Homer, Alaska, Bans Big Box Stores

Date: 1 Sep 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The town of Homer, Alaska, has capped retail store sizes at no more than 20,000 square feet in its central business district and 40,000 square feet in other commercial areas. The measure will remain in effect until the Planning Commission implements permanent regulations setting impact standards and size limits for large-scale retail, expected within six months. … Read More

San Francisco Weighs Restrictions on ‘Formula’ Businesses

Date: 1 Sep 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez has introduced legislation requiring that neighbors be notified whenever a formula retail store or restaurant seeks to open in their neighborhood. Residents would have the option of requesting a public hearing and formal review by the Planning Commission.… Read More

Santa Monica Mandates Small Storefronts on Promenade

Date: 1 Sep 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In an effort to prevent further consolidation of small storefronts into large chain outlets along the Third Street Promenade, the city of Santa Monica has adopted an ordinance that limits stores to no more than 50 linear feet of street frontage. The City Council has also directed city staff to compile data on the number of formula businesses in the district and draft options for limiting their proliferation.… Read More

Local Stores Produce Bigger Economic Benefits, Survey Finds

Date: 1 Sep 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Three times as much money stays in the local economy when you buy goods and services from locally owned businesses instead of large chain stores, according to an analysis by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Friends of Midcoast Maine.

The study tracked the revenue and expenditures of eight locally owned businesses in the Maine towns of Rockland, Camden, and Belfast. The businesses—which represented a range of goods and services—collectively employed 62 people and had sales of $5.7 million in 2002.

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Retail Sprawl Impairing Nation’s Waterways

Date: 1 Sep 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

As big box stores and chain retailers consume more and more undeveloped land, polluted runoff from their parking lots is placing an ever greater burden on the nation’s rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Storm water control measures and filtration systems produce only modest improvement, according to experts. A better solution is to channel commerce back into compact downtowns and neighborhood business districts, which are far less polluting. … Read More

As Police Costs Rise, Towns Reconsider Big Boxes

Date: 1 Sep 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

"When . . . a large development wants to be in your town, you see the tax values surrounding that. . . I think the tendency is to think this is really going to give us a solid foundation," George Fowler, mayor of Pineville, North Carolina, told the Charlotte Observer. "But you don’t realize at that particular point the impact it’s going to have on the services you have to provide."… Read More

Small Manufacturers Denounce Big Retailers

Date: 1 Sep 2003 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Big retailers are increasingly coming under fire from small and mid-sized manufacturers. Last month, more than 1,000 employees and owners of small manufacturing firms attended a rally in Connecticut to denounce Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, and other chains for forcing large manufacturers to move their factories to China. … Read More

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