OPPOSE WAL-MART MISSION STATEMENT

"Keep Atascadero Wal-Mart Free!!!"

Oppose Wal-Mart (OWM) is an all volunteer, locally funded, grass-roots organization made up of women and men, young and old, union and non-union, Democrats, Republicans, Greens and Independents from all occupations.

Our primary mission is to protect our city and way of life. OWM encourages good economic development, which is sustainable, diverse, pedestrian and environmentally friendly, a prosperous and successful town where we can raise our children in an environment without unmanageable traffic, noise, and LA style urbanization. Supercenters are bad economic development that we believe would change our city's character forever.

We are all neighbors who may have differences in our vision for the future of Atascadero, but what binds us together is more than what divides us. The proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter is dividing us!

OWM has always put Atascadero first. That is what is most important. If everything Wal-Mart and its supporters say is TRUE, we world not oppose the supercenter project. However, in our search for what it would really mean if a Wal-Mart Supercenter came to town, we discovered many independent and academic studies that revealed the reality versus the rhetoric of Wal-Marts arguments. Those studies and the information are on this website. Moreover, these studies convinced us that a supercenter is just not good economic development for Atascadero. We are, and have always said that OWM is for good economic development at the Annex that provides a "Triple bottom line!"—a positive return on investment for the city, developer and the community.

The supercenter that WalMart has proposed is huge and totally out of scale with Atascadero. As of 8/09, Wal-MartŐs proposal has grown from 146,500 sf which conformed with the City General Plan to over 160,000 sf + additional outside nursery area.

• Viewpoint 2/20/09: Atascadero City Council ignoring some key issues
• Viewpoint: Educating voters about impacts of Atascadero's Measure D-08
• Viewpoint: Shield Initiative protects small-town life
• Viewpoint: Atascadero has much to look forward to

We've all heard them, but none of them are true. We have the facts behind the myths that Wal-Mart would like you to believe:

		Wal-Mart will bring more jobs to our community.
		Wal-Mart will bring more money to our community.
		Wal-Mart has the lowest prices.
		Wal-Mart Casts Itself as a Good Corporate Citizen.
		Wal-Mart cares about its employees.

Click Here to learn the truth.

Take a look at how huge the proposed Wal-Mart building site will be compared to the rest of Atascadero. We think you'll be shocked. Click Here to learn more.

Local elections are key to keeping Atasacadero Wal-Mart free. Click Here to learn where the candidates stand on this important issue and when you can cast a vote that counts.

Click Here to find online resources and information about Wal-Mart and its impact on cities like Atascadero.

Hundreds of communities around the country have struggled to keep the character of their towns intact and Wal-Mart free. Click Here to learn more about them and how many of them have won.

Sprawl-Busters
An International Clearinghouse on Big Box Anti-Sprawl Information.