"Big Box" Stores

This information originally appeared as an article by Diane Eldridge in the December 2003 Upstate Advocate

     In the “old” days, we drank 6.5-ounce Coca-Colas, ate postage-stamp sized Krystal burgers, shopped at the local clothiers and stocked our pantries with goods from the neighborhood grocery store. Back then, a typical local retail store was 500 to 10,000 square feet in size.

Top: What we can get with community design standards. Bottom: Prototype Big Box – what we get without design standards.

These days we wash down our McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder with a gigantic 32-ounce Biggie soft drink, and we buy our clothing, office supplies, hardware and groceries in stores that cover as much as four or five acres of land. It seems we’ve super-sized everything!

At 180,000-plus square feet, today’s super retail centers offer it all under one roof at lower prices – everything from dresses and tires to eggs and gasoline. We can have our cars serviced while we shop for ribbons, rhubarb and rifles.

Likewise, the new home improvement centers are 18 times the size of a traditional hardware store, and mega-office supply stores five times larger than their traditional counterparts.

The influx of Big Box stores into small towns and suburbs throughout the nation has caught many communities off-guard. These monolithic, monotonous concrete-block buildings promise lower prices, but have hidden costs not reflected in the price tags of the products they sell: traffic congestion; disruption of neighborhoods; loss of trees, open space and farmland; low-paying jobs that do not support families; displaced small businesses; dying downtowns with vacant buildings; abandoned shopping centers; air and water pollution; and sprawl. As columnist Neal Peirce of the Washington Post Writers Group so succinctly put it, “When you buy for less at [a big box store], you’re paying: it’s just a question out of which pocket.”

The rise of the Big Box began only 40 years ago and has now grown into a national phenomenon. WalMart alone boasts nearly 3,000 retail stores, Supercenters, Sam’s Clubs and “neighborhood markets,” and registered a staggering $6.67 billion in profits just last year. During October 2003 they opened 42 stores in the U.S. and next year plan to open one nearly every day somewhere in this country.

Whether one likes Big Box stores or not, it is undeniable that their impacts are considerable and long-term. Local officials owe it to their constituents to anticipate and understand, and to consider using tools that minimize, these negative effects on communities. Such tools include, but are not limited to, design standards, retail size limits, and abandonment protection. In addition, communities should take steps to strengthen existing small businesses that could be hurt by the arrival of the Big Boxes.

Size Limitations

Some communities simply limit the size allowed for retail buildings. Westford, Massachusetts prohibits stores over 60,000 square feet; Rockville, Maryland’s cap is 65,000 square feet; and Roswell, Georgia’s is 100,000.

Others limit the “footprint” (the area of land covered by the building). Hailey, Idaho allows multi-story, but the total footprint cannot exceed 25,000 0r 36,000 square feet, depending on the zoning classification.

Design Standards

What a difference landscaping standards can make!

Communities throughout the country have adopted design standards that address such features as exterior façade design, materials and colors; building height; roof materials and colors; entrances; pedestrian accessibility; landscaping requirements; screening of outdoor storage, disposal, HVAC equipment and loading operations; and others.

An example is the ordinance adopted by Fort Collins, Colorado in 1995 “in response to dissatisfaction with corporate chain marketing strategy dictating design that is indifferent to local identity and interests.”(1)

Fort Collins’ standards apply to all retail establishments over 25,000 square feet and require that exterior façades incorporate interesting architectural features to break up the monotony of wall expanses over 100 feet. To ensure that buildings are compatible with adjoining neighborhoods, “high quality materials” like brick, wood, and sandstone in subtle colors must be used on exterior surfaces. No smooth-faced concrete block may be used as a predominant façade material.

Roofs must have features that add architectural interest like varying slope planes and overhanging eaves, and parapets to conceal flat roofs and HVAC equipment from public view. Outdoor storage, trash collection and loading areas must be screened from the view of adjoining neighborhoods and public streets, and the development must incorporate pedestrian scale features like patio seating, a water feature, or an outdoor playground. Adequate pedestrian walkways are required and must be distinguished from road surfaces with materials like bricks, pavers, or scored concrete.

Abandoned Big Boxes

In pursuit of larger, riper markets, Big Box retailers frequently close older, smaller stores and open bigger ones, often only a short distance away. Concerned that these “retail graveyards” will depress economic development and property values and invite crime and vandalism, some communities have passed regulations that directly address “Big Box blight.”

Developers in Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania must put money in an escrow account to cover demolition costs in case their superstores become vacant. Boseman, Montana requires developers to design Big Box stores with flexible features such as partitions and several entryways to facilitate reuse by multiple tenants if the store is abandoned and to submit plans for reuse if the original tenant leaves. Officials in Evanston, Wyoming negotiated an agreement that requires a Big Box retailer to help the city find new tenants if it vacates its store.

Other communities use zoning to control the amount of land available for commercial uses, thus making it more difficult for Big Box owners to simply “move down the street.”

Making Choices

It all comes down to choices. Communities do not have to adopt an “anything goes” policy and accept whatever large retailers want to build. They can set standards to ensure that developments won’t adversely affect their quality of life. If Big Box developers believe there is a market for their business, stringent community standards will rarely stop their plans. But if the community doesn’t care enough to set the bar high, the Big Box prototype is what you’ll get.

(1) Design Standards and Guidelines for Large Retail Establishments,
City of Fort Collins, Colorado. Adopted by the City Council January 17, 1995.
http://www.ci.fort-collins.co.us

Additional information & resources

• Upstate Forever Spartanburg’s Big Box Initiative
• Empty Boxes Filling Up
  Spartanburg Herald-Journal, July 17, 2005
• "Big Box Battles”: Regulating Large Retailers in Austin
  The Slatin Report, June 29, 2005
• Wal-Mart Drops Plans for Side-by-Side Calvert Stores
  The Washington Post, May 17, 2005
• Communities Struggle with Empty ‘Big Box’ Stores
  The Greenville News, April 5, 2005
• Empty Stores Leave Area in a Box
  The Greenville News, February 16, 2005
• "Big Box" Stores Have Big Impact on Small Communities
  Greenwood Index-Journal, June 10, 2004
• National Trust Names the State of Vermont One of America’s
  11 Most Endangered Historic Places
  National Trust for Historic Preservation, May 24, 2004
• Big-box blight: Monolithic retailers can have a
  considerable, long-term impact on communities
  Spartanburg Herald-Journal, March 7, 2004
• Big-Box Sprawl (And How to Control It)
  Municipal Lawyer, March/April, 2002