The Eugene City Council on Monday narrowly rejected a motion to place a moratorium on the construction of large-volume retailers. The contentious motion would have temporarily restricted the city from accepting or processing applications for new stores larger than 50,000 square feet.
The motion failed 5-4, with Mayor Jim Torrey providing a tie-breaking vote. The council then unanimously passed a motion asking the mayor’s Economic Development Committee to analyze how big-box stores affect the city.
Ward 2 City Councilor Betty Taylor, who proposed the moratorium, said big-box stores have been a long-standing issue for many citizens. She added that recent plans to expand the Wal-Mart on West 11th Avenue to a “Supercenter,” which would sell groceries, has brought the issue back to the forefront.
“I’ve been concerned about it for years,” Taylor said. “Right now, it’s the Wal-Mart expansion that’s causing a lot of interest.”
Taylor said her proposal would protect local businesses and workers.
Ward 3 City Councilor David Kelly also supported a moratorium. However, he said the moratorium was not designed to stop the Wal-Mart expansion, but temporary restrictions were necessary to prevent the city from allowing construction that would affect Eugene for decades. Kelly added that these stores may cause the local economy to suffer a net economic loss. He said the stores offer low wages, causing other taxpayers to pay for subsidies such as food stamps and housing. He also emphasized that other cities have restrictions.
“The idea of restrictions isn’t a wacky Eugene idea,” he said.
Ward 5 City Councilor Gary Papé said restrictions might not have much effect because stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco have already moved to Eugene.
“The horse is kind of out of the barn,” he said.
He added that he has not seen evidence that big-box stores negatively affect the community, saying restrictions should be “empirically based, not attitudinally based.”
Ward 8 City Councilor Nancy Nathanson said other cities have given large subsidies to volume retailers, causing economic problems in those cities that would not happen in Eugene. Nathanson also stressed that restrictions in Eugene would force shoppers elsewhere, increasing traffic.
“People would just drive farther to go to their next favorite retailer,” she said. “I’m still very dubious that any kind of restriction we adopt will have the intended effects. We’re not going to turn around the ship of consumerism.”
She also said the moratorium might hurt local businesses that want to expand.
“I think we’re trying to address too many things and these are the wrong solutions,” she said.
Ward 6 City Councilor Jennifer Solomon agreed, saying she gladly shops at Wal-Mart.
“I have a right to shop (for) the lowest prices,” she said.
Solomon also said big-box stores attract other ancillary businesses, helping the economy.

Torrey admonished the council to consider the “real reason” it was debating the issue, saying he would use his first veto if the council approved a moratorium.
“I’m definitely opposed to something that would stop the process right now,” he said. “We shouldn’t pick on those things we don’t like.”
After the first motion for a moratorium failed, Ward 1 City Councilor Bonny Bettman proposed that the mayor’s Economic Development Committee address the issue, which passed unanimously.
Hope Marston, organizer for the Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network/Jobs with Justice, said she
favored a moratorium, but the council’s decision was expected.
“It was not surprising to me at all that the moratorium was defeated,” she said. “There was a lot of comparing apples and oranges at the meeting.”
She added that citizens should have a say in approving big-box construction in the city.
“We just need a chance to have a shot at protecting our community,” she said.
Wal-Mart’s Northwest Community Affairs Manager Eric Berger said the government should not tell customers where to shop.
“These types of actions limit customers’ choice,” Berger said. “We’re against these types of actions.”
Berger also said concerns that Wal-Mart stores hurt local economies are unfounded, adding that local Wal-Mart stores are encouraged to give back directly to the community.
“We pay our workers at a rate above minimum wage,” he said. “We believe that we provide good jobs for the community and associate with fair wages and good benefits.”
Sophomore Daniela Balboa said she has seen large retailers affect smaller shops in the Tualatin area. She said the council should investigate the effects of big-box stores, especially because Eugene has many small shops.
“It’s something that should definitely be looked into,” she said. “City Council should have a lot of say in what shops come into the area.”
Balboa said big-box stores provide jobs but may take business away from existing stores.
“I’d personally rather work for a small mom-and-pop store than a large, impersonal store,” she said.
Graduate student Tim Young agreed.
“I typically like to go to mom-and-pop businesses because the money is going to be reinvested in the community,” Young said.