A donkey draped with the slogan, “I Only Shop at Mom & Pops” was at the Sonoita crossroads on Saturday morning, Nov. 19, along with nearly a hundred other demonstrators on foot and on horseback. They chanted, “No Dollar General!” and “Buy Local!” as they marched outside the chain link fence surrounding the construction
site of the chain store’s proposed 9,100 square foot building on the northeast corner of the intersection.
Protests and a petition drive had begun in earnest on a windy election day, Nov. 8. The demolition of the old Long Realty building blew clouds of dust and shreds of pink
insulation to the west and north, a cold slap in the face to petitioners at a table located outside the fire station. “It’s really horrifying, isn’t it,” said Judy Schofield, looking at
the corner location as she began collecting signatures at 10 a.m. A voter walking into the polling station at the firehouse, Scott McDaniel, had already signed a petition at one of the local stores, but wondered, “Is that really going to work since they tore that building down?”
Over at the Elgin Community Club, Ann Buhl began her stint of collecting petition signatures outside the polling station at 10 a.m. Buhl was at the first meeting of angry residents on Nov. 5, after construction equipment appeared on the site. She described the organizing meeting as passionate. “I think it is fabulous we have a very strong community trying to keep our town (Sonoita-Elgin) quaint.”
On Thursday afternoon, Nov. 10, members of the Dollar Store opposition gathered at The Steak Out Restaurant. They approved a letter to the CEO of Dollar General written by James G. Small, to be attached to petitions with more than 700 signatures (the number of signers exceeded one thousand later in the month). The letter essentially said that the community would not patronize the store. “It will not be commercially viable. It will fail.” Small had spoken out earlier about the store’s proposed location being on State Route 83, a designated scenic highway. “This would be like putting a chain store on the Blue Ridge Parkway,” he said at the first meeting. “It will outrage many people.”
Jesse Drake, Santa Cruz County’s director of community development, attended the Nov. 10 meeting and said Dollar General has agreed to reduced signage and all signage lights will be turned off after closing at 10 p.m. Drake also encouraged the local residents to create a committee to review future building plans. She said it was possible for an unincorporated area to create design guidelines for commercial areas. While the present construction may be grandfathered in, Drake said it is possible for the community to prohibit other national chain stores if it has proper regulations in place.
The largest community meeting took place Nov. 16 in Pioneer Hall at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. Kat Crockett said her research has revealed about two dozen rural communities across the United States that have opposed Dollar General as being contrary to local character. In cases in which the developer or Dollar General withdrew plans to build, it was due to sewer and water costs or planning and zoning denial. “Dollar General will not back down with (just) citizen action groups petitioning them,” Crockett said.
The overall tone of the meeting was concern that Dollar General was a predatory company that would try to eliminate local merchants. However, with a boycott and lack of patronage, the assembly expressed hope that Dollar General would go out of business in a year or two and leave a building that could be converted to a winery, brewpub or community center.