The Chicago Sun Times reports that the City Council there has approved a new ordinance that “will prevent dollar store operators from opening within a mile of an existing dollar store owned or managed by the same controlling person.”
The move comes “amid complaints of filthy, unsafe stores in the city pushing shoppers to cleaner suburban locations.”
The Sun Times writes that “the ordinance defines dollar stores as retail establishments that offer or advertise the majority of items at under $5 each and are 4,000 to 17,500 square feet.
“Exempt are stores that have prescription pharmacies, sell gasoline or diesel fuel, ‘primarily sell specialty food items’ or dedicate more than 10% of their floor space to selling ‘fresh meats, poultry, seafood, dairy products, eggs, fruit or vegetables’.”
The story points out that “in a statement, the company that owns Dollar Tree and Family Dollar said that ‘as passed, this ordinance — essentially a moratorium — won’t solve the issue it claims to be about: addressing the food desert challenge in Chicago. In fact, as acknowledged by a number of government officials in our many conversations, it will bring more harm than help to the very communities it claims to support by limiting the flexibility to improve stores and provide new offerings to people in these communities. With the City Council’s vote, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree as well as other retailers will essentially be prohibited from opening new or relocated stores in Chicago’.”
KC’s View:
Sounds to me like the exemptions actually incentivize dollar stores to devote more of their space to fresh food, which would be a step toward dealing with the food desert issue. Of course, I’d also guess that by having more fresh food, these stores would be held to account by the health department for keeping their stores clean and sanitary, which may not be what the dollar stores want.
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