Thoughts on chain stores

• does the Town have the legal right to ban a class of owners rather than a class of uses? I know that we have been told that the town's lawyers say that it can be done. I find this surprising, so I'd like to see exactly what they said -- and I'd like to see what question they were asked.
• Following on an excellent point made in council yesterday -- how do we define "chain store"? How did the lawyers define "chain store" during their deliberations? Are franchises the same thing as chains? The franchise operators are locals -- do we consider them a second class business because a nationally known logo is on their front door?
• I've always been happy to have The Bay here in town, as a place to get clothes for the kids and practical household items. They're certainly part of a chain. What if they had been denied access to the town -- would locals be better off? Or would we be making more trips to Calgary?
• the landlords are locals, too. Many of them have a lot of unfilled space. Are we going to tell them they cannot rent it to a perfectly legitimate business, maybe even one the town really needs, just because of the ownership of the proposed tenant?
• why retail and restaurants, but not accommodations, gas stations, etc etc.?

In general, I think that it is advisable for the Town to regulate HOW business is done, rather than WHO does business.   In other words, concentrate on the size and design quality of buildings, the nature of signage, the requirements for parking and housing.   Regulating these things will discourage the Walmarts of the world.