St. Louis, Missouri - September 9, 2002 - A recent survey by Civitas Associates, a non-profit educational organization in St. Louis, revealed that most residents in Maplewood, MO favor a proposed Wal- Mart and Sam's development in the northwest corner of the municipality. The enterprise would result in the removal of 140 homes in the area.

The survey was conducted in late August of 2002 by six students from Maplewood High School. They had previously been involved in a Urban Studies program with Civitas, studying the variances between the rich and the poor in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

The survey showed that 63% of the participants favored the Wal-Mart development and 22% were opposed to it. The remaining 15% were unsure. The sample size was relatively small, 91 registered residents of Maplewood in all. However, this sample has a reliability of plus or minus ten percent 95% of the time. Thus, under the worst of circumstances, the lead still would have been 53% to 32% -- a clear majority for the Wal-Mart supporters.

Residents in the buyout area have been promised buy- out payments averaging three times their payment costs for their homes. The development would occur without at TIF (Tax Increment Financing) breaks from the city of Maplewood.

Vote will be on November 5
The vote was originally scheduled for Tuesday, September 17. However, a court battle and discussions by Maplewood officials led to postponement of the vote until the regularly scheduled November election on Tuesday, November 5.

For further information on this survey, click here

Civitas intends to conduct at least one additional survey amongst registered Maplewood residents prior to the election.

About Civitas Associates
Civitas Associates is an educational programming company specializing in working with secondary school students in the areas of international relations and urban studies.

Company Website: http://www.civitas-stl.com

Civitas Associates Press Contact: Arthur Lieber Director email: [email protected] voice: (314) 367-6480

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