Cascade residents object to Dollar General being pushed on them

For the second time since last year, a county zoning board has given the green light to a controversial Dollar General planned in Cascade.

The store, eyed for a site along MacAfee Hill Road across from Fort Ritchie and an American Legion post, is proposed by Outdoor Contractors Inc.

What is the controversy about ?

But it's meeting opposition from nearby residents, who say the store would be out of character for the area. They also worry how it would impact Sanders Market, a nearby grocery known for items such as baked goods and fresh meat, and they note there is already other Dollar General stores in the area.

Outdoor Contractors Inc. is seeking a "special exception" to build the store in a land-use area in Cascade known as a rural village zone. The zoning board has the authority to grant a special exception allowance in the zone if a project is compatible with the neighborhood.

Previously: Cascade residents push back against planned Dollar General. What happens next?

Uses allowed as special exceptions in the rural zone include banquet and reception facilities, bed and breakfast inns, produce stands or farmers markets, indoor firing ranges, marinas, breweries, woodworking shops, grocery stores and many others.

Uses already permitted in the rural village zone include boarding or rooming houses, landscaping contractors, riding academies, churches, bakeries, candy stores and others.

The Washington County Zoning Board of Appeals held a hearing on the project nearly a year ago and later issued a written decision approving a special exception for the store.

In the zoning board's consideration of the project, it was noted that it previously considered a Dollar General store in another rural village zone in the county and determined that the store was similar to special exception uses in that neighborhood.

The zoning board also said the store would be built at an intersection, which would make it convenient for the public, and that the store's offerings are vital to small towns and rural areas like Cascade.

What has been holding up the project ?

Six Cascade area residents appealed the zoning board's decision to Washington County Circuit Court, taking issue with points such as Outdoor Contractors' statement that the store would be an "amalgam of uses that are either permitted of right or as special exceptions in the rural village district."

In the circuit court appeal, Rockville, Md.-based attorney Michele Rosenfeld, who is representing the opponents, argued that the approach is wrong. Rosenfeld said county land use laws regarding rural village districts don't allow an "assemblage of uses" when determining whether a project is similar to another use in the neighborhood.

In a May 23 decision, Washington County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Michael agreed.

Michael said county zoning laws anticipate that an entity's application for a special exception use in a rural village zone must be similar to a "single permitted use or special exception use" in that neighborhood. He sent the case back to the zoning board to be considered again.

Like a grocery store ?

Outdoor Contractors appeared before the zoning board Wednesday night, saying the store would be "functionally-similar" to a grocery store. It would be a store that's a newer concept for the company because it would be a Dollar General Market, which offers more groceries, according to the plans.

Jimmy Rowland of Outdoor Contractors appeared before the board along with his counsel, Hagerstown attorney James Stone. Rowland and Stone said the store would be similar to a grocery because it would sell food and household supplies, and about one third of the store's space would be devoted to groceries.

One resident spoke in favor of the store, saying it represents new ideas and new business needed in Cascade.

The rest of the people who nearly filled the hearing room's seating area spoke in opposition, arguing no one wants to feed their family the food from a Dollar General and saying the company is getting the stores into similar communities through a "loophole" in special exception allowances.

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Rosenfeld cited academic studies on "small box stores" that determined they give rise to problems like larceny crimes. The stores also struggle with low staffing and invest little in security, Rosenfeld said.

She said even the company itself doesn't consider its stores to be groceries, adding the firm says as much in a company news release she found.

Parts of the exchanges during the meeting centered on a question. What is the definition of a grocery store?

Travis Poole, the zoning board's attorney, said grocery stores typically carry other everyday items like over-the-counter medication, pet food and simple household repair supplies.

Rosenfeld argued that the debate needs to remain on the idea of "scale." She said grocery stores are primarily in the business of selling just that - groceries, which make up the bulk of what they offer.

"You don't go into a grocery store to buy those items," Rosenfeld said about the other items that Poole mentioned. "You go into a grocery store to buy groceries," she said.

Another speaker turned the debate further. CVS pharmacies sell grocery items like canned and packaged food, condiments and milk, but they're not called grocery stores, she said.

'Why don't you listen to the people?'

Allison Severance operates a pottery beside the Dollar General Market site. She presented research she said she found about poor conditions in Dollar General stores, including moldy produce and freezer cabinets out of order.

Residents talked about the items they like in Sanders Market, like local eggs, fresh-baked banana bread and hand-cut steaks. Stan Turesky of Cascade said no one's going to find that in the Dollar General Market.

"We're getting screwed if we're getting another Dollar General that will compete with Sanders Market," Turesky said.

Carmen Fox complained about processed food Dollar General sells and Robin Bizer added "it's certainly nothing I want to feed my family."

When the board began its deliberations, member Tim Ammons said it's tough to decide whether a Dollar General Market would be "functionally similar" to a grocery store, and thus allowed. But then he looked at photos of the interior of Dollar General stores and the food that was displayed.

"There's a big thing of bananas here," Ammons said. He then joined board members Marvin Gower, Bob Meyers and chairman Jay Miller in deciding the store would be functionally similar to a grocery.

"I say it's their money. They can do what ever they want," said Meyers.

Board member Tracie Felker, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said it's important to pay attention to the nature of a grocery store.

"You don't go to a Dollar General to buy food," she said.

Disgrunted residents filed out of the room after the vote.

"Why don't you listen to the people?" one man said to the board upon leaving.

Store could hurt property values

When asked after the meeting if the vote meant Outdoor Contractors is free to start the project, board members said they were not sure, adding that their decision may have to go back to Michael for consideration.

Rosenfeld said in a phone interview Thursday that the decision may have to go back to Michael to verify it is legally sound.

She said it's "highly likely" that her clients will appeal the decision to circuit court if it stands.

Stone said Thursday that as far as he is concerned, the vote completes the process for Outdoor Contractors, although he acknowledged that Rosenfeld has the right to appeal. He said Outdoor Contractors will build the store, then lease it to the retail chain.

Outdoor Contractors said it will plant a row of trees next to the store to form a buffer to adjacent property. The store would be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the latest, and the operators are willing to turn off the store's lights when its not open, according to zoning board records.

Outdoor Contractors also moved a planned entrance to the store to give better sight distance along MacAfee Hill Road, according to records.

It's estimated that residential property next to the store will lose 5% to 10% of its market value, according to records. In its initial decision last year, the zoning board said that while it acknowledges there will be impacts to nearby homes, there are few houses impacted beyond them.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Dollar General store meets stiff resistance in Maryland town