Centerville.

Making Development

Friendly, in the Friendly City.

May 18, 2004Sprawl-Busters

Growth is like Cholesterol

• There’s Good growth.

• There’s Bad growth.• If growth brings

added value, it’s good.

• No added value, it’s bad.

• It’s dangerous not to know the difference.

Tonight’s Agenda• Wal-Mart’s Pitch• The Other Side of the WAL• The Saturation Theory• Voodoo Economics• A Look at Centerville• The Centerville General Plan• The Centerville Zoning Code• Thinking Outside the Box

Basic Principle:Wal-Mart Is Not A Government

Mandate.

Can Citizens Stop Sprawl?

Some Recent Examples: • Inglewood, CA stopped Wal-Mart April 04• Littleton, NH stopped Target, March ’04• Deptford, NJ stopped Wal-Mart, March ’04• San Marcos, CA denied WM , March ’04• Milford, OH stopped Wal-Mart, March ’04• Lower Makefield, PA stopped Lowe’s

Victorious Secret

Sprawl-Busters.com lists 221 communities that have stopped big box stores at least once.

Wal-Mart’s Pitch: 4 Basic Themes

1. We bring quality Jobs with comprehensive benefits

2. We support the Local Tax Base3. We operate globally, give back

locally4. We provide outstanding

consumer value

1. Wal-Mart’s Spin on Jobs

• “It will bring 475 jobs to the community, 75% of them being full time (36 or more hours) and 78% of them eligible for benefits.”

• Jobs with a future: 60% managers from hourly associates.

• All Wal-Mart Figures Are Gross, Before offsetting losses.

Winn-Dixie Lays Off 10,000 Workers

Grocery chain shuts down 156 more stores in April, 2004.

10,000 lost jobs means the next 20 Wal-Mart Superstores only replace those lost jobs.

The other side of the WAL

• Wal-Mart = Voodoo economics• “Net” job gain is negligible• Old jobs in new aprons• Pays prevailing wage, 34 hours full-

time• Woman with one child at 34 hrs

works in poverty• Sued in more than 30 states for

stealing time “off clock”• “Dead Peasants” Life Insurance

The Rodino Associates Report,

2003“Big box retailers and superstores

may negatively impact the labor market in an area by the conversion of higher paying retail jobs to a fewer number of lower paying retail jobs. The difference in overall compensation may be as much as $8.00.” (L.A. City council)

Subsidizing Wal-Mart

The typical Wal-Mart supercenter with 200 workers costs the American taxpayers

$420,750 a year in tax-supported subsidies, including

earned income tax credits, housing subsidies, food stamps, health insurance (Medicaid), etc.--Congressman George Miller (D-Ca) 2004

The Wal-Mart Paradoxaccording to Fortune

Magazine

Wal-Mart is the #1 “Most Admired” company in the

world.

Yet Wal-Mart isn’t even in the top 100

“Best Places to Work.”

Wal-Mart is the darling on Wall St.---but the

devil on Main St.

Wal-Mart’s Revolving Door

• At least 44% of Wal-Mart’s workers leave the company each year.

• That’s a turnover of 600,000 Wal-Mart workers every year.

Wal-Mart’s Open Door Policy

“Open your mouth and you’re out the door.” --former Wal-Mart

employee.

2. Supporting the Local Tax Base

• Real estate taxes• Sales taxes• Income tax from store payrolls

“Local tax receipts usually increase substantially when a Wal-Mart opens its doors.”

Injected Millions into Utah’s economy?

“Since it opened its first Utah store in 1990, Wal-Mart has injected millions of dollars into Utah’s economy as the company builds new stores and expands employment.” (Layton opening 3/3/04)

Fuzzy Math in Utahas of March, 2004

• 6 Wal-Mart discount stores• 19 Wal-Mart supercenters• 7 Sam’s Clubs• 12,500 workers, and as of the

end of 2002:• $7.9 million in state & local

taxes • $72 million paid in Utah sales

taxes

The other side of the WAL

• Gross figures, vs. net impact

• Subtract from Wal-Mart’s figures all the property taxes, sales taxes and payroll taxes not paid by the company’s that downsize or go out of business after Wal-Mart comes to town.

