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address wage costs to be competitive with supercenters. In a traditional food retail business, labor cost approaches 15% of sales in an environment where the gross margin (the difference between the cost of merchandise and the sale price) is about 28%. Acknowledging the disparity of wages between supercenters and markets, a zoning code amendment to address the issue of retail wage practice is problematic. Distinguishing uses based upon the wages paid to employees is difficult to advance given the purpose of zoning (impact associated with land use). No better example of this is the self service check out that is beginning to emerge in the retail industry. Code provisions relating to the national vs. local ownership of retail use is the second issue. My scan of local ordinances did not find an example distinguishing uses on an ownership basis (national vs. local). While from a consumer point of view Jerry's and Home Depot represent different purchase options, they are indistinguishable from an objective zoning impact assessment. Issue Analysis In response to the recent editorial by Joan Kleban in the Register Guard, staff categorized the issue of concern as expressed by 77 e-mails received by PDD. While not presented as a scientific analysis, it does present an indication of what is the issue with Wal-Mart. 77 e-mail messages were received between March 29, 2004 and May 5, 2004. The distribution was as follows: 12 (16%) Supportive of the Wal-Mart Expansion 55 (84%) Opposed to the Wal-Mart Expansion As it relates to the issue of a potential zoning code amendment, the issue cited as the area of concern is particularly significant. Of the 55 opposed, the cause for concern was as follows: 29 (45%) Competition with local businesses 25 (38%) Wages and business practices 1 (1%) Traffic 7 (11%) Aesthetics 3 (5%) None cited Code Amendment Consequences A 50,000 square foot limitation on retail square footage has been advanced for consideration by the City Council. Should the Council direct staff to undertake a limitation of this size, it would be necessary to reprioritize the PDD Work Plan recently approved by the City Council. It is offered that the Council should consider the following consequences prior to directing that action: 1. What would be the effect of creating a non-conformity for all retail buildings of over 50,000 square feet?