Cheers greeted the Taos, New Mexico, Town Council last month when members voted 3-2 to reject a proposal to allow construction of retail stores as large as 200,000 square feet. The vote reaffirms an ordinance adopted in 1999 that prohibits stores over 80,000 square feet.

The issue has been hotly debated in this community of 7,000 for more than three months. It began when a handful of residents organized under the banner La Gente ("the people") and petitioned the Town Council to lift the store size limit.

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Wal-Mart wants to build a 150,000-square-foot supercenter in Upper Hanover Township, a rural corner of Pennsylvania about one hour northwest of Philadelphia. The supercenter would anchor a large shopping complex, including twin strip malls on opposite sides of the highway.

Two years ago, Wal-Mart would have needed no more than an okay from Upper Hanover officials to proceed.

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In Missouri, a coalition of independent businesses and union members are backing a bill that would reform the state’s tax increment financing (TIF) law and put an end to subsidies for suburban big box stores, shopping malls, and other sprawling developments.

TIF allows a municipality to issue bonds to pay for part of the costs of a new development. Future tax revenue from the development is then diverted from the public coffers to pay off the bonds.

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In an effort to reduce a budget deficit and make the city more "developer friendly," in the words of Mayor Charles Luken, Cincinnati has abolished its planning department.

Eight staff members and the remnants of the city’s planning activities have been transferred to the community development department. The department will carry out state-mandated functions, such as zoning and historic preservation. Planning will largely be subordinate to economic development.

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