands in its on-going battle to push a superstore into Atascadero, California.
On September 17, 2006, Sprawl-Busters reported that citizens in Mill Creek, Washington had forced Wal-Mart to do an Environmental Impact Study(EIS). They fought the retailer,
Lowe’s home improvement store is a two-time loser in Westlake Village, California. Sprawl-Busters reported on January 21, 2006 that the City Council had voted 2-2
The Wal-Mart superstore in the city of El Centro, California was in the news recently when two former Border Patrol agents were sentenced to more
Citizen Wal-Mart doesn’t like zoning ordinances that limit store size, or the content inside the store, so when the city council in Long Beach, California
All it took was the huge shadow of a proposed Wal-Mart to spur citizens in Victorville, California to form a group to stop it. The
Wal-Mart and public officials in Pima County, Arizona have reached a “development agreement” in which the giant retailer gets to build a supercenter southwest of
Citizen Wal-Mart is spending big bucks in the Antioch, California city Council race, right before a key vote on their superstore project. A state senator
Wal-Mart lost another one this week in a tie vote by Planning Commissioners in Fairfield, California. Sprawl-Busters wrote about Fairfield on April 29, 2006, when
Once again Wal-Mart is leading the way in demonstrating how good land use deals should be made in America. The Wichita Eagle reports this week
The government in India is preparing for an invasion by the French, British and Americans — but not a single shot will be fired. These
At least four parties are locked in a legal dispute before the First District Court of Appeals in San Francisco over an embattled Wal-Mart superstore
Sprawl-Busters reported on November 16, 2002, that township officials had updated their zoning code to put a limit on the size of stores in a
In one of the more tortured twists of logic, one of the world’s largest producers of wasteful sprawl, is going to plant thousands of trees
The following story combines Wal-Mart’s customer service attitude and its philanthropy. In this case, however, Wal-Mart gives away someone else’s property. Former Wal-Mart CEO David
Sprawl-Busters has long held that Wal-Mart is building stores to meet expectations on Wall Street, rather than to meet needs on Main Street. Placing stores
You thought Home Depot was only good at importing Chinese ceiling fans? Actually, the world’s largest home improvement chain appears to be willing to sell
On March 8, 2002, Sprawl-Busters brought you the story of Measure N in Mountain View, California. This was a ballot question to allow Home Depot
The News Journal reports this week that two Middletown Village, Delaware residents are again suing Middletown seeking to overturn a third rezoning of property for
Honey, they shrunk the Home Depot! Residents in Billerica, Massachusetts who have been fighting a Home Depot within an existing neighborhood shopping center in their
Neptune Beach, Florida said No, but Wal-Mart doesn’t like to accept rejection. So the company has resorted to legal pressure to push city officials to
Several months ago, Sprawl-Busters heard from residents in Spring Valley, New York, who were organizing opposition to a proposed 215,000 s.f. Super Wal-Mart in Monsey,
Hollywood, the city of make-believe, is the appropriate place to honor Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. According to the Los Angeles Times, the giant retailer is
Wal-Mart is becoming a high-visibility target south of the border, where the giant retailer has dominated Mexican retailing, to the detriment of thousands of smaller
Wal-Mart says it was all just a “mistake.” But when the giant retailer published its work schedule for superstore #2814 in Hialeah Gardens, Florida, many
“You can do it,” Home Depot says to Republican politicians, “and we can help.” According to a report in Bloomberg News, the orange home improvement
Residents in Lafayette, Colorado have sent Sprawl-Busters the following report about their battle to keep out a home improvement chain store: “A group called Preserve
Silence is golden. But can gold buy silence? A report in today’s Louisiana Weekly quotes Jesse Jackson, Sr., president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, as charging
Rather than pay its workers for every minute they work, Wal-Mart would rather pay for only some of those minutes, and attract millions of dollars
On September 21, 2006, Sprawl-Busters reported that city officials in Broomfield, Colorado had offered to pay for 49% of the cost of site acquisition for
What you can’t get by regulation, try to get by litigation. That’s been Wal-Mart’s mantra for years. Sprawl-Busters noted on July 20, 2006, that the
Borrowing a page from its citizen group opponents, Wal-Mart is doing a little community organizing in the state of Oregon, hoping to improve its lagging
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.