Two Big-Box Decisions Show How Smart Planning Policies Protect Good Jobs

Date: 1 Apr 2014 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Although few cities take full advantage of them, planning and zoning powers are among the most potent tools communities have for shaping their economies. Two recent decisions, in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, underscore why land use planning matters and how smart policies can strengthen the local economy and protect good jobs.… Read More

Towards a Localist Policy Agenda

Date: 5 Jul 2013 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

To regenerate local businesses, we’ll need more than Buy Local campaigns; we’ll need to change public policy, which now favors big business. In this presentation, Stacy Mitchell looks at seven key policy areas to focus on.… Read More

Philadelphia Weighs “Predatory Superstore” Law

Date: 7 Apr 2005 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Three Philadelphia City Councilors—David Cohen, Richard Mariano and Frank DiCicco—have introduced an ordinance that would bar "predatory superstores" from locating within the city. The ordinance defines predatory superstores as any store over 180,000 square feet or any store over 90,000 square feet that devotes more than 10 percent of its floor space to nontaxable grocery items.… Read More

Madison Limits Footprint of Big-Box Stores

Date: 4 Apr 2005 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

By an 18-1 vote, the City Council in Madison, Wisconsin, endorsed a measure that would limit retail stores to a footprint of no more than 100,000 square feet. Stores may be larger if they are multi-story or have structured or underground parking. A 100,000-square-foot store covers about the same land area as two football fields and typically requires at least twice as much land for the parking lot.… Read More

Planning Tools for Curbing Chains and Nurturing Homegrown Businesses

Date: 1 Feb 2005 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

By now, many community leaders recognize that when chain retail sprawls unchecked, main street loses, not just jobs and businesses, but the very essence of what makes the district unique. Small, independent businesses CAN prosper, however, when planners use the right tools to manage economic growth in the region. This month, we report on some of the most promising new regulatory strategies available. … Read More

Bennington, Vermont, Adopts Big-Box Ordinance

Date: 27 Jan 2005 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In late January, the Select Board in Bennington, Vermont, voted unanimously to ban stores over 75,000 square feet and to require retail development projects larger than 30,000 square feet to pass a community impact review. Town officials said the measure was needed to ensure adequate review of the economic and community impacts of large-scale retail development, protect the viability of Bennington’s existing commercial areas, and maintain competition by preventing a single retailer from dominating the local market. … Read More

Homer, Alaska, Restricts Large Retail Stores

Date: 23 Dec 2004 | posted in: Retail | 1 Facebooktwitterredditmail

After two years of consideration—including a review by a city council-appointed task force, numerous public hearings, and a voter referendum—the town of Homer, Alaska, has adopted an ordinance that limits stores to no more than 45,000 square feet and requires retail development projects larger than 15,000 square feet to undergo a community impact review. Homer has a population of about 5,000 and is located on the Kenai Peninsula. … Read More

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