No Net Job Additions

“No net additions to retail jobs in

the region are anticipated. The presence of Wal-Mart could, in fact, reduce the number of such jobs.” (Leominster, MA study, 2003)

Fewer Jobs Per Dollar of Sale

“To sell $1 million at Wal-Mart takes 4.7 workers compared to an average of 6.4 workers in similar general merchandise stores. Wal-Mart requires fewer employees per dollar of sale.” (Tom Muller, 2003)

The Empty Box Syndrome

Wal-Mart changes stores as casually as you or I change shoes.

Dead Wal-Mart’s in Utahas of February, 2003

5 “dark stores” in Utah

510,489 s.f. of available stores

On the Available ListFebruary, 2003

• American Fork, 122,667 s.f.• Cedar City, 72,159• Riverdale,115,583• Sandy, 129,768 (on list since Feb.

2002)

• Vernal, 71,312

If you want to buy an empty Wal-Mart

Letter of Intent:

• “Restrictions: The demised premises cannot be used for a discount store, wholesale club, or drug store/pharmacy.”

Wal-Mart brings little added value to the

community. They make nothing.

They gain market share, as others lose market

share. The result is not economic development,

but economic displacement.

3. Wal-Mart Philanthropy: Cause-Related

Marketing• Good. Works.• Community grants, United Way• Children’s Miracle Network• Teacher of the Year• Business Leader Awards• Hometown Leader Awards

Wal-Mart Shoppers are giving this money

• May, 2002, Perry, Utah. Wal-Mart “associates” gave $11,000, most of it in $1,000 checks to the Boys & Girls Club, the local elementary school, etc.

• March, 2004. Layton, Utah. Wal-Mart associates gave $13,500 to United Way, police and fire dept, American legion.

The Other Side of the WAL

“According to pretax earning donated to charity, WM ranked last among the major discounters..the WM Foundation ranked nowhere near the top 100 corporate foundations in charitable expenditures. “

-- authors Scott/Vance

Much of Wal-Mart “Good. Works” comes

from in-store promotions or customer & employee

contributions—not from the company itself.

How much a company donates to a community has nothing to do with

land use decisions anyway.

4. Outstanding Consumer Value

• EDLP Philosophy• We deliver consistent value—

with a smile.• Wide variety of products• Attractive, clean environment• Generous return & exchange

policy

The Other Side of the WAL

Cheap goods at Wal-Mart come from:

• Sourcing labor from Third World sweatshops, costing the US millions in lost manufacturing jobs.

• Muscling suppliers to reduce cost of labor and materials.

• Exploiting its own workforce with ‘everyday low wages, and “off the clock” practices.

Made in America?• In 2002, Wal-Mart imported

roughly $12 billion in Chinese goods.

• Represents 10% of our record-setting trade deficit with China.

• Held a recent board of director’s meeting in Beijing.

3 Million Lost American Manufacturing Jobs

• Since 2000, American has lost at least 3 million manufacturing jobs.

• Pressure on vendors to lower prices = outsourcing production to Third World countries= lost U.S. jobs.

• Wages in a “race to the bottom”• Levi Strauss, Fruit of the Loom,

Master Lock—closed factories, lost jobs.

Everyday low prices

Wal-Mart would “lift its prices as and when competitors disappeared. Nearer to Little Rock, where there are plenty of pharmacies, its drug prices are lower, in more remote towns, higher.” –Arkansas Court

Below Cost Pricing A federal judge in Oklahoma

City in March, 2003 found that 3 Sam’s Club stores had been losing money on the sale of gasoline below their cost: “The purpose of the gasoline business at these three stores is to pull customers in and to do so if need be by operating the gas facilities at a loss."

“People may love low prices, until they take a closer look at the real cost.”

