Strategy in Action

Efforts to establish Palm Beach’s Town Serving Zone began in 1988, through resident advocacy. The zone capped store sizes at 2,000 square feet and required businesses to serve primarily people living or working in Palm Beach. Establishments are considered town-serving if they do not rely on non-local clientele, such as tourists, and contain 2,000 or less square feet of interior gross leasable area. Businesses larger than 2,000 square feet can apply for a special exception use permit, if they obtain auditing firm documentation that more than 50 percent of their receipts come from a local zip code. A 1991 court case upheld the law, concluding that the restrictions served legitimate public interests and reflected the town’s desire to limit the displacement of local businesses by larger, regional establishments.