Your Neighbors Are Killing Job Growth

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- A lot of blame is being passed around for the nation's devastatingly high jobless rate.

Politicians aren't doing enough, many say. Taxes are too high. Health insurance and its reform initiatives are too expensive. Pending legislation intended to boost job creation doesn't go far enough.

A culprit that seldom gets much of the blame is your own neighbors and local officials.

Across the country, in the name of zoning, community aesthetics and far more parochial concerns, business proposals are scrutinized ad nauseum, often delaying them or killing the plans outright.

There is no shortage of groups, large and small, fighting against what they see as the blight of "big box" retailers such as Wal-Mart(WMT) and Target(TGT). Complaints range from traffic congestion, comparatively low wages, the impact on nearby businesses, whether it would cause teens to "gather" and the overall "fit" for their community.

Even the Sierra Club has joined in on the fight.

"Big box stores like Wal-Mart threaten our landscape, our communities and the environment by building on the fringe of town, paving vast areas for stores and parking lots, and undermining the economic health of existing downtown shopping areas," a section of its website reads.

Beyond such organized campaigns, individual civic associations often wage smaller, more parochial battles.

Many of these neighborhood groups are, at their core, dedicated to policing encroaching development and maintaining a balance between businesses and the residents they affect. These groups, though not elected, typically wield strong influence over those who are. They are frequently the first and best line of defense against suburban sprawl, institutional expansion and streetscapes overrun by McDonald's(MCD) franchises, Taco Bells(YUM) and Family Dollar Stores(FDO).

It isn't uncommon, however, to see personal prejudices override these broader concerns. In doing so, community activists can be directly responsible for stunting job creation.

Among the head-scratching arguments against businesses we've encountered were a coffee shop that was denied a request to add an acoustic guitarist two nights a week. "I don't understand why anyone would want to listen to music at a coffeehouse," declared one woman, who apparently never heard of the folk music scene. In another case, a local group withheld their blessing on a proposed Korean barbecue restaurant after two of its older members visited a similar establishment for research. "You cook your own food at the table," one remarked. "Who would want that? We don't need something like that."