Store Size Cap - Ashland, OR

Ashland, a town of 17,000 in southern Oregon, has a citywide ordinance limiting retail stores to no more than 45,000 square feet.

The following is excerpted from the Ashland City Municipal Code.

SECTION 18.72.050 Detail Site Review Zone.

A. The Detail Site Review Zone is that area defined in the Site Design Standards adopted pursuant to Section 18.72.080.

B. Any development in the Detail Site Review Zone as defined in the Site Review Standards adopted pursuant to this chapter, which exceeds 10,000 square feet or is longer than 100 feet in length or width, shall be reviewed according to the Type 2 procedure.

C. Outside the Downtown Design Standards Zone, new buildings or expansions of existing buildings in the Detail Site Review Zone shall conform with the following standards:

1. a. Buildings sharing a common wall or having walls touching at or above grade shall be considered as one building.

b. Buildings shall not exceed a building footprint area of 45,000 square feet as measured outside the exterior walls and including all interior courtyards. For the purpose of this section an interior courtyard means a space bounded on three or more sides by walls but not a roof.

c. Buildings shall not exceed a gross floor area of 45,000 square feet, including all interior floor space, roof top parking, and outdoor retail and storage areas, with the following exception:

Automobile parking areas located within the building footprint and in the basement shall not count toward the total gross floor area. For the purpose of this section, basement means any floor level below the first story in a building. First story shall have the same meaning as provided in the building code.

d. Buildings shall not exceed a combined contiguous building length of 300 feet.

2. Inside the Downtown Design Standards Zone, new buildings or expansions of existing buildings shall not exceed a building footprint area of 45,000 sq. ft. or a gross floor area of 45,000 sq. ft., including roof top parking, with the following exception:

Automobile parking areas located within the building footprint and in the basement shall not count toward the total gross floor area. For the purpose of this section, basement means any floor level below the first story in a building. First story shall have the same meaning as provided in the building code.