The Madison City Council and concerned members of the community debated the big-box-retail law, an ordinance establishing guidelines for large retail developments, at a meeting Tuesday night, deciding to push the final decision off to next month.

The big-box-retail law would require new establishments with more than 40,000 square feet to build closer to the road and place their parking lots behind the building. The ordinance also includes design guidelines, such as the addition of windows and a maximum size limit of 100,000 square feet. If a building needed more than 100,000 square feet of space, it would have to add a second story.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he is convinced the law will eventually be passed and that he would be mildly surprised if any changes were made by next month.

“This is not groundbreaking,” Verveer said. “There are scores of communities around the country and in Dane County that have big-box proposals and limit retail establishments.”

Michael Barrett, a member of the Urban Design Commission who spoke at the meeting in support of the ordinance, said “oceanic” parking lots between stores are anti-community. A functioning community requires well-designed neighborhoods, including restaurants and grocery stores, he added.

“People are investing more for quality places that offer a more urban experience,” Barrett said. “Quality people won’t live in a place that sucks.”

Verveer said the main goal of the ordinance is not to debate land use but to promote quality design standards. The ordinance was originally proposed to raise the standard for future development in Madison and decrease the number of large “supercenters” with few windows and enormous parking lots in front of the store.

Delora Newton of Smart Growth Madison was the only one of the eight concerned communities members who spoke against the big-box-retail ordinance. Newton said forcing retailers to move their parking lots behind their businesses causes safety issues, especially for women shopping at night.

Newton said she is worried that although the ordinance is supposed to help small businesses grow, it still could unintentionally affect these companies. Future establishments that are bigger than 40,000 feet and that have to follow the guidelines of the ordinance would also affect strip malls comprised of small local stores.

Martha Rummel, a collective staff member of the Rainbow Bookstore Cooperative, reminisced about the well-liked Trudy Barash, the previous owner of Canterbury Booksellers.

“If Trudy had known that Barnes and Noble [was] coming (to Madison) in 1996, she would never have opened Canterbury,” Rummel said. “Try to imagine all the Trudies that are never going to open a business because of these giant retailers.”

Ald. Robbie Webber, District 5, said there have been many meetings over the past two years discussing the concerns of this proposal. A delay until next month will not accomplish much, she added.

“I had not been elected when this had originally come to the council for the first time,” Webber said. “I would like to still be on the council when this gets passed.”