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Supervisor has big issue with big box stores
Big boxes bewareLoudoun Supervisor Stevens Millers (D-Dulles) wants to make it a little more difficult for more big box stores to open in Loudoun.
He's proposing that the county change its zoning ordinance to require developers desiring to build a large retail space in the county to first obtain a special exception before work begins. Special exceptions require approval by the Board of Supervisors, meaning no more by-right big boxes.
A report put together by Miller's office said the measure would apply to big box stores that exceed 75,000 square feet.
The report said these stores disproportionately add to the region's traffic woes, harm the environment and are usually incompatible with surrounding buildings.
Last year, supervisors approved two controversial rezonings – Arcola Center (retail component) and Dulles Landing -- that may eventually bring a Walmart and a Target along U.S. 50 near South Riding. Both developments are in Miller's Dulles District.
Supervisors will vet the proposal in committee.
Online sales slumping, too
Brick and mortar retail stores are not alone in their misery.
Online sales, according to Reston-based Internet usage tracking company comScore, grew in October a paltry one percent from October 2007. That is the lowest monthly increase since the company began tracking e-commerce activity in 2001.
In comparison, in mid-2007, monthly increases in online spending reached as high as 28 percent.
“...it’s clear that the increase in the country’s unemployment rate along with the shock of the financial market meltdown have had a negative impact on the psyche of the American consumer, and the effects were clearly felt in the online retail sector,” said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni.
For the quarter ending Sept. 30, the company said online spending grew just four percent.
It said households that make less than $50,000 annually reduced spending online by three percent last quarter. However, it said households making between $50,000 and $100,000 increased online spending by one percent, while those making at least $100,000 increased online spending by 14 percent.
Quotable...
"The economy has certainly affected the momentum of the project but not killed it. It will get done."
--Nicole Morrill with Buchanan Partners LLC on how the nation's economic crisis has affected work on the large Arcola Center development near South Riding.
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