Page & Palette Owner Seeks to Ensure Viability of Main Street

Fairhope, Alabama, a city of approximately 12,000 residents, which prides itself on "the storybook charm of its shops and flowers," is in the midst of a battle to keep big box retailers, including Wal-Mart, out of its surrounding area. Among the group of concerned citizens who organized as "A Fair Hope of Success" to ensure the continued viability of Fairhope's downtown businesses is bookseller Karin Wilson of Fairhope's Page & Palette bookstore.

When rumors spread in Fairhope that Wal-Mart planned to build in a surrounding area that is currently not zoned and is unincorporated, Wilson and several other Fairhopians, including "A Fair Hope of Success" spokesperson Dean Mosher, organized the grassroots effort.

Wilson expressed her thoughts about the community's future development in a letter to the editors of her local newspapers. In the letter, which is featured on the store's website, www.pageandpalette.com, Wilson said, "County officials, please note that another reason this is detrimental for our community is because when local businesses lose money, so does Fairhope. Like I put in every one of my newsletters, local businesses support the local economy. Studies have shown, for every $100 spent in their stores, local businesses give back to the local community anywhere between $73 - $88, chains only $20 - $43." [See Civic Economics' Andersonville Study and "Economic Impact Analysis -- A Case Study: Local Merchants vs. Chain Retailers."]

The store's website also features a petition that cites the many ways in which mega-stores adversely affect the community. Over 1,200 of Fairhope's 12,000 residents have signed.

On October 10, at a City Council meeting attended by nearly 200 people opposed to big-box development, the petition was presented. Prior to the meeting, Mosher delivered a document explaining that "A Fair Hope for Success" was "formed for the specific purpose of helping to protect and understand the essence of our unique community," which is outlined in Fairhope's Village Plan. He added, "Any of the mega-stores being considered would begin a precedent, that once started, would have a crippling if not deadly effect on our entire retail structure."

On October 19, the Mobile Register reported that the Fairhope City Council had approved proposed zoning changes that would require developers to get approval from the County Commission before building anything other than one house per acre on the land in question. The project was then to have moved to the next step -- putting the proposal on the County Commission's next agenda.

However, responding to other residents who "expressed opposition to implementing county zoning regulations on land bordering Fairhope's city limits, County Commission Chairman Ed Bishop halted consideration of the plan," according to the Mobile Register. Bishop explained, "I just think there needs to be a little bit more time for people to understand that the county is not trying to ramrod this on them," according to the Register. He added, "There just needs to be more talk."

For Wilson, the latest development is a disappointment, but she is not giving up the fight. She said she would continue to talk with landowners in the proposed development area. She'll also work with City Council, which, she said, previously expressed unanimous support of the goals of "A Fair Hope of Success."

"Hopefully, the City Council won't back down," said Wilson. "I definitely feel we would have the votes to do this." To gather momentum, she said, "We absolutely need to bring more people in. We're not that organized yet, but we're going to get many more people involved." --Karen Schechner