The Baltimore City Council is carefully weighing a new bill that could introduce tighter zoning regulations on discount and dollar stores within the city. As per the bill, tagged as Council Bill 25-0040, these establishments, commonly recognized as "small box establishments," would need to maintain a minimum distance of half a mile between stores before they can commence business. Additionally, the legislation proposes a revision of the number of days a store can remain closed before being considered abandoned, thus risking the forfeiture of its use permit, WMAR-2 News reported.
However, according to WMAR2-News, the city's Legal Department has expressed concerns, suggesting that the bill could potentially face legal challenges. "The bill appears to be aimed at regulating competition and favoring local businesses over national chain businesses within the same district, which the City may not do through its zoning powers," the City Solicitor's Office was cited in a memo. The City Solicitor's Office also raised the issue that the move might burden interstate commerce unfairly. Furthermore, city attorneys have labeled the bill's definition of applicable stores as "problematically vague" and recommend specifying what "inexpensive" means, by perhaps delineating that no item should be priced at more than five dollars.
Bolstering the proposal, Councilwoman Odette Ramos and City Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton introduced the measure, responding to concerns about the management, pricing, and clustering effect of dollar stores in particular neighborhoods. "It turns out that they are preventing us from being able to revitalize the rest of the corridor because it really sends a message and they are also not really cheap for everybody," Ramos stated, emphasizing the selective impact of these stores on urban revitalization and affordability, WBAL-TV reported.
Should this legislation pass, dollar stores would need to obtain approval from the zoning board to operate under the new standards. The bill seeks to change the zoning code such that dollar stores would be considered a conditional use, implying the necessity for each store to get permission from the zoning board to operate.
The bill, which aims not to eliminate dollar stores but to ensure they properly serve the community, is currently progressing through the necessary readings at the city council. As of the latest reporting, the bill is scheduled for a third reading on October 27.
