Wal-Mart Can’t Block Big-Box Grocery Ban

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. can’t block officials in Turlock, Calif., from adopting a law banning discount retail outlets selling groceries, a state appeals court ruled.

Turlock, located about 100 miles east of San Francisco, passed a city ordinance in 2003 and 2004 barring big-box retailers from selling nontaxed items, including groceries. The law was passed out of concern that Wal-Mart’s plan to replace an existing store with a “supercenter” selling discount groceries would displace nearby grocers.

A supercenter would reduce congestion and pollution from shoppers driving to many stores, Wal-Mart said. A state appeals court in Fresno rejected the retailer’s claim that the ordinance should be subjected to environmental review.