New York Times Editorial, May 2004

A Closer Look At The

Other Side of the WAL

Wal-Mart’s Numbers As of April, 2004 (vs. Feb)

• 1,448 WM discount stores in U.S. (closed 30 since February)

• 1,506 Supercenters (opened 35 since February)

• 67 Neighborhood Markets (3 new)• 538 Sam’s Clubs (no change)

• 103 distribution centers (no change)

• 1,494 stores in foreign countries (+139)

Shifting to Supercenters

Year Discount Supers Supr %

1998 1,921 441 18.7%

2004 1,448 1,506 51%

Not counted in the totals

371 dead stores. 28 million square feet of empty buildings. 6% of Wal-Mart stores are empty at any given time.

Closing Down Discount Stores

• Wal-Mart is systematically removing their discount stores, and replacing them with supercenters.

• Number of discount stores today is -473 lower than in 1998.

Saturation: “We became our own

competition.”

--Sam Walton

Walton boasted that he had 40 stores within 100 square miles of Springfield, Missouri

Overbuilding

• “We’ve been willing to cannibalize our stores rather than going into a defensive mode where we insist each store has to make a certain amount of profit.” --Lee Scott, WM CEO in Money Magazine.

• “Yes…Wal-Mart does over build new supercenters in towns under 10,000 population…”

– --Don Soderquist, former Wal-Mart COO

The Saturation Theory

“Stretch Out & Back Fill”

Don Soderquist, former Wal-Mart COO, described the company’s aggressive expansion strategy as “stretch out and back fill.”

• --morningnewsbeat.com

Centerville is a “Back Fill” Store

There are already 10 Wal-Marts within 22 miles of Centerville:

1. Layton supercenter, 11 miles2. Layton neighborhood mkt, 12

miles3. South Ogden neighborhood, 16

miles4. West Valley City super, 17 miles

The Saturation of Centerville

5. Murray Wal-Mart discount, 19 miles.

6. West Valley Neighborhood, 18 miles.

7. Riverdale Supercenter, 18 miles.8. Clinton Supercenter, 17 miles.9. Midvale discount, 21 miles.10. West Jordan Superctr, 22 miles.

You have 5 Wal-Mart supercenters within 22

miles of Centerville, nearly 1 million square

feet of supercenters

Saturated Trade Area

Super TargetBig K-Mart

Shopko

Centerville was not the first choice for a

supercenter, but the sixth tier down the list.

Voodoo Economics: The Economic

Impact of Superstores

“At Wal-Mart, we make dust. Our competitors eat dust.”--Tom Coughlin

Eat Our Dust.

Learning Wal-Math

1 job created

- 1.5 job destroyed

= 1 job

Franklin County, Vermont:

Wal-Mart Sales Impact“For every $10 M in sales in a typical Franklin County retail business, 106 people are employed. For every $10 M in sales at a typical Wal-Mart, 70 people are employed.”

(Humstone study 10/93)

1 new job created =

1.5 jobs lost elsewhere

Over 10 years, Wal-Mart would create 300 new jobs, and cause the loss of 500 jobs

--Economic Impact Study, Muller/Humstone

St. Albans,VT: projected 500 jobs lost.

Costs Outweigh Benefits

“On an overall basis, the public costs of the proposed (Wal-Mart) are projected to outweigh the benefits. The ratio is projected to be more than $2.50 of public cost for each $1.00 of public benefit.”

--Vermont Environmental Board

St. Albans case, 6/95

Fewer Retail Jobs “It would be a serious mistake

to conclude that these jobs are net additions to the workforce. The presence of Wal-Mart results in FEWER retail jobs then would be available in their absence. “

--Tom Muller, economist

“The Wal-Mart Effect” “There are not enough residual

dollars left in the consumer economy to support a retailing firm the size of Wal-Mart and concurrently support a large number of other retailing firms…local merchants are often unable to survive against this imbalance…” --Global Credit Services, 1999

A Wal-Mart Monopoly

• In my hometown of Greenfield, MA, Wal-Mart now has a monopoly on discount goods.

• An Ames store closed this year. Before that a Rich’s store. The nearby Kmart closed, as did Bradlees, and Caldor’s.

