For example, residents in Hickory, NC, 50 miles north ofDowntown Charlotte, sued to prevent a Wal-Mart store from opening.East Charlotte residents have legally fought off a shopping center.And in Davidson, NC, a Charlotte suburb, developers are preparingto go to court over the town's recent efforts to regulate the useof land.

Fanning the flames of battle even more is a shortage of openland as the Charlotte region continues to be the focus of ongoingdevelopment in all its sectors. In a published report, David Owens,a land-use law expert at the University of North Carolina'sInstitute of Government, says today's big development companieshave more money invested and are willing to fight harder.

The big players consider going to court a necessary part ofdoing business but lesser operators are not as visible as they oncewere and don't fight as frequently as they used to over landissues, Owens says.