20.10.025 Retail establishments – Maximum size.
A. An individual retail establishment, including but not limited to membership warehouse clubs, discount stores, specialized product stores and department stores, shall not exceed 90,000 square feet of gross floor area. This restriction shall apply in all zones, including all general use types and use qualifiers. If this section conflicts with any other provisions of this title, this section shall prevail.
In the Cordata Neighborhood Zoning Map Area 15 and Meridian Neighborhood Zoning Map Areas 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, and 33, as shown in Exhibit A attached to the ordinance codified in this section, the size limit may be exceeded if the proposal meets all of the following conditions:
1. The facility is not a superstore. “Superstore” means a retail establishment that exceeds 90,000 square feet of gross floor area, sells a wide range of consumer products primarily for household or personal use and devotes more than 10 percent of the total sales floor area to the sale of nontaxable merchandise. “Nontaxable merchandise” means products, commodities, or items the sale of which is not subject to Washington State sales tax. “Sales floor area” means only interior building space devoted to the sale of merchandise, and does not include restrooms, office space, storage space, automobile service areas, or open-air garden sales space. This definition excludes membership warehouse clubs where shoppers pay a membership fee in order to take advantage of discounted prices on a wide variety of items such as food, clothing, tires, and appliances and many items are sold in large quantities or bulk; and
2. The proposal satisfies the following environmental mitigation measures:
a. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM) certification at the silver level (or equivalent green building system). Projects shall apply for the LEEDTM rating system the director determines is most suitable for the project type; and
b. The area of new or expanded impervious surfacing shall have a green factor score of at least 0.3.
B. For the purpose of subsection (A) of this section, gross floor area shall consist of the sum of the gross horizontal areas of all floors within the inside perimeter of the exterior walls of the structure or tenant space and roofed or partially walled outdoor areas reserved for the display, storage, or sale of merchandise, including accessory uses inside the primary retail establishment. Structured parking is excluded. The gross floor area of adjacent stores shall be aggregated in cases where the stores (1) are engaged in the selling of similar or related merchandise and operate under common ownership or management; (2) share check stands, a warehouse, or a distribution facility; or (3) otherwise operate as associated, integrated or cooperative business enterprises.
C. A building space occupied by an existing single retail establishment larger than 90,000 square feet may change occupancy to a different retail establishment of the same or smaller size except the space may not be converted to a superstore as defined in BMC 20.10.025(A)(1).
D. If this section conflicts with any other provisions of this title, this section shall prevail except it shall not affect the minor expansion rights of nonconforming stores under BMC 20.14.010(E). [Ord. 2013-02-007 § 1; Ord. 2010-12-074; Ord. 2010-04-023; Ord. 2007-02-011].