EDITORIAL – San Diego to banish Supercenters

In a groundbreaking move, the City Council of San Diego approved a measure that will ban… In a groundbreaking move, the City Council of San Diego approved a measure that will ban certain giant retail stores, particularly taking aim at Wal-Mart Supercenters.

While San Diego’s mayor, Jerry Sanders, will likely veto the measure if it passes, it would have drastic effects in the San Diego area. The measure 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, according to The Associated Press. Wal-Mart Supercenters well exceed the 90,000 square feet minimum, averaging 185,000 square feet per store, and typically include a grocery section.

Supporters of the ban argue that Wal-Mart puts small-business competitors out of business, pays workers poorly and contributes to traffic congestion and pollution.

Councilman Tony Young, who supports the ban, said, “I have a vision for San Diego and that vision is about walkable, livable communities, not big mega-structures that inhibit people’s lives.”

Before we even start, we know, we’ve been here before — but to our credit, we enjoy critiquing Wal-Mart from many different angles.

With that said, we fully support San Diego City Council’s decision.

While Wal-Mart often fulfills its promise to “roll back prices,” at what cost do low-priced groceries and prescriptions, among other discounted goods, come?

Opponents of the ban will argue that Wal-Mart offers a variety of products at low prices and creates jobs that were previously unavailable, especially in small towns. This is true. And as a result, thousands of people who live in these small towns will choose to shop at the mega-retailer instead of their local specialty shop, putting the specialty shops out of business and taking away jobs at the same time.

Back in the day, before the word “supercenter” registered in anyone’s vocabulary, Wal-Mart stores still managed to wipe out a large percentage of competing businesses. Now, with the advent of the supercenter, which usually includes a larger square footage and a grocery department, Wal-Mart has become dangerous for local grocery chains, as well. Construction of Wal-Marts is no picnic, either. Building Supercenters, in particular, often requires a re-tooling of existing infrastructure, which results in traffic congestion and pollution.

Despite any arguments against it, Wal-Mart does pretty well for itself. People love to shop there. It does offer a lot of items under one roof at discount prices. But, there reaches a point when enough is enough. There is absolutely no need to have a Wal-Mart every three miles — or to tear down a regular Wal-Mart store and build a Supercenter in its place, when there is a perfectly good grocery store across the street.

Why does Wal-Mart do this?

Because it can.

And why do most towns allow the mega-super-giant to eat away at their local businesses?

Because they profit, as well.

Unfortunately, Wal-Mart has become a sort of monster that only brave government agencies such as the San Diego City Council will attempt to fight, and whether or not this ban will be instituted in San Diego, we hope that other cities and small towns across the country will follow suit.