In order to vote against a big-box proposal, local officials need to know:

• how the store would harm the community, economy, and/or environment (and thereby violate the goals and policies contained in your comprehensive plan and zoning code); and
• that many people in the community support a "no" vote.

The best way to accomplish this is through a grassroots campaign that gets the message out about the hidden costs of big-box stores and makes citizen opposition to the store highly visible.

What follows is a brief guide for launching such a campaign. We recommend that you consult other resources as well, particularly Al Norman's book, Slam-Dunking Wal-Mart: How You Can Stop Superstore Sprawl in Your Hometown; Norman's consulting services (contact him through his Sprawl-Busters web site); and Battle-Mart's Battle Plan.

Create a Citizens Coalition

You need a core group of people to lead the campaign and a larger group of volunteers to carry out discreet tasks, such as writing letters to the editor or distributing lawn signs. Ideally the group should include a broad cross-section of the community: business owners, labor union members, religious leaders, environmental activists, and lots of ordinary citizens.

Many people in the community undoubtedly share your concerns about the proposed store. Here are a few ideas for finding them and getting them involved:

• Use the grapevine. Talk to people you know and ask them to spread the word.
• Hold a community meeting. Post notices around town inviting anyone concerned about the proposed store to attend and ask local newspapers to list the meeting.
• Reach out to local organizations, such as environmental or neighborhood groups, or churches. Ask if you could have a few minutes to talk about the big-box proposal at their next meeting.
• Meet with business owners who are likely to be affected by the superstore. This is a broader list of businesses than you might think at first. Home Depot, for example, will impact not only hardware stores and lumber dealers, but also appliance stores, remodeling contractors (the chain has its own installers for windows, flooring, etc.), banks (the chain finances construction loans), and many others. Ask business owners to become involved in the campaign, talk to their employees about the proposed big-box, and contribute money.

Develop a Campaign Plan

Start by naming your group. A good name should be positive and evoke the community controlling its own future, such as "Our Town Damariscotta" or "Gresham First."

Map out a plan and a basic campaign schedule.

Set up committees to carry out various tasks, such as letters to the editor, fundraising, developing campaign materials, research, press releases/media, and so on.

Find experts, such as a traffic engineer, and especially a land use attorney.

Get on the Map —Join the Big Box Tool Kit network by filling out a brief survey about your local situation. We will then contact you directly to learn more about your group's needs and how we can help, and your community will appear on our interactive map, joining hundreds of grassroots campaigns underway around the country.

Make the Case

Develop a list of the negative effects the proposed project will have on your community and repeat these concerns at every opportunity: public hearings, in your campaign materials, letters to the editor, and so on.

You'll want to emphasize those issues that are likely to have the most influence on decision-makers. For example, if your zoning code says that businesses in that part of town should serve the needs of the local neighborhood, then talk about how the proposed supercenter is designed to serve a much larger region, pulling traffic from a wide radius. If rising property tax bills are a big issue in your town, talk about the added cost of providing road maintenance and police services for the store.

This web site contains all of the information and tools you will need to educate your neighbors and elected officials about the hidden costs of big-box development. These are the sections of the site you'll want to explore first:

Educate Your Neighbors: Facts on Big-Box Impacts—Download and distribute these concise and compelling fact sheets that describe how big-box stores eliminate jobs, burden taxpayers, undermine local businesses, increase traffic, pollute the air and water, and more. You'll also find a slide presentation and other resources you can use to inform your neighbors and elected officials.

Find Answers: Studies, Experts & Advice —Read our responses to questions from citizens fighting on the front lines, or ask one of your own. Comb through our library of big-box studies and browse our directory of experts who can provide further assistance.

Be Visible

Take advantage of every opportunity to get your message out: lawn signs, posters in storefronts, tee-shirts/buttons/hats, letters to the editor (the most-read section of the newspaper), tabling at events, flyers, direct mail, radio advertisements, guest speakers, a web site, and so on. Get in the news often; get your group quoted in every article about the proposed development.

Make sure that decision-makers hear from lots of people. Set up one-on-one meetings with members of the planning board and/or city council, and ask people to call or write them. Turn out as many people as you can to public hearings on the project, preferably all wearing stickers or another item that identifies them as opponents of the project.

Your message will be especially powerful if decision-makers hear it from a broad range of people. Don't let supporters of the big-box peg you as nothing more than a narrow special interest (e.g., just a bunch of small business owners out to protect their profits or labor unions angry with Wal-Mart). To avoid this, make sure a diversity of people representing different parts of the community are visible in the campaign.

Ease Concerns about a Lawsuit

Cities are understandably nervous about being sued by a big-box retailer or developer if they turn down a project. But, while developers may threaten legal action, they are less likely to take it because such lawsuits usually fail. On land use matters, the courts generally defer to city officials, presuming their decisions are legal if they followed reasonable logic and the process was fair. Decisions to reject big-box development should pass legal muster if local officials make findings stating how the store would harm the community and reference language from the comprehensive plan and/or zoning code.

What to do with a Bad Decision

If the project is approved, you still have options:

• Appeal. Local zoning regulations may provide a mechanism for appealing a decision on a big-box project. A decision by the planning board, for example, might be appealed to the city council. You can also appeal the decision through the courts. In both cases, the key to winning is demonstrating that the decision-making body did not adhere to the policies set forth in your comprehensive plan and zoning code.
• Initiate a referendum. In some places, you can gather signatures for a ballot referendum that would allow voters to overturn the decision.

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