Banff town council debate bylaw to restrict proliferation of retail chains Even against a distinctive Rocky Mountain backdrop, there are plenty of familiar sights in the town of Banff - chains such as Tim Hortons, Lululemon, Starbucks and Roots are packed with visitors and locals alike. But some residents of this mountain town say the number of chain stores and restaurants has reached a saturation point, and the tourist centre is in danger of losing its singular identity. That will eventually mean a drop in visitors, say small-business owners. The simmering issue is up for discussion on Monday, as the Banff town council debates a bylaw amendment that would restrict the proliferation of chains. "When you go on safari - going to visit a national park in Africa - do you really hope you get to see a MacDonald's?" said Susanne Gillies-Smith, owner of the Banff Tea Co., who has become the spokeswoman for the group calling for chain store and restaurant limits. Banff town council will debate giving the second reading to a land-use bylaw amendment that would see a quota system implemented for any future "formula" restaurants and retail businesses - those with 12 or more outlets that share branding and menus or merchandise - allowed into the community. Although many Canadian towns and cities have struggled with how to support homegrown retailers when big chains move in, Ms. Gillies-Smith said the town's location in the county's oldest national park makes their situation different. We're not treating our national park like other countries, with the same reverence. People come here to see something unique ... a national park, not a strip mall," she said. Small-business owners and residents of the town, which gets as many as four million visitors a year, say chain stores and restaurants can afford high rents independent retailers can't manage. Many point to the painful closing of the Banff Book and Art Den, a town institution that shuttered its doors in 2009 after a bookstore giant set up shop nearby. However, the town says it classifies 75 per cent of Banff businesses as "local or unique," noting a business classified as locally owned can still be a franchise. And already, big-box stores are barred from setting up shop in Banff. In public hearings on the bylaw amendment late last month, many people spoke against the change. Landlords argued the market should decide which businesses come to town, or that the bylaw could dampen plans to renovate an aging shopping plaza. "I do not believe it will pass," Darren Reeder, executive director of the Banff Lake Louise Hotel Motel Association, said of the bylaw on Sunday. "There are real dollars at risk here," Mr. Reeder added. This just introduces uncertainty into the Banff business environment that we don't need. It's already a heavily regulated environment in which to do business. We don't need to make it more difficult. Sandra Santa Lucia, a former publisher of the Banff Crag and Canyon who's lived in Banff for almost five decades, said she supports both independent retailers and chains, but doesn't think any business should be discriminated against. "I'm delighted we have a Gap here," Ms. Santa Lucia said. We get people from all around the world visiting us. And as tourists, they're used to the brand names. However, a small sampling of tourists visiting Banff on Sunday all said the bylaw is a good idea. "Big chains have a negative impact on the visual and cultural part of Banff - which should have homegrown foods and good beef from Calgary," said Montrealer Martin Dufour, stopping in Banff on a ski vacation. On a day trip from Calgary, lawyer Alejandro Beltran said "if you add more chain restaurants here, it will change the sense of the town. It should be very restricted. Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen and other town council members were not speaking on the issue in the days leading up to the debate.