2002-04-03
Reedley, CA. Wal-Mart Officially Loses Vote

The Reedley, California city clerk announced on March 28th. the official results of the town's vote on two zoning questions regarding the location of a Wal-Mart store. Newsflash reported on March 6, 2002 that voters in Reedley had narrowly defeated a rezoning plan for Wal-Mart (even though the company had already abandoned the site). The results were so close, the final count was not announced until several days ago. Two measures were defeated that would have cleared the path for a Wal-Mart
store near the Kings River. Proponents of Wal-Mart lost as Measure C was defeated by 31 votes and Measure D by 74 vote--slightly higher margins than we reported on March 6th. According to the Fresno Bee, the Reedley City council is
planning a workshop for April 16 to decide whether the city really wants a large, "big box" type of shopping facility and, if so, what the appropriate locations would be. "Currently, there is no place to accommodate something of that size," the city manager said. "We have no zoning for it." Good thing, too. Count your blessings.

What you can do: For earlier stories on the Reedley vote, search this database by "Reedley". For contacts with local citizens who fought off Wal-Mart, contact info@sprawl-busters.com.