Retail is personal.

Consider the sentiment in Lisbon, where unquenched thirst for shopping led to the planting, for a few days, of a “We Want Reny’s” banner near the town’s welcome sign on Route 196. Reny’s is a wicked populah cutprice Maine retail chain, ala Marden’s, but writ smaller.

How about the shuddering groans when the Twin Cities were spurned by their amore, Olive Garden, for Topsham? Or the new Best Buy, which blew the circuits of electronics junkies across the region?

And ground on the new Wal-Mart Supercenter by Exit 80 in Lewiston hasn’t even been broken yet.

Arrival of these stores starts with yearning consumers. Demand leads to supply, in pure capitalistic terms, leaving attempts to stymie big-box retailers – the top of the retail food chain – flying in the face of the free market.

If communities encourage these stores, or sign petitions and unfurl banners to lure them, they should be unencumbered in their decision to allow them. The Legislature, however, is reviewing a bill to introduce state oversight into the review of large retail developments, described as 75,000 square feet and above.

Called the “Informed Growth Act,” the legislation, if passed, would trigger mandatory impact studies for all large retail projects, to measure effect on the economy, municipality, taxes, job market – and whether it’s good, or bad.

This would likely strip away community voice, as these mandated studies become arbiters of the worthiness of a development, instead of local community standards.

Cities and towns should have the final say about what’s built within its borders.

The real problem is loose, or non-existent, zoning or comprehensive planning, which can leave towns defenseless against development. Many smaller towns, in areas of heavy pressure for development, have had their lack of preparation exposed by big projects, and aiding them to develop long-range plans for growth is a proper course.

Not all cities are unprepared. Three years of planning went towards landing, eventually, a Wal-Mart Supercenter to anchor development around Exit 80 in Lewiston. The city was not only ready for a big-box store, but was actively courting one.

Some towns have proven it possible to stop development. In 2005, coastal Damariscotta blocked a 190,000-square-foot Wal-Mart construction through a grassroots community effort, tremors of which ricocheted across the coast. It’s little surprise, then, that this bill, LD 1810, is sponsored by a cadre of coastal legislators.

While this bill suits those constituencies, it does nothing for towns or cities yearning for this development, except bog down the review process. In an economic environment where time is money, the state shouldn’t create an expensive, complex disincentive to development, and lawmakers should pass on LD 1810.

And leave the personal decision of allowing retailers in the community’s hands.