HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10282003 - D4 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra
FROM: SUPERVISOR MARK DESAULNIER
Costa
SUPERVISOR JOHN GIOIA = County
DATE: October 28, 200 3
SUBJECT: BALLOT ARGUMENT FOR LARGE SCALE RETAIL REFERENDUM
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE the attached ballot argument on behalf of the Beard of Supervisors for the March
2004 referendum on the County's Large Scale Retail Ordinance.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: MYES 0 NO SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE O ER
SIGNATURE(S):
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OTHER-
ACTION OF BOARD timber s 20D3 APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT } AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE
AYES: I.III.V & IV NOES: None SHOWN.
ABSENT: None ABSTAIN:
**supervisor Willem recused herself from this iATTESTED October 28, 2003
CONTACT: JULIE ENEA (825}335-1077 JOHN SWEETEN,CLERK OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
CC: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEMBERS
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT � } ° /y � % r f
BY fl„' �:. 'i� fw !` ✓1PUTY
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BALLOT ARGUMENT FOR.REFERENDUM
In order to prevent increased traffic congestion,protect the County's remaining open
space and agricultural lands, and to prevent unplanned growth, the Board of Supervisors
adopted this ordinance to place reasonable restrictions on large scale"big box"retail
stores larger than 90,000 square feet. This ordinance does not apply to cities but only to
those areas of our County where open space and agricultural lands are most at risk.
Corporate interests from outside California are trying to block this ordinance.
Traffic congestion in the County continues to overburden our existing streets and roads,
diminishes economic productivity, our quality of life, and our environment. unplanned
growth and sprawl continues to consume our County's increasingly scarce open space
and agricultural lands.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers has determined that"big box"retail stores
larger than 90,000 square feet—the size of five football fields--that sell large volumes of
non-taxable grocery items generate substantially more daily traffic than typical
.neighborhood-serving supermarkets, standard discount retail stores, and wholesale
warehouse club stores. These businesses also consume as much as 20 acres of land,
including a parking lot for over 1,000 cars--five tithes as much as a typical supermarket.
As a result, these businesses impose higher costs on the County than other retail
businesses, in the form of increased traffic congestion, strained roadway infrastructure,
and loss of open space, while generating little additional sales tax revenues to offset these
costs. We seek to limit the negative impacts of such stores by placing reasonable size
restrictions on them.
These restrictions apply only to retail stores greater than 90,000 square feet that devote
more than S percent of floor space to the sale of non-taxable items. This ordinance would
not affect standard supermarkets, discount stores, and warehouse clubs.