When One Is Too Much, Build Two

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, is employing a new tactic to get around a Maryland town ordinance that limits store sizes: build two outlets right next to each other.

Signaling what could be a new approach to getting around such restrictions, Wal-Mart will build adjacent stores in Dunkirk, Md., with one outlet being constructed so that it will be just under the 75,000-square-foot limit allowed by a Calvert County ordinance.

It is the first time Wal-Mart has considered such a measure, spokeswoman Mia Masten said.

“As these big-box bills come up, all retailers will just have to be flexible,” Masten said. “In this case, we developed a model that allowed us to reach our customers.”

Masten said Wal-Mart could use the strategy in other locations.

Calvert County passed the size-restriction ordinance on commercial retail buildings in August. Wal-Mart usually builds stores of at least 100,000 square feet to more than 200,000 square feet for its Supercenters.

Wal-Mart proposed a 74,998-square-foot store in Dunkirk that would be next to a 22,689-square-foot garden center. The two stores would have their own entrances, utilities, bathrooms and cash registers.

Wal-Mart has faced backlash for trying to expand in certain areas, and local jurisdictions have passed measures like the one in Calvert County. The combined total square footage of the two stores would exceed the limit by 30%.

Greg Bowen, who heads the county planning office, said his office would consider the proposal.

“It’s not on hold indefinitely,” he said. “The county commission has asked the planning commission to defer action until they have a chance to look into [the proposal].”