D.C. Big Box Legislation

Washington D.C.'s "Big Box" Legislation will limit big box development in the District. Council members have vowed to fight big-box retailers from moving into the city, going so far as to introduce a bill that would prohibit national chains - including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Wegmans Food Markets Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. - from building their most profitable kinds of stores in the city.

The bill would ban stores with more than 80,000 square feet that devote more than 15 percent of their space to nontaxable products such as food. Council members say it is aimed primarily at Wal-Mart, but the legislation would also lock out other major chains that are considering opening stores in the city.

The bill is part of the delicate balancing act District leaders perform as they try to burnish the city's reputation as a business-friendly environment while satisfying the demands of powerful constituents such as organized labor, which is pressing for restrictions on Wal-Mart's growth.
However, some city leaders say that, regardless of the bill's intent to focus on Wal-Mart, it has intimidated other chains that the city would like to attract. Spokesmen for Costco, Wal-Mart and Wegmans — an upscale grocer that's been courted by the city in the past — say the bill would prevent them from building typical stores in the District.

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