People in southwest Atlanta are fighting back against Family Dollar.
They will battle the dollar store chain's plan of building a new store during a town hall meeting Monday night at 6 p.m. at the Adamsville Recreation Center.
The meeting will give Southwest Atlanta residents the chance to voice concerns about the amount of discount retailers in their neighborhoods, including a proposed opening of a Family Dollar store at Benjamin E. Mays Drive and Fairburn Road.
Just a few yards from the construction sit,e residents have signs in their yards asking the retailer to stop building in residential areas.
Homeowner Jean Lummus has a sign in her yard. She even attended one of the recent protests on the issue.
"Why do they have to be within the neighborhood within the residence, which is going to impact the value of the homes," Lummus said. "We are just saturated with Family Dollar stores. Is that the only thing (they) think that African Americans can afford to buy? We do shop at other places."
Atlanta City Councilman C.T. Martin, District 10, is pushing to limit the number of stores Family Dollar can build in a given area. He told CBS Atlanta News the retailer has continued to ignore the community's concerns.
"It creates a problem of disrespect that you try to put a store on a residential street. They said in their own conversation, that they want to put a store every mile," Martin said.
Residents have enlisted the support of Congressman John Lewis in their efforts.
City officials will also hear comments about future development plans for Council District 10 and 11.
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