HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0032.028 2006-2008
Murashige Laura
From: Melanie Robinson [me11201@hotmail.com] r ~ 1-~
Sent: Tuesday, February O6, 2007 10:09 AM FED
To: counciltestimony@co. hawaii. hi. us
Subject: big box stores i''
To the council. I have lived on Hawaii for 20 years. I agree with everything below which
many people are sending to you. As more people immigrate here let's not also import the
styles of living which are destroying culture, community, business, and the environment.
Small is Beautiful. Diversity is Key. We can repel the richest element who will become
richer while telling us we're saving money by acquiring commodities unnecessary to
happiness and polluting more and more. Take a Stand! Resist greed! So what if a few want
to drive to a big box and fill up their cars and houses with stuff. The people cannot
compete with the power of the bucks flowing in. Don't be blinded by the testimony of
developers and land-grabbers. Protect us, please.
Melanie Oldfather
1201 Moku Place
Hilo, HI
96720
934-8430
I would like to testify in support of Resolution 21-07 limiting the size and scope of
retail superstores in the County of Hawaii. Without such proactive planning, the Island
of Hawaii risks unchecked development that can irreparably damage the island.
Unlimited superstores are not good for our community for several reasons.
First, superstores destroy the local business network. These non-local corporations
source their goods off-island, cutting local businesses out of the equation. Then,
because superstores operate through economies of such vast scale, their retail prices
undercut local businesses. Thus both local wholesale and local retail operations can be
hurt. A 2003 report on supercenters prepared for the City of Los Angeles found the
creation of supercenters with large grocery sections to be especially destructive, as such
operations often put existing grocery stores out of business. A case in point in
Mississippi, where a 2002 study found that local groceries had lost 17~ of their retail
sales by the fifth year a Wal-Mart supercenter was operating. The Los Angeles study notes
that when local groceries are put out of business, other businesses located nearby suffer
severely, as grocery stores are often the hub for shopping districts.
Local consumers are also hurt by such superstores. Lower prices are often cited as the
reason to allow superstores in. This view misses the bigger picture. As local businesses
go under, local consumers end up with fewer and fewer shopping options. This is cited in
the Los Angeles report, which notes supercenters' "tendency to cannibalize competing
retail businesses."
Supercenters that drive out local grocery stores can especially hurt those consumers who
rely on their neighborhood groceries for food.
Superstores also hurt consumers in less obvious but still costly ways.
Typically, they require extensive municipal services, for example due to increased traffic
impacts. Both the Los Angeles report and a 2004 report on the San Francisco Bay area note
the considerable increase in municipal costs caused by the increased traffic supercenters
bring. In addition, if local businesses are hurt, superstores can result in an erosion of
the municipal
tax base. This was the finding of the Los Angeles report, which states
that superstores can decrease municipal revenues due to the loss of sales and property
taxes resulting from store closures. In the end, it is local consumers who end up paying
the price tag for such costs through their own taxes.
Superstores also hurt the local community because they are often very poor employers.
Wal-Mart stands out as the most striking example. On the mainland, Wal-Mart is being sued
in numerous states over issues including violation of child labor laws, underpaying hourly
workers, threatening and firing pro-union workers, lack of payment for hours worked, and
sex discrimination in promotion, pay and training. Aside from these glaring examples,
most superstore jobs are NOT jobs that offer a decent wage. For example, accord'ng to the
1 Comm. No. Z ~ Z
Ref. To: ~reae~ed
Ref. Unt~~
National Association of Women, full-time sales associates at Wal-Mart earn only an average
of $6.10 an hour, which frequently leaves their annual earnings below the poverty level;
half of these full-time employees qualify for federal food stamps. Such jobs do not offer
meaningful opportunities for community members. They also often result in additional
costs to the community, as municipalities are forced to provide social welfare services.
By driving out existing businesses and offering low-paying jobs, supercenters can hurt the
entire community, as low-paying jobs replace those that are higher paying. The City of
Los Angeles report found that superstores can depress wages by as much as $8 dollars an
hour. Using Wal-Mart as a specific example, a 2005 study by an economist from the
National Bureau of Economic Research found that the average Wal-Mart store reduces
earnings per person by 5 percent in the county in which it operates.
Lower wages hurt residents' quality of life and further depress the local economy, as
consumers have less money to spend on goods and services in the community.
Regulating the size of superstores is crucial for the overall well-being of our
island. Much has been made of the need for the Island of Hawaii to support diverse
economic development that can offer residents decent-paying jobs and provide the island
with local sources for key products, such as food items. This is essential for us to have
a healthy local economy that can support its residents and remain somewhat insulated from
catastrophic economic events that could threaten the tourist industry or cause a drastic
increase in off-island prices. Unlimited development of non-local superstores will drive
out local businesses and the meaningful job opportunities they offer, as well as make us
more dependent than ever on off-island products. Such development also will change the
identity of the island, as it destroys the unique cultural aspects of our area by
replacing independent local establishments with generic box stores.
I urge the planning committee to pass Resolution 21-07. I hope the county council will
take the time to fully explore the impacts of supercenters; there is a great deal of
information available that clearly shows the extensive negative effect they have on
communities. We need careful, proactive planning to guide development that will support
our island and the people that live here.
Sources:
1. City of Los Angeles Documents:
a. Final Support of Research for Big Box Retail / Superstore Ordinance prepared for the
City of Los Angeles, October 2003
http://www.lacity.org/council/cd13/houscommecdev/cdl3houscommecdev239629107_04262005.pdf
b. Options for Regulating the Development of Superstores Report Prepared by the City
Attorney's Office, December 2003
http://www.lacity.org/council/cd13/houscommecdev/cdl3houscommecdev239629364_05042005.pdf
c. City of los Angeles: Housing, Community and Economic Development
http://www.lacity.org/council/cd13/cl3pfle.htm
2. Wake Up Wal-Mart.com
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/facts/
3. National Organization of women Web site http://www.now.org/issues/wfw/wm-facts.html
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