The retail discount chain Wal-Mart, already a Goliath across North America, is fighting for a piece of turf in one of Canada's largest cities.

Vancouver City Hall first said that Wal-Mart was not environmentally friendly enough for the city, and sent the world's largest retailer back to the drawing board.

Wal-Mart already has stores in nearby North Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Langley, and Abbotsford.

In order to satisfy city hall, Wal-Mart hired architect Peter Busby to come up with a new plan.

Busby's architecture firm is a leader on the world stage in sustainable development. His office is located in Vancouver's Yaletown district, and according to their website, his goal is "to inspire others to produce buildings which are not only beautiful but contribute to the health of our environment."

After spending two years on his design, Busby says, "there's nothing like this in North America."
His "green" design will allow the Wal-Mart store to use one-third of the energy it takes to run a regular store. Windmills generate power and underground wells will heat and cool the building. Skylights will replace lamps in the store.

"There will be no lights on during the daytime all year. That saves a lot of energy."
Despite the design changes, city councillor Anne Roberts still doesn't want a Wal-Mart in Vancouver. "A Wal-Mart flies smack in the face of what we've been trying to do."

Wal-Mart has applied to build on a vacant lot on Marine Drive, in the southeast part of Vancouver. This area has been approved for "big box" store development.

CTV's Todd Battis says that the city is worried about the 6,000 cars expected to drive to and from the store each day. Exhaust from the traffic would create a pollution problem, and would also add to traffic congestion inside Vancouver.

Roberts says: "This city wants to be a city of neighborhoods; to get away from the car."

Canadian Tire has also proposed to build on an adjacent lot next to where Wal-Mart is planning to build. However, Canadian Tire hasn't received the same level of opposition Wal-Mart has from the City of Vancouver.

Wal-Mart is one of the largest employers in the world, with more than one million employees. But it's faced some labour issues in recent times. In Quebec, Wal-Mart is shutting down the first store to unionize in North America this May.

Busby remains optimistic that his environmentally friendly design will not only save Wal-Mart money but could influence future Wal-Mart outlets for the better.

"They're a very thrifty company. If this proves to be cheaper to run, who knows, maybe they'll change their approach to lots of different stores."

Wal-Mart will find out this May if their environmental changes are enough for the Vancouver City Council. But Vancouver won't be the only major city to keep Wal-Mart out; New York City doesn't have a Wal-Mart either.