The Retailers Boneyard

Montgomery Wards, Bradlees, Ames, Caldors.Kmart,Winn-Dixie,FAO

Voodoo Economics National Trust for Historic

Preservation:studied 9 counties in Iowa in 1996

84% of WM sales from other merchants

sales downtown were constant or declined

no significant job gains

existing commercial property declined or did not increase at comparable rate to state

The Iowa Studies

“Studies in Iowa have shown that some small towns lose up to 47% of their retail trade after 10 years of Wal-Mart stores nearby.”

--Ken Stone, 1997

After 10 years: total sales declined

“Total sales for (towns with a Wal-Mart) increased by 6% by the second year and held nearly steady through year seven. However, by year eight, a decline began, and by year ten, sales were 4% BELOW the pre-Wal-Mart level.”

--Stone, 1997

After 14 years: total sales declined

Tooele -- More than 20 locally owned

managed and operated businesses have closed.

After 3 years,WM gains, the others

lose. $20

$8

($12)($15)

($10)

($5)

$0

$5

$10

$15

$20

Wal Mart Total Sales Other Lose

Iowa Change in Market Share: 1983-1993

• Department Stores: +$425 M• Women’s Apparel: -$6 M• Drug Stores: -$30 M• Shoe Stores: -$32 M• Men’s Apparel: -$48 M• Hardware: -$94 M• Grocery Stores: -$129 M• Variety Stores: -$153 M

Greenfield, MA

• WM paid $35,000 for an impact study

• Existing stores would lose 64% of sales

• 232,000 s.f. of existing retail space would close

• Out of 270 “new” jobs, net jobs = 29

Lake Placid, New York:New Jobs in Old Aprons

• A proposed Wal-Mart would cause: 134 “new” jobs

- 122 jobs lost at other merchants

= 22 net jobs. (16% of original est.)

--RKG Assoc, 11/95

Captured Sales

Research across the country suggests that Big Boxes “capture” 60% to 80%of their sales from other cash registers.

Cleveland & 5 County Study, 2000

“Communities planning to use retail development as the focus of an economic development strategy would be better served by trying to sustain and/or attract industrial and office-based business.”

Tischler Prototype Analysis

July, 2002 Barnstable, MA

• Studied what type of land use generates net revenues and net deficits to the town.

• “The big box retail prototype generates an annual deficit of

• -$486 per 1,000 sq. feet.

Big Box = Big Loss

• Under the Tischler study, a big box store moving into Barnstable,MA. would create a big loss:

• A 200,000 s.f. Big Box store x $486/1,000= loss to town of $97,200 per year.

Wal-Mart & Grocers:America’s Food Fight

Food Fight: Top Grocers

COMPANY GROCERY SALES 2003

*WAL-MART $95 BILLION

KROGER $52 BILLION

COSTCO $38 BILLION

ALBERTSON’S $35.6 BILLION

SAFEWAY $32.4 BILLION

*SAMS CLUBS (WM)

$31.7 BILLION

AHOLD USA $25.1 BILLION

SUPERVALU $19.5 BILLION

9,511 Grocery Stores Closed: 1992-1997

Grocery sales rose 12.7%, but the number of grocery stores in the U.S. fell by –

5.3%

Wal-Mart Supercenters need smaller market

areas

Groceries bring customers in to the store more often, from a closer area, so they don’t need 150,000 people to have a trade area. They can build these stores five miles apart.

A Look at Centerville, Utah

Centerville Population Growth

2000-2002: 0.7% (107 people)

14,583

14,690

14,520

14,540

14,560

14,580

14,600

14,620

14,640

14,660

14,680

14,700

2000 2002

Centerville Economic Profile, 2000

Factor Number Utah

Median household income

$64,818 $45,726

Below Poverty

1.4% 6.5%

Median Value of 1 family home

186,600 $119,600 (U.S.)

Centerville: Gross Retail Sales, 2003:

$113 M51.7

17.48

24.95

2.25

13.61

3.080

10

20

30

40

50

60

Bldg.Mat.

