Another 'Big Box' Ordinance Approved
City officials for the city of Elk Grove, Calif., just south of Sacramento, recently approved a “big box” ordinance, banning the development of stores of more than 150,000 square feet.
The ordinance is aimed at super stores such as those of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which, opponents argued, pose a threat to existing independent retailers as well as to the area’s traffic and other environmental factors.
The ordinance, approved on July 11, was supported by the Elk Grove Coalition Advocating Proper Planning, a civic group that was instrumental in forcing off an attempt to build a 250,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter two years ago.
Like similar ordinances approved throughout the state, Elk Grove’s ban applies to stores of 150,000 square feet or more that have at least 10 percent of floor space devoted to groceries. Ironically, the ordinance does not apply to the site that Wal-Mart previously targeted for its Supercenter. That site has its own planning area and is subject to its own set of zoning and planning guidelines. —Robert McAllister
