To paraphrase Ricky Ricardo, Saratoga Springs City Council has some explaining to do.

The council voted July 25 to permit Wal-Mart to open a store in the city's Gateway commercial district. The Wal-Mart will have an auto center offering oil changes and tires.

The problem is that city planners apparently told three local businessmen a few years ago that they could not operate auto-related shops in the area because they are considered "dirty businesses." Brett Houghton, owner of American Car Care Centers; Jeff Simonsen, a car wash owner; and another businessman, Vaughn Mayo, now feel betrayed. They correctly point out that their businesses are fundamentally no different from what is offered at a Wal-Mart auto center.

Zoning laws are certainly not for the faint of heart, and one could make a career of arguing about them. We'll leave that to the lawyers and simply acknowledge that ambiguities and nuances are often found in city codes. In this case, for example, a gas station might be allowed in the Gateway, but only if it doesn't sell tires. A tire store may be allowed, but only if it is not combined with auto maintenance services. Major auto repair businesses are not allowed at all. A full-service car wash would be acceptable, but not a self-service car wash.

These may seem like arbitrary distinctions to some, but good urban planning often hinges on such details. We don't see that the rules are being bent for Wal-Mart, only that some people may disagree with them. Inconsistent as the zoning may appear to some, it reads how it reads. By definition, a "big box" with an auto shop is not the same thing as a specialty shop with no big box.

And that is a distinction that the city has both a right and an obligation to make. Its job is to endorse plans that will yield the greatest benefit to the public.

City Attorney Tim Taylor said that Wal-Mart can operate in the Gateway because the zone permits big-box retail stores, period. The city does not conduct an inventory of what's in the big box to allow some individual components and deny others. On the other hand, the zoning ordinance does draw lines between various stand-alone specialty businesses.

The basic question comes down to this: Is it inherently wrong for the city to allow Wal-Mart to have a tire and lube shop while rejecting specialty businesses that do essentially the same workfi What would your answer befi Remember that Wal-Mart will bring in more tax revenue than the businesses of Houghton, Simonsen and Mayo combined. That's a pretty significant thing for little Saratoga Springs and a clear public benefit. It might even warrant making some special allowances for a big box.

In short there is much to consider in planning a community. Instead of more auto-related businesses at Gateway, the city might prefer restaurants, bookstores and the like. While it's true that auto businesses might be rejected, other businesses will be encouraged. Again, the goal is to produce the best outcome for residents.

If Houghton, Simonsen and Mayo were improperly steered by city planners back when they sought locations in the Gateway area, we can sympathize. Certainly the bit about "dirty businesses" rings hollow in hindsight, especially since Wal-Mart's auto center is just as "dirty" as others performing similar work.

Houghton expressed his annoyance at his past treatment: "As far as I'm concerned this was legal positioning when the reality was they would have never let us in there. Either they have applied the code discriminately or the code in and of itself is discriminatory."

He may be right. Unfortunately, the argument seems to fall in the water-under-the-bridge category. The matter could have been appealed to the City Council at the time, but you can't turn back the clock now.

At this point, we'd simply like to see the city come forward with a clear statement of its philosophy on Gateway development. A few words would go a long way toward reassuring the public that inappropriate games are not being played at the expense of local small business.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.