Food Cars Furniture Restaur Misc

Centerville stores most vulnerable to big

box retailing: home furnishings 1building materials 5grocery/food 4

gas stations 4 clothing 2sporting goods 5general merch. 2

Impact of a Wal-Mart Supercenter

A 200,977 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter can reach sales of $90.4 M per year, and conservatively mean a loss to other merchants---including their own stores--of - $54 M per year.

$33.7 M in new grocery sales supply

• Assuming roughly 74,964 s.f. of the proposed Wal-Mart supercenter will be devoted to groceries (37.3%), and the sales per s.f. will be near $450, the total grocery sales will be $33.7 million a year.

Food Store Sales in Centerville 2001-2002

Year 2001 2002

Food Store Sales (3rd. Quarter x 4)

$41.75 M

$40.53 M

Per Capita Food Sales in Centerville

• In 2002, $2,757 per person, per year

• To absorb $33.7 M in new grocery capacity at Wal-Mart, you would need another 12,223 consumers.

• Rather, most sales will simply be transferred from other cash registers, to Wal-Mart’s.

The Wal-Mart supercenter would increase food sales

supply by 26%From $40.5 M to $51 M

annually.+26% jump over 2002

sales

The entrance of a Wal-Mart supercenter is not based on filling market need, but rather taking

market share.

Number of Grocery Stores in Centerville

Year 2001 2002 2003

Food Outlets

10 11 7

Wal-Mart sales will not come from imported

sales from other towns.

• Because you already have 10Wal-Mart stores within 22 miles of this site.

Centerville’s General Plan

What you say about yourself.

Residential Character

“The citizens of Centerville have expressed a desire to retain a suburban residential lifestyle…development has predominately been single family residential.We desire to maintain that character of development.”

“Quality of life is important to the

residents of Centerville.”

“A quality of life that is consistent with the development of low density residential

development.”

Protection from intensive commercial

“Residential areas should be afforded protection from the impact of more intensive commercial…uses.”

Parrish Lane Commercial Corridor

• The major gateway to Centerville• The dominant commercial center• The appearance of Parrish

Lane..should be of utmost importance…

• Should create a “gateway” impression

• Elements of strip commercial development should be avoided.

Avoid expansive parking areas.

• Avoid lack of landscaping, large unattractive signs, expansive parking areas and pavement.

Attitudes Entering Centerville

• “These major entrances (Parrish Lane at 15 interchange) are critical in determining the attitudes that residents and visitors will gain of Centerville as they enter and leave the city.”

What image does a big box store portray?

“the design and development patterns of land uses here are appropriate to reflect an image the residents wish to portray.”

Parrish to Porter “Village Center.”

• 2001: Parrish to Porter Village Center. Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND).

• “The northern approximately 30 acres of this area is current zoned commercial…(this) will not allow the vision of the Village Center to be developed…new zones may need to be adopted.”

The 1999 Calthorpe plan: TND

• City had state grant to prepare a master plan for the 50 acres in this area.

• “The (special Planning Commission) subcommittee encouraged the City to move forward with plans for a mixed-use, TND or ‘village’ for this area.

Follow the Master Plan

“Future development in the TND should generally follow the policies and guidelines of the Centerville Village Center Strategic Master Plan adopted in June, 2001 and prepared with public input.”

2001 Centerville Village Center Strategic

Development Master Plan

• “the northern section of this area should be developed as a “retail host mixed use district” primarily with a commercial influence.”

• “Commercial and residential development is allowed consistent with Urban Design Standards.”

Needs for Large Regional Commercial

Development …Fulfilled.

• “The large vacant area south of Parrish Lane…has been considered in the past for some type of regional commercial development.”

• However, the Centerville Marketplace and the Centerville Corporate park “have to a great extent fulfilled the city’s needs in this regard.”

The City Prefers Village Center

“Therefore, the city prefers to consider development of a Village Center consistent with the recommendations of the 2001 Centerville Village Center Strategic Development Master Plan.”

Village Plan

• “Niche commercial uses compatible with residential development.”

