City-wide size cap
from the Macalester Public Knowledge Base
GPSP's Small is Beautiful Cmte. size cap website
[edit] What is Big Box Development?
Big-box retail facilities are large, industrial-style buildings or stores with footprints that generally range from 20,000 square feet to 200,000 square feet. While most big-boxes operate as a single-story structure, they typically have a three-story mass that stands more than 30 feet tall. The definition, or perhaps the description of a big-box store can be better understood through its product category. For example, book retailers like Barnes & Noble generally range from 25,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet, whereas in the general merchandise category, big-boxes like Wal-Mart range from 80,000 square feet to 130,000 square feet.
[edit] What's a Size Cap? Is it Legal?
Dozens of communities have enacted zoning ordinances that restrict the physical size of new retail stores. These laws can help sustain the vitality of small-scale, pedestrian-oriented shopping districts. Some communities bar only massive "big box" stores. Roswell, Georgia, for example, prohibits stores that exceed 100,000 square feet. Other communities have chosen a smaller threshold. In Wilton, Connecticut, the cap is 30,000 square feet. Like all zoning laws, size caps can apply to the entire town or just a to particular area or neighborhood. San Francisco, for example, bars new stores larger than 4,000 square feet from locating in the Northbeach and Castro neighborhoods. Size cap ordinances have stood the test of time and law.
[edit] What is the Size Cap Proposed for the Twin Cities?
Our size cap legislation takes all zoning categories where big box retail is allowed to be built, and places a maximum square-foot size for buildings on each category. We are proposing 50,000 square feet as the size cap. Existing big box businesses are grandfathered in, and thus will not be affected. Square feet here is measured as the bottom-floor footprint of a single development. In other words, a three-story development with 20,000 square feet of floorspace on each story would be permitted. The Green Party of St. Paul's research into retail store sizes in the metro area has demonstrated the strong determinative force that scale has in shaping retail. Few local, independent businesses even approach 20,000 square feet.
