a wave of Local Independent Businesses

The public hearing on plans to re-zone and develop Perkins Farm will continue on Tuesday, January 5th at 6 p.m. at Mystic Middle School, Mistuxet Avenue in Mystic. This is the third public hearing on the controversial proposal to change existing zoning laws to permit the creation of a Highway Transition Design District and the eventual development of 70 acres of farmland into retail shops, another hotel, office space, and townhouses.

Opposition to the plan is focused around these issues:

• More shops are not needed. Existing shops are struggling, so adding more to the mix lessens everyone’s share of a finite pie.
• More hotels are not needed – Mystic currently has more than 22 hotels. Let’s check their occupancy rates before building more.
• Spot zoning is illegal.  Enacting this change to existing zoning laws starts us on a slippery slope we should run from.
• Traffic in Mystic is already bad. Where’s the argument for making it worse?
• It runs contrary to Stonington’s plan of conservation development.
• It will disturb the unique character of Mystic and change what attracts tourists. To quote Joyce Resnikoff, “We don’t need to be like every other town.”
• There are no guarantees that formula retailers like Banana Republic, Pottery Barn, etc will even want to build shops here.
• Residents were assured that development would be contained to the “Golden Triangle” in Mystic.

If I’ve overlooked any other reasons for opposing the plan, please leave a comment. Come to Mystic on the 5th and let your opinion be heard!

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There will be a continuation of a public hearing on Tuesday, December 15th on a proposal to change zoning laws to permit the commercial development of Perkins Farm in Mystic. The hearing will be held at 7 pm at the Mystic Middle School on Mistuxet Avenue in Mystic. Changes to existing zoning would threaten all zoning regulations in town, and if the development goes through, it will bring more formula retailers to town.

The last hearing had more than 150 people in attendance, many of whom were not given the opportunity to express their views on the proposal. This continuation is expected to bring out many people who wish to comment, so please get there early and sign up; everyone will be heard.

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Join us for an open house on Thursday, December 3rd, 6 p.m. at Bank Square Books in downtown Mystic. Come and see what we’re all about and what we can do for you. Refreshments will be served, including Cotrell’s beer! We have plenty of exciting things happening, so this should be a lot of fun.

The Day had a very nice article about us last weekend, so please  take a look if you missed it.

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The Southeastern Alliance was just awarded a grant of $1000 from the New England Independent Booksellers Association as a result of our recent grant application. Many thanks to Chris Kepple, of The Scope and Cottrell Brewing fame, and Annie Philbrick of Bank Square Books for their hard work on the grant application. Well done!

NEIBA grants are awarded to members for the purpose of for establishing or developing Independent Business Alliances (IBAs).

The next meeting of the Southeastern Alliance will be held on November 11th at 8 a.m. at Bank Square Books.  We welcome locally-owned independent businesses in Groton, Mystic, Stonington, Pawcatuck, or Westerly to join us.

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I‘ve recently read two wonderful articles that I wanted to share.

The first was written by Stacy Mitchell, author of Big-Box Swindle, and a senior researcher for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Her article is called, The Corporate Co-Opt of Local, and it’s definitely worth a read. In it, she explores the growing phenomenon of larger corporations “washing” the fact that they are non-local using deceptive tactics meant to confuse consumers. She notes that economic development organizations, chambers, and others have also begun  redefining “local” to include any business that is nearby, so as not to exclude Home Depot or McDonald’s.

The next article on the subject appeared in the Seattle Times on July 16th. It is titled, Starbucks tests new names for stores, and describes how Starbucks is renaming its stores with local-sounding names as a last-ditch effort to save some of its stores from closing.

Local washing is a growing phenomenon that is important to watch, especially since, as Stacy Mitchell notes,

It’s the best empirical evidence yet that the grassroots movement for locally produced goods and independently owned businesses is having a measurable impact on the choices people make.

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Don’t forget the Shop Locally Eat Seasonally event at Bank Square Books tonight between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. Meet your local Mystic and Stonington farmers’ markets and hear what they have to offer you this summer. Deb Marsden, founder of Connecticut Farm Fresh Express, will explain her delivery business, which offers local organic products. Refreshments will be served.

Unfortunately, I (Laurin) won’t be able to attend – because I am going to MERG’s Celebrate Independents event up in Meriden.   But I highly encourage you to stop by the bookstore and find out more about your local independent farmers, the farmers’ markets and the delivery services.

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SouthEastern Alliance – a wave of local independent businesses.   We are a group of concerned business people and community members who want to help preserve and strengthen our area’s unique character.    We are part of amiba.net – American Independent Business Alliance.   The area we cover is towns on the Connecticut and Rhode Island shoreline east of the Thames River, including Groton, Mystic, Stonington, Pawcatuck and Westerly.   We are proud to partner with a like minded group to the west of the Thames River, New London Local First.

The key here is local ownership – businesses with a majority of their ownership by local residents, who are willing to re-invest in their community.

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