Size-Cap Ordinance to Be Put to a Vote

An ordinance that placed a size cap of 60,000 square feet on new retail outlets in Ravalli County, Montana, has been suspended and will now be put to a vote in November. The size-cap regulation -- which was the brainchild of Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana, and the Bitterroot Good Neighbor Coalition -- was overturned after the county clerk made it official last week that a local group, the Citizens for Economic Opportunity, had gathered over 5,200 certified signatures on a petition to overturn the size cap.

In response, the Bitterroot Coalition has joined with the Ravalli County Attorney, George Corn, to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance suspension in district court, Lawrence told BTW. "We intervened on two ... grounds," he said. "One was the wording of the petition, and the second was the Montana constitution's reference to a citizen's right to a clean, safe, and healthy environment. The ordinance was passed because Wal-Mart threatened [residents'] health and welfare."

It was back in early April that the Ravalli county commissioners held a public hearing regarding a proposal to limit new retail development to a 60,000-square-foot size cap, a move that had the potential to bar a proposed Wal-Mart mega-store from opening in the area. Although Wal-Mart's plans had brought a sense of urgency to the proceedings, Lawrence told BTW that he and Bitterroot had been working on the size-cap proposal since 2004.

The April hearing attracted some 1,400 residents who overwhelmingly supported the size cap, and following public testimony, the commissioners voted 3 - 0 to implement the Interim Zoning Regulations.

Soon after, however, Citizens for Economic Opportunity organized the petition drive to overturn the size cap ordinance and to put it to a vote on the November ballot. The petitions, with about 6,500 signatures, were turned into the Ravalli County clerk and recorder on Tuesday, June 12. A month later, the county clerk's office announced that 5,271 of those signatures had been certified, which was more than enough to bring the ordinance to a vote in November.

Lawrence noted that Wal-Mart has not yet broken ground in Ravalli County, and he sees no signs that they are about to anytime soon; however, he stressed that the ordinance is not only about keeping the chain store giant out of the county. "It's more subtle than just Wal-Mart -- Wal-Mart can build here but at a smaller size," he said.

Now, Bitterroot is going to concentrate on two things leading up to November, Lawrence said. "One, to make sure nothing [over 60,000 square feet] gets built, and two ... to develop a strategy to win the vote," he said. --David Grogan