Wal Mart Supercenters Banned in San Diego

San Diego City Council passed a measure that "prohibits stores of more than 90,000 square feet that use 10 percent of space to sell groceries and other merchandise that is not subject to sales tax. It takes aim at Wal-Mart Supercenter stores, which average 185,000 square feet and sell groceries." Councilman Tony Young explained his vote in favor of the ban: "I have a vision for San Diego and that vision is about walkable, livable communities, not big, mega-structures that inhibit people's lives." San Diego used a Turlock, California, law as its model. Turlock, with a population of 70,000, successfully prohibited big-box stores over 100,000 square feet that devote at least 5 percent of their space to groceries.