• “Urban design standards.”

Land Use Hierarchy Standards

“Only uses in the same category or in an adjacent category may be located next to each other.”

Incompatible with Residential

This enormous retail facility, with a building alone the size of 4 football fields, and a parking area that will hold nearly 1,000 cars, is separated from substantial residential property by only 48 feet, a 6 foot masonry screen wall, and a few blue spruce trees.

Very High Intensity Should not be next to

Low• “A very high intensity use cannot be

located next to a medium intensity use unless there is a high intensity use between them, creating at least 100 feet of separation.”

• Wal-Mart = very high intensity (>50,000 sf)

• Residential uses less than 4 units/acre= low intensity.

June, 2003: General Plan Gets Amended

• The city amends the General Plan to make the Parrish Lane area either (CH) commercial high intensity, or CVH (very high intensity.

• City later votes to make the land in question CVH.

The New Concept

“The new concept for the northern end was to allow for a single use commercial retail area and create a mixed use area integrating small commercial with multi-family uses surrounding a plaza between the single use retail and the Florentine Villa Development (to the south).”

--city staff report.

Designer Zoning?

• Was this dramatic “modification” in the General Plan for the northern parcel and the zoning was made pursuant to the request of Strategic Development?

Internal Conflicts: Village or Sprawl?

“With the change in zoning to C-VH and the addition of the two alternative maps for the Village Center Plan, the Planning Commission will need to decide in what manner should this commercial site be developed in order to incorporate some of the village center strategic plan.” (staff comment)

“Reconsider the size”

• “ensure that human scale and amenities are provided in the design. This may mean reconsidering the size of the general retail building, as well as the number, size and location of other commercial lots.”

Building Size: A Barrier

“The general retail building remains a significant barrier to integrating uses that may develop on the parcel to the south.” (staff comment)

A General Plan Amendment is supposed to:

• Conserve the value of other properties

• Avoid incompatible development

• Encourage appropriate development

Centerville Zoning Issues

Purposes of Centerville Zoning

• Protect health, safety and welfare

• Promote aesthetics of the city• Protect the tax base• Protect property value

Security Investments Needs 3 things:

• A conditional use permit• Site plan approval• Subdivision plan approval

Planned Center?

• The Wal-Mart proposal (>10,000 s.f.) is considered a “planned center”, which is “a development comprised of mixed uses…provided in a comprehensive and integrated fashion pursuant to a conditional use permit.”

Have to Submit an Overall Site Plan and

List of Uses• There are 4 lots, only 2 have

been identified by use: a supercenter and a gas station. Gas station fronts on Parrish Lane, as do lots 3 and 4.

• Has no “development phasing” plan for the other two lots.

Must meet Parrish Lane Gateway Design

StandardsPurpose

“Enhance the economic viability and aesthetic value of the gateway area as an important gateway to the city.”

Gateway Standards• A building should reflect a

human scale• Large buildings shall be

‘stepped’….to break up the building mass and provide aesthetic relief.

• Accessible for pedestrians, connections to adjacent neighborhoods.

In the Gateway

• Parking areas…designed to provide safety and convenience for both motorists and pedestrians.

• Aesthetically attractive site lighting, of pedestrian scale.

• Clearly express separation between pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

• Streetscape: 20 foot front yard?

Urban Trail?

• An 8 foot wide urban trail paved with concrete shall be constructed within the public easement, with a landscaped buffer at least 7 feet wide.

• Street trees and a landscaped buffer.

The Conditional Use Permit

• “A main use that…because of its potential impact on..surrounding neighbors, or adjacent land uses, may not be compatible…or may be compatible only if certain conditions are required…”

To get a CUP, must show evidence that:

1. Proposed use will not be detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of persons residing in the vicinity,or injurious to property in the vicinity.

ISSUE: Need an independent appraisal study.

More CUP evidence: 2. The use is necessary or

desirable to provide a service which will contribute to the general well-being of the neighborhood and the community.

ISSUE: An independent economic impact study of market need, and a cost/benefit analysis of the impact on public revenues from this project.

