'We don’t need another dollar store in Canton.' Mayor, council seek moratorium

CANTON – Whether you live in the northwest or the southeast end of Canton, chances are you're not far from a Dollar General, Dollar Tree or Family Dollar.

With roughly 20 of the discount stores within city limits, Canton leaders are joining the growing nationwide revolt against dollar stores by proposing law changes to restrict their proliferation.

“We don’t need another dollar store in Canton,” Mayor William V. Sherer II said. “There’s nothing we can do about the existing stores that we already have, but we can do something moving forward.”

Sherer and Canton City Council are working together to temporarily stop new dollar stores from being built within city limits and to require any new stores to offer fresh produce and better buildings that fit the neighborhoods they serve.

Council Majority Leader John Mariol II, D-Ward 7, said the discount stores need to better match the neighborhoods they serve and need to better serve residents’ needs.

“If you go to Hudson, the ones in Hudson look different than the ones that are in Canton,” said Mariol, who was among the council members in 2019 who wanted to limit dollar stores. “They need to have a better appearance. And because there are so many, they need to have offerings that promote healthy communities.”

Canton seeks dollar store moratorium, code restrictions

Sherer and City Council are seeking a moratorium on new dollar stores and similar retailers in the city until Jan. 1, 2025.

They also are proposing new rules for the stores, which they define as small-box discount retail stores between 3,000 and 15,000 square feet that dedicate less than 15% of shelf space to fresh or fresh frozen foods and produce and sell an assortment of products directly to the consumer for less than $10.

If approved by council, the new planning and zoning rules for small-box discount retail stores would:

• Prevent the stores from being built within two miles of another small-box discount retail store.

• Require the stores to provide a floor and shelf plan as part of their building permit application, so city officials can ensure they are providing fresh produce and other healthy foods.

• Require the store owners or operators to keep their property, including the sidewalks and tree lawns, free of litter and debris and to provide at least one trash container outside the store’s primary entrance.

• Allow the city to use more stringent zoning standards toward the establishments to prevent substandard building materials from being used for the stores and to ensure that the store's design is consistent with the character of the neighborhood.

• Require the city’s planning director to maintain a map of the existing store locations, as well as other information necessary to determine compliance with city codes.

• Allow the city to penalize stores if they don’t comply with the rules.

Sherer said the changes would affect newly constructed stores, stores that move into vacant buildings and any stores that make substantial renovations. The proposed rules do not apply to retail stores that dedicate less than 5% of shelf space to food sales, sell gasoline or diesel fuel, contain a prescription pharmacy or dedicate at least 15% of shelf space to fresh or fresh frozen foods and produce.

“This gives us an opportunity to at least have a say about how we’re going to move forward with our community,” Sherer said.

The Canton Planning Commission already has unanimously approved the changes. Council is expected to give the legislation the first of three readings next week.

A public hearing on the proposed moratorium will be held at 7 p.m. April 15.

What’s so bad about dollar stores?

Dollar stores and similar discount retailers have faced backlash across the country and in Ohio over at least the past six years. They are routinely blamed for attracting crime due to their lean staffing, for failing to maintain their properties and for offering high-calorie, unhealthy foods. By building multiple stores within several miles of each other, they are also often accused of targeting distressed neighborhoods and crowding out stores that would sell healthier food.

Canton Planning Director Donn Angus, who is recommending the zoning and planning code changes, likened the small-box discount retailers to the liquor stores that targeted low-income neighborhoods with residents of color.

“This is just another version of it. They are just using poor food products,” Angus said. “It’s a definite health impact issue.”

He also said most dollar stores lease the buildings and land where they operate and will claim they can’t control the nuisance issues since they are merely a tenant.

“So, it’s just like an absentee landlord,” he said.

Representatives for Dollar General disagree. In an email to The Canton Repository, Dollar General said the company cares about and is invested in the health of its hometown communities.

“We believe restrictive measures take away options and affordability from communities, particularly in inflationary times, and force customers to travel farther and/or spend more to access basic household and food items,” said the company, which estimates that roughly 75% of Americans live within five miles of a Dollar General.

The company believes its mission of serving others and its focus on customers differentiate its stores from similar retailers.

It noted how it offers fresh fruits and vegetables in more than 5,000 stores across the country, which it says gives it more individual points of produce distribution than any other U.S. mass retailer or grocer.

It also highlighted how its stores have operated alongside local grocers and business owners to meet customers' needs in some communities, how its Better For You resources include recipes to help customers create healthier meals using primarily Dollar General products, