COM 0032.035 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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RECOMMENDATION The Planning Director gives an unfavorable recommendation on the bill proposing a ban on superstores. If the Council would like to give closer scrutiny to such stores because of traffic or other impacts, the Planning Director proposes an alternative approach: that the Zoning Code be amended so that a superstore is a permitted use only in a "Superstore" zoning district. In other words, to establish a superstore, the business would have to rezone an area to the "Superstore" zone; it could not just open up in an MCX, CG, or other zone. The proposed superstore ban prompted a great deal of public testimony pro and con at the Council, much of it focused specifically on Wal-Mart. This corporation has been controversial for a number of reasons, including anti-union practices, wages, poor health benefits, relationships with foreign suppliers and treatment of foreign workers, and its impact on small-town businesses. Although the proposed bill itself does not single out any one corporation by name, because so much public testimony was directed at Wai-Mart, it may be useful to explain some general rules for the benefit of the public. The land use system focuses on what should happen on a particular piece of property, where certain uses should take place, how the uses should be done (for example, design controls or parking requirements), but is concerned with who is doing the project only to a very limited degree. Section 25-2-10 of the Zoning Code states that approvals run with the land and "shall not be granted if the action sought would not be equally acceptable under a variety of owners." This is the general rule in American land use law. There are limited circumstances where the identity of the applicant may be relevant: for example, the State Land Use Commission has, at times, required proof that the applicant has the financial ability to carry out a project to avoid purely speculative applications, but the general rule is still that the decisions shall not be made on the basis of who is the applicant. Much public testimony was given on the topic of competition and the potential effect of superstores on existing businesses. Generally, business competition is regarded as a good thing: in fact, essential to the current economic system. It is inherent in business competition that some -5-