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In January 2004, the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to ban retail outlets over 60,000 square feet (about half the size of the average Home Depot store).
The vote came after several months of review and more than two hours of public testimony in which residents overwhelmingly endorsed the measure.
The ordinance also requires that proposals for stores between 25,000 and 60,000 square feet obtain a conditional use permit. Approval hinges on demonstrating that the store will be compatible with surrounding buildings and the natural landscape.
Tuolomne County is located in central California and has a population of 56,000. The ordinance applies to unincorporated areas beyond town boundaries. The county's largest town, Sonora, is considering its own big box regulations.
Over the last couple of years, developers have expressed increased interest in building superstores in Tuolumne County. In response to a proposed 120,000-square-foot Home Depot store, a grassroots group, Citizens for Responsible Development (CRD), worked with County Supervisor Jim Peterson to initiate a discussion of regulating large-scale development.
In comments to the Board of Supervisors, CRD said that allowing the county to be overtaken by a handful of large chains would destabilize the local economy. Small retailers spend more money with other local businesses and are more invested in the community, the group argued.
CRD presented the county with several policy options, many of them drawn from this web site. The county chose the 60,000-square-foot limit based on the size of existing retailers. The new ordinance effectively blocks construction of the proposed Home Depot.
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