Wal-Mart Gets Creative

Wal-Mart has been under fire recently by those who object to big box stores (and for that matter, capitalism). No doubt Wal-Mart has an impact on any community they enter, but I doubt if they're really the evil geniuses their detractors make them to be.

I'm not sure about the evil part, but they may be geniuses:

Wal-Mart is trying a new tactic to skirt local ordinances limiting the size of its stores. The company now plans to build two stores side-by-side at a site in Calvert County where plans for a single big store were thwarted by a size limit adopted last year.

Wal-Mart officials are calling it one of the first arrangements of its kind in the country.

The store and garden center in Dunkirk will have separate entrances, utilities, and restrooms. And the combined size of the stores will be 30 percent larger than the 75,000 square-foot limit for a single store.

The community affairs manager for Wal-Mart's eastern region, Mia Masten, believes it's the first time Wal-Mart will build two adjacent stores in response to size restrictions. And she says it's a strategy the company is likely to consider in other areas.

Dunkirk residents who object to the potential traffic are urging county planners not to allow Wal-Mart to skirt the rules.

You have to admire their spunk.