In August 2001, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance barring the construction of stores larger than 70,000 square feet and requiring those over 25,000 square feet to obtain a conditional use permit. The ordinance will apply to all land in the county that lies outside of municipal boundaries. Coconino County is located in northern Arizona and includes the city of Flagstaff.

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Hoping to protect their community’s semi-rural landscape and lifestyle, a group of residents and small business owners in Agoura Hills, California are pushing for a ballot initiative that would ban retail stores larger than 60,000 square feet. Agoura Hills is a town of 20,000 people located about 35 miles north of Los Angeles.

Citizens for Responsible Development (CRD) began organizing earlier this year after a developer proposed building a 255,000 square foot retail complex south of Highway 101.

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A New York court has let stand a local law enacted by the town of Mamaroneck governing development outside its borders. Under the law, large-scale developments that abut, adjoin, or are adjacent to the Mamaroneck’s borders must undergo a comprehensive review and obtain a permit from the Town Board.

The law covers residential projects of 250 or more homes, facilities of more than 100,000 square feet, and projects involving parking for more than 1,000 vehicles.

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Several years ago the major drugstore chains—CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Eckerd—lost interest in strip malls and began to focus their expansion plans on prominent downtown intersections. As Walgreens CEO Daniel Jorndt told the New York Times, the chain’s preferred location these days is "the corner of Main and Main."

Often, of course, these intersections are occupied by some of the community’s oldest and most significant buildings.

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In June, residents of Belfast, Maine voted 2-to-1 to ban retail stores larger than 75,000 square feet. They also elected two big box opponents to the City Council by substantial margins.

Belfast, located in the fast-growing mid-coast region about two and a half hours north of Portland, has a population of 6,400. It’s 18th century downtown is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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The number of communities that prohibit large retail stores continues to grow.

In order "to protect residents and visitors from the perils of regional, large format, mega-style commercial development," the town of Nags Head, North Carolina banned stores larger than 50,000 square feet in July.

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As we reported in recent issues of this Bulletin, Wal-Mart is lobbying several state legislatures to repeal laws that bar below-cost sales of gasoline. Wal-Mart is installing gas stations in the parking lots of hundreds of its superstores. By selling gas below its wholesale cost, Wal-Mart hopes to draw shoppers into its stores and eliminate independent competitors. The problem is, many states have laws that require retailers to sell gas at a minimum mark-up.

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