Originally published December 16, 2007 at 7:27 p.m., updated December 16, 2007 at 7:27 p.m.
By Jeanne Starmack
Vindicator staff writer
CANFIELD — People who don’t want a Wal-Mart in Canfield aren’t waiting to be asked.
They’re very vocal about their opposition to the huge store.
Sure, there are some people in the township and city who would welcome the giant retailer.
Would it bring more traffic? U.S. Route 224 is clogged with cars anyhow, they’ve said, and a Wal-Mart Supercenter with a grocery store on land behind businesses there isn’t likely to make much difference.
They like the idea, too, of not having to travel out of Canfield to find places to shop — places like Wal-Mart, that is, where they can save money.
But the phones rang for days in township and city offices when news first broke that Wal-Mart had been to the Mahoning County planning commission about a zone change from residential to business for part of the property it’s eyeing. The site is behind the old Harley Davidson location and the Taco Bell.
Township officials and even the mayor of the city got calls, too — mostly from people who don’t want the store.
The mayor has no say, since he has nothing to do with the township. But members of the township zoning commission and the three trustees appear wary of allowing the store to come in.
Every community that fights a Wal-Mart doesn’t have the same set of issues.
For complete story, see Monday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.