The Centerville Redevelopment Agency (RDA) has authorized $17,457 of its money

for an economic impact study.

More CUP evidence:

3. Proposed use complies with the General Plan.

ISSUE: Is this compatible with the gateway? Residential character? Quality of life?

CUP Factors To Consider

1. Suitability of the specific property for the proposed use.

ISSUE: This is a sensitive gateway; avoid large parking areas, etc.

2. Harmony of the proposed use with existing uses in the vicinity.

ISSUE: Adverse impact on adjacent residential uses? Plans for single family homes? Hierarchy of uses.

CUP Factors3. Injurious to existing

development in the vicinity.

ISSUE: Impact of very intensive commercial project on existing residential valuations.

CUP Factors

4. The economic impact of the use on the surrounding area.

ISSUE: Need independent study of economic impact on existing retail/taxes paid.

CUP Factors

5. Aesthetic Impact on surrounding area

ISSUE: Out of scale, incompatible with built environment, not residential design, sea of asphalt

6. Traffic, Water, Sewer impactsISSUE: Capacity of roadways to

handle 10,000 new car trips, impact on LOS, stormwater issues

Traffic Gridlock

Wilbur Smith Traffic Study:

16,648 Car trips week day

19,042 Car trips Saturday

Parrish Lane bridge must be widened

Environmentally Challenged

• The U.S. Justice Department and the EPA fined Wal-Mart $3.1 M for Clean Water Act violations at 24 construction sites in 9 states.

• Utah will receive $558,000 from the settlement.

• Violations found at Riverdale, West Valley City, Logan & West Jordan.

“Make sure that storm water compliance is on

the radar for every single site they build.”--Laura Lockhart, attorney for

the state of Utah, May 13, 2004

CUP Factors

11. Impact on the welfare of the city, the area, and persons owning or leasing property in the area.

ISSUE: Impact on property valuations nearby, see #3.

Six Factor Problem Areas

• Suitability for this location• Harmony with surrounding uses• Injurious to surrounding

valuations• Economic impact on the city• Aesthetic incompatibility• Traffic congestion

Substantial Evidence

The Planning Commission must act based on “substantial evidence” on each of the 11 factors for a CUP.

Other documentation

• To reach a finding, the City has the right to ask the applicant for “other and further information” or documentation of this project’s impact on:

1. Surrounding property values2. Its economic impact on the city

There are three BIG problems with this project: It’s in the

gateway, its too large, and its too close to residential homes.

Looking to the Future:Thinking Outside the

Box

Consider capping the Size of Buildings

• You can stop superstore sprawl with one sentence in your zoning code:

“No retail building shall exceed 70,000 square feet of gross floor area, and no single floor 35,000 s.f.”

Caps on Building Footprints

Examples in:San Francisco, Kansas City,

TucsonMilford, PA Walpole, NHBelfast, ME Skaneateles,

NYBoxborough, MA Glendale, AZHood River, OR

Clermont, FlStratham, NH and others…

Pass aMajor Development Review Ordinance

• An “MDR” requires commercial projects that exceed a certain size, or that generate a certain number of car trips per day, to conduct environmental, traffic, and economic impact studies.

Conclusions

It is better to lead growth than follow it.

Developers Speak Voodoo Economics.There is a real downside to Wal-Math.

There are ways to think outside of the box.

Sprawl is not a government mandate.

Conclusions, cont’d.It’s not how big you grow, but

how you grow big.

You can manage growth and maintain Centerville’s character.

You can have development that enhances the quality of life and character of the city.

As With Cholesterol

Raise your good growth.Lower your bad growth.

There are more than 3,500 Wal-Marts, and only one

Centerville.

Which would you rather protect?

It’s time to think outside of the “box”.

Make developers friendlier

to the Friendly City.

Oxymoron

There is no such thing as a “Village Supercenter.”

For More Information: www.sprawl-busters.com

Order“Slam Dunking Wal-

Mart”or

“The Case Against Wal-Mart”

toll free 1-877-DUNK WAL