This law was enacted in 1936 amid growing concerns that large retail firms were using their market power to exact special deals from manufacturers not made available to small, independent businesses. In recent decades, federal antitrust authorities have largely ceased enforcing Robinson-Patman. Continue reading
When making procurement decisions, many cities and states give preference to local businesses as a means to nurture small businesses and local economies. Some of these jurisdictions give a local preference only in the case of tie bids, but others give preference if a bid from a local business is within a certain percentage of the lowest non-local bid. Washington D.C., for example, by administrative practice gives a five percent preference to local firms. Continue reading
A growing number of cities and towns are enacting policies that restrict the proliferation of “formula businesses” — stores and restaurants that have standardized services, décor, methods of operation, and other features that make them virtually identical to businesses elsewhere. Having saturated malls and other shopping areas, many formula retailers and restaurants are increasingly locating… Continue reading
Over the last twenty years, cities and counties have provided massive public subsidies to finance the construction of big-box stores, shopping malls, and, most recently, Amazon.com warehouses. Continue reading
In January 2007, the town of Moab, Utah, adopted the following ordinance which temporarily prohibits the construction of stores larger than 40,000 square feet. Continue reading
In 1994, Fort Collins adopted a six-month moratorium on development of stores larger than 80,000 square feet. The city used the time to review the design, transportation, and other planning issues posed by big box retailers, and to make changes to its planning and zoning rules. Continue reading
The Easton Town Council enacted a temporary moratorium on large-scale retail stores in September 1999 to allow time for residents and town officials to consider the impacts of such stores and amend the zoning rules accordingly. In 2000, the Town Council adopted a store size cap ordinance prohibiting retail stores larger than 65,000 square feet Continue reading
In January 2005, Bennington enacted an ordinance that establishes 50,000- and 75,000-square-foot size limits and requires a community impact study for retail development proposals over 30,000 square feet. Continue reading
In 2006, the Bellingham City Council enacted an ordinance that prohibits stores over 90,000 square feet and imposes design standards on those over 60,000 square feet. Continue reading
Residents of Palm Beach, an island off the coast of Florida, have converted their main commercial district into a "town-serving zone," which caps its stores at 2,000 square feet and impels them to serve primarily "town persons:" those living, or working in Palm Beach. Businesses larger than 2,000 square feet can apply for a special exception use permit provided they have an auditing firm document that more than 50 percent of receipts come from a local zip code. Continue reading
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