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Regulatory Strategies for Big Boxes <br />By jennifer Evens,Cowley, AICP <br /> <br />Big box retail has opened for business in com munities of nearly every size, economy, and <br />density in America. <br /> <br />As a Jesuit. planners have tong souBht (often in <br />vain) to strike the right balance between sup- <br />porting big business and retaining'.he local <br />identiW that. sadly, disappears when big boxes <br />move to town; Thou§h the determinates for <br />approving lar§e-sca~e retail have broadened <br />beyond land-use viabiliw--a few communities <br /> <br />impact--this issue of Zoning Practice is for <br />places that already/have them or will in the <br /> <br />gies covered in the fonhcomin§ Pfanning <br />Advisory Service Report, Meeting the Big Sox <br />Challenge: Planning, Design, and Regulator' <br />Strotegies, due for publication in the spring. The <br />findings reported here are based on a survey of <br />more than 6oo planners, conducted by the <br />author and APA'S Planning Advisory Service <br />(PAS), on zoning strategies for bi)) box retail <br />includin!~ development moratoria, size limits- <br /> <br />lions, formula business ordinanc?s, design alan- - <br />dards, impact studies, and dosed store pokicies. <br /> <br />MORATORIA <br />For developmentS frith potentially significant <br />local or regional impacts--big box developments <br />are certainly amon~ them--temporary moratoria <br />give planners time to make an assessment and <br />a chance to review, and possibly revise, the <br />comprehensive plan and zoning re~'u[ations- <br />When Wal-Mart proposed a new store in <br />Austin's Edwards Aquifer in zoo3, the city <br />placed a As-day moratorium on supercenters <br />and large retail stores, allowing the city to draft a <br />permanent ordinance protecting the aquifer. <br /> <br />SIZE LIMITATIONS <br />Cities can use size limitS to confine big box <br />retailers to specified districts or keep them out <br />of the community altogether. Planners should <br /> <br />use this regulatory too[ cautiously. For ~xampie, <br />a size cap of :oo.ooo square feet can result in <br />the const~crJon of a bi~ box just under that <br />size. Size limitations can also prevent othe~vise, <br />desi~bie uses. including department stores. <br /> <br />bine **enera[ merchandise and food (perish- <br />able and non-perishable), some communities <br />Limit the amount of space for ~roceP/items. <br />For example, in Arroyo Grande, California, <br /> <br />dedicate onty 3 percent of the total floor area <br />for nontaxable items, which, in California. <br />includes [rocede$. Kansas City. Missouri, tim- <br /> <br />Stamford. Connecticut. requires that at least <br />25 perce~t of the gross floor area of each <br />retail floor be devoted to grocery sa~es. <br /> <br /> limitation requirements by physically separat- <br /> ing speciality sections of.the store (often yard <br /> and ~arden supply) from the ~eneral merchan- <br /> dise, literally dividing the store [n half and <br /> <br /> In 2.oo4, Yudock, California, amended <br /> the specific plan and zoning ordinance for the <br /> city's Northwest Triang(e area. The chan~es <br /> included addin[ a definition for 'big box <br /> retail," requiring a conditional use permit for <br /> far[e-scale retail developments, and prohibit- <br /> lng retail stores §mater than too.ooo square <br /> feet with more than 5 pefce~t o~ the sales <br /> <br /> responded by fliin§ suit in state and federal <br /> court, daimin§ the ordinance stifled competi- <br /> tion and was not re!ated to the pub(lc welfare, <br /> and that the city did not comply with environ- <br /> <br />156 ZO NINGPRACTICI[ $~.0S <br /> <br /> <br />