Sobered by the chilling impact that giant retailers like Wal-Mart have had on traditional Main Street shops in towns across the state, Heber City officials want to use zoning regulations to inoculate their shopping district against big-box competition.

"We're trying to be proactive," said Heber City Councilwoman Shari Lazenby, who owns and operates Wasatch Footwear on Main Street. "If we can get an ordinance that limits size, then they can't come in and supersize it."

Among concerns in Heber City is that Target and Wal-Mart have enormous buying power - which allows them to undercut hometown operations. A supercenter (containing a grocery store) could force mainstays such as Day's Market and Smith's Food & Drug Center out of town.

But city officials also want to increase sales-tax receipts now being lost by Heber residents who shop big boxes in Kimball Junction and Orem.

"Under the right conditions, big-box retail is something we would eventually like to attract," Mayor Lynn Adams said.

Although the town's elected officials are leaning toward restricting building size, Planning Director Allen Fawcett says there is a better way.

"There have been so many communities that have put a cap on square footage - essentially telling the big boxes to go away," he said. "But eventually, they cave in when they realize their city cannot survive on property tax alone."

Fawcett outlined for city planners themes for ordinances that would demand that big-box retailers mitigate their impact. They include requiring them to build within the business district - rather than on the outskirts of town - and demanding an architectural design that would fit Heber's turn-of-the-century look.