CHESTER, VT - Nearly 20 years after the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed the entire state of Vermont on its list of endangered sites, citing big-box stores as a threat to its quaintness, the state has been caught off guard by dollar stores, which have been popping up around the state, the New York Times reports.

While local zoning rules have prevented Walmart and Target from making inroads in the state, towns are finding it more difficult to fend off the dollar discount outlets and their smaller footprints. But that doesn??t mean residents aren??t trying.

Shawn Cunningham, a resident in Chester, has started the Smart Growth Chester group to fight a proposal by Dollar General to open a store in the town. So far, the fight has been unsuccessful as the town??s Development Review Board voted last month to allow Dollar General to open a 9,100-square foot store in town, subject to its agreement of 35 conditions, many dealing with store aesthetics.

The town could still thwart Dollar General??s plan under the state??s Act 250 that empowers regional boards to reject development based on environmental and aesthetic criteria.

Supporters of Dollar General??s plan say the move would expand the tax base and keep residents from driving to other towns to shop.

Cunningham and his supporters say that Dollar General, which has already opened more than a dozen stores in the state in the past few years, will be the beginning of a downward spiral sapping the town of its "Vermontiness."

"People come here and stay at the inns and eat at the restaurants not because we have Disney World but because we have Chester," said resident Claudio Veliz. "That is the hull of our boat, and Dollar General wants to put its fist right through the hull."

Tawn Earnest, a spokesperson for Dollar General, said the company has a long history in small towns, adding, "We have been very thoughtful in the placement and design of the store to benefit Chester."

Opposition to dollar stores has also spread to at least four other towns in Vermont.

"One of the things I think is crucial for Vermont, in terms of maintaining this very special brand that we have, is we don??t want to look like Anywhere, U.S.A. And homegrown businesses are a crucial piece of that," said Paul Bruhn, executive director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont.