DALLAS, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Dallas has joined a growing number of major U.S. cities in imposing design and zoning standards for new so-called "big-box" retailers like Wal-Mart.
City Council members unanimously adopted the new rules Wednesday on the last day of a 60-day moratorium they had imposed to halt applications in North Dallas, where some neighborhoods were up in arms about plans for the big stores.
Applicants for stores larger than 100,000 square feet will have to meet new design criteria to avoid the "warehouse look" that neighborhood groups complained about. In some cases, stores will also have to get approval from the council and plan commission.
Councilwoman Lois Finkelman, whose district may get a new Super Wal-Mart, was pleased with the standards developed by city planners over the past two months.
"This is a major step forward in making sure that big-box retail becomes a good neighbor," she said. "The design standards, the landscape requirements, the screening requirements will all result in a better project for the retailers as well as the community."
Dallas is not alone in pushing for more control over "big box" retailers. In the past six to eight years, hundreds of cities have adopted similar ordinances, according to the American Planning Association in Chicago.
Nearly every U.S. city with a population of 50,000 or more has approved or is considering new standards to control the look, location and impact of the big stores, said Marya Morris, a research assistant with the association.
Not all cities want the big stores because of the negatives, like "the warehouse look" and neighborhood impact, but also the economic loss to smaller retailers. Some cities have found, however, if they turn the "big box" down, the company simply offers it to an adjacent suburb.
The "reality" is that a city that rejects a big retail store may lose the tax revenues and other benefits to a neighboring city, but still be saddled with some of the negatives from the nearby store, Morris said.
Cities have learned, as a result, to accommodate the big retail stores and work toward a balance of interests.
In Dallas, which is known as a business-friendly city, the City Council did not want to scare away the big retailers because the lower-income southern sector of the city needs more retail, and in fact, recently welcomed a new Super Wal-Mart with open arms.
Finkelman said the goal was to achieve "a balance" that would protect neighborhoods in the nation's ninth-largest city, but at the same time make it clear that business was still welcomed in the city of more than 1.2 million people.
When the moratorium was passed two months ago there was a fight on the council because members from the southern sector did not want to send a message that was anti-business. In the end, they were finally dropped from the moratorium.
After passage Wednesday, Wal-Mart representative Myron Dornie told The Dallas Morning News that he supported the standards but anything stricter would have probably discouraged further large retail development in the city.
"We believe the recommendation goes as far as possible without severely disabling the city as far as getting large retail opportunities," he said.
At least two new Wal-Mart centers are being proposed for Dallas, one of them in an abandoned shopping center in Finkelman's district. She believes Wal-Mart will go ahead with that plan and observe the new standards.
Finkelman said the debate over the proposed new "big box" stores two months ago actually gave the city an opportunity to address problems that had concern members of the council for a long time.
"The reality of it is that we have all been concerned about the profiles of a large retailer coming in with few requirements placed on them by the city, in terms of how they fit into the neighborhood," she said.
Under the Dallas standards, large retailers must use designs that include options like covered walkways, arches, pilasters and decorative columns. The city would also have new control over parking and landscaping design.
Dallas is like many other cities that have tried to find a way to accommodate the new large-scale retail outlets in a manner that doesn't destroy the character of neighborhoods, Morris, the planning researcher, said.
"Communities have figured out that if one of the retailers wants to enter their market bad enough they will adhere to additional design standards," she said. "It happened the same way with fast-food and other franchises."
Morris said city leaders have learned in the past eight years that they are not putting their communities at risk by requiring the retailers to take into account their city's character. The giant retailers are also used to it now and cities know that they will usually cooperate, she said.
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