Utahns say yes to Wal-Marts

It's a love-hate relationship.

With its sprawling parking lots and behemoth concrete walls, Wal-Mart stores are riling up many Utah residents determined not to let the big-box retailer inside their town.

But a Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll shows those Wal-Mart opponents may be outnumbered by Utahns who savor the convenience of one-stop shopping and the low prices of the warehouse retailer.

Fifty-five percent said they would support a Wal-Mart being built in their city. Sixty-seven percent would probably shop at a Wal-Mart located near their home. The poll of 313 Utahns, which has a 6.5 percent margin of error, was conducted Nov. 29-30 by Dan Jones & Associates.

Even though they would shop at Wal-Mart, 87 percent of respondents agreed that big-box retailers negatively affect local businesses, and 89 percent thought the stores should be limited to commercial zones on major roads.

Jeff Thredgold, economic consultant to Zions Bank and head of Thredgold Economic Associates, said the poll reflects conflicting forces in the debate over big-box retailers.

"It pretty much all comes down to Wal-Mart," Thredgold said. "Wal-Mart has become the focus of the whole big-box retailer debate. Most people would say that from a consumer standpoint, the ability Wal-Mart has, given its clout to buy in bulk and sell at lower prices, is good. It helps stretch consumers' incomes."

Thredgold added, however, that Wal-Marts can also drive wage levels down and affect employment levels overall.

"When you put a Wal-Mart in a market, you may see others go out of business," he said.

That Wal-Mart conundrum has spurred controversy recently in numerous public hearings and protests in Sandy and Centerville, where residents have been fighting against the big box for months.

In Sandy, residents have banded together in a group called Save Our Communities to block a Wal-Mart Supercenter at the city's gravel pit on 9400 South and 1300 East. Although the City Council approved a zone change that opens the door to the Wal-Mart development, the opposition group is gathering signatures to put the Wal-Mart on a citywide referendum.

Opposition is just as fierce in Centerville, where final development plans are already in the works. A vocal group in opposition to the proposed Wal-Mart has done everything it can to block the retailer, including filing a complaint in 2nd District Court.

A rallying cry of opponents in both cities has been that Wal-Marts notoriously crush small shops and dominate local economies.