Five hundred e-mails protesting big-box retail stores in different parts of Central Florida's Orange County led County Commissioners to adopt a one-year moratorium on megastores larger than 75,000 square feet, until stronger laws are in place.
Orange County, Florida, Commissioners enacted a one-year ban on approvals for new 'big-box' retail stores in the unincorporated county until stronger land development rules can be put into place. A citizens group that monitors Wal-Mart store building, the "Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now" (WARN), said the moratorium may be the first in Florida.
"We still have a long way to go, but this really shows that citizens can make a difference," said Laura Johns, a WARN spokeswoman.
"Commissioner Bob Sindler cast the lone dissenting vote, saying the issues residents were concerned about applied to even much smaller stores and a moratorium went too far.
'I'm not sure there's anything magical about 100,000 square feet [stores].'
Commissioners once considered the moratorium on stores larger than 100,000 square feet but later amended that to as small as 75,000 square feet."
Few communities in Central Florida have taken a hard line on megastore approvals.
"The moratorium will temporarily halt a proposed 193,000-square-foot, 24-hour Wal-Mart at John Young and Central Florida parkways, where hundreds of upset residents have argued that crime rates will skyrocket and home values will plummet. They feared roadways would become unsafe when trucks roll along near the local middle and high schools."
Thanks to Sheryl Stolzenberg
FULL STORY: 'Big-box' retail is on the shelf while Orange toughens rules
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Colorado Bill Would Tie Transportation Funding to TOD
The proposed law would require cities to meet certain housing targets near transit or risk losing access to a key state highway fund.
Dallas Surburb Bans New Airbnbs
Plano’s city council banned all new permits for short-term rentals as concerns about their impacts on housing costs grow.
Divvy Introduces E-Bike Charging Docks
New, circular docks let e-bikes charge at stations, eliminating the need for frequent battery swaps.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.