In response to Wal-Mart’s bid to place a supercenter in their town, Zionsville, Indiana (pop=12,000), enacted an ordinance prohibiting stores over 60,000 square feet.
In November 2005, Wal-Mart’s first petition for rezoning a 12-acre lot to make way for a 204,000-square-foot supercenter was rejected by the Zionsville plan commission. In May 2006 the plan commission denied Wal-Mart’s scaled-back, 176,000-square-foot supercenter, which did not require rezoning, because a portion of the property that the project would inhabit was in neighboring Hamilton County. Wal-Mart then sued the city, and in March 2008 a Boone County special judge ruled that the petition must be sent back to the plan commission for consideration. In May 2008, for a third time, the plan commission denied Wal-Mart’s petition. This time, the commission cited issues of traffic, crime, drainage, and aesthetics.
In the midst the Wal-Mart controversy, the citizens of Zionsville pushed for, and passed a size cap ordinance. The ordinance amended their zoning code to prohibit single-use stores with over 60,000 square feet of gross floor area, and integrated retail centers (collection of non-related uses in the same building or and/or lot) over 125,000 square feet of gross floor area.
The Zionsville Merchant Association, a local business coalition, was integral in uniting opposition to Wal-Mart and urging local officials to enact measures to protect local businesses. The group collected over 3,000 signatures of opposition to the project.
FULL TEXT OF ORDINANCE:
Zionsville, Indiana’s Store Size Cap Ordinance No. 2006-06 -April 3, 3006
Plan Commission Petition No. 2003-02-OA
WHEREAS, I.C. 36-7-4, et seq., empowers the Town of Zionsville Advisory Plan Commission, Boone County, Indiana, to hold public hearings and make recommendations to the Town Council of the Town of Zionsville, Boone County, Indiana, concerning ordinances for the zoning and districting of all lands within the incorporated areas of the Town of Zionsville, Boone County, Indiana; and,
WHEREAS, in accordance with I.C. 36- 7-4-600 et seq., the Town of Zionsville Advisory Plan Commission, Boone County, Indiana conducted a public hearing on January 20, 2003 and March 20, 2006 to consider a proposal to amend the Town of Zionsville Zoning Ordinance for the Town of Zionsville, Boone County, Indiana, (the "Ordinance"); filed as petition 2003-02-OA; and,
WHEREAS, the Town of Zionsville Advisory Plan Commission certified the proposal to amend the Ordinance to the Town Council of the Town of Zionsville, Boone County, Indiana, with a favorable recommendation on March 20, 2006; and,
WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of Zionsville, Boone County, Indiana, considered the Proposal to amend the Ordinance at its regular meeting on April 3, 2006.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF ZIONSVILLE, BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA, IN ACCORDANCE WITH I.C. 36-7-4-600 et. seq., AND ALL ACTS AMENDATORY AND SUPPLEMENTAL THERETO, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Town of Zionsville Zoning Ordinance for the Town of Zionsville, Boone County, Indiana, is amended as follows:
A. That Section 2.12, B (General Business District), be amended by inserting the underlined and bolded language as follows:
14. Maximum Gross Floor Area – No single use, whether free-standing or contained in an Integrated Center , shall exceed sixty thousand (60,000) square feet of Gross Floor Area .
No Integrated Center shall exceed one hundred twenty-five thousand (125,000) square feet of total Gross Floor Area .
B. That Section 2.13, B (Outdoor Business District), be amended by inserting the underlined and bolded language as follows:
14. Maximum Gross Floor Area – No single use, whether free-standing or contained in an Integrated Center , shall exceed sixty thousand (60,000) square feet of Gross Floor Area .
No Integrated Center shall exceed one hundred twenty-five thousand (125,000) square feet of total Gross Floor Area.
C. That Section 2.21, B (U.S. Highway 421 – Michigan Road Corridor Overlay Zone), be amended by inserting the underlined and bolded language as follows:
4. Gross Floor Area:
All principal business and industrial Buildings shall have a minimum of two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet of Gross Floor Area, excluding the Floor Area of any Accessory Buildings. Accessory Buildings need not meet the minimum Floor Area requirement.
No single use, whether free-standing or contained in an Integrated Center, shall exceed sixty thousand (60,000) square feet of Gross Floor Area.
No Integrated Center shall exceed one hundred twenty-five thousand (125,000) square feet of total Gross Floor Area.
New Primary Buildings within the area known as Eagle Village, which is located between 116th and 121st Streets, shall have a minimum of one thousand two hundred (1,200) square feet of Gross Floor Area, excluding the Floor Area of any Accessory Buildings, and a maximum of three thousand five hundred (3,500) square feet of Gross Floor Area, excluding the Floor Area of any Accessory Buildings.
Primary residential Structures shall meet the minimum Floor Area specified in the underlying zoning District.
Section 2. Savings Clause: If any title, section, subsection, phrase, clause, sentence, or word of this Ordinance shall for any reason be held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of the Ordinance shall not be affected thereby and shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 3. Construction of Clause Headings: The clause headings appearing herein have been provided for convenience and reference and do not purport and shall not be deemed to define, limit or extend the scope or intent of the clause to which they appertain.
Section 4. Repeal of Conflicting Ordinances: The provisions of all other Town ordinances in conflict with the provisions hereof, if any, are of no further force or effect and are hereby repealed.
Section 5. Severability: If any part of this Ordinance shall be held invalid, such part shall be deemed severable and the invalidity thereof shall not affect the remainder of this Ordinance.
Section 6. Duration and Effective Date: The provisions of this Ordinance shall become and remain in full force and effect upon adoption and publication according to Indiana Law and until its repeal by ordinance.
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Introducedand filed on the 3rd day of April, 2006. A motion to consider on First Reading was sustained by a vote of 5 in favor and 0 opposed, pursuant to Indiana Code 36-5-2-9.8.
DULY PASSED AND ADOPTED this 3rd day of April, 2006, by the Town Council of the Town of Zionsville, Boone County, Indiana, having been passed by a vote of 5 in favor and 0 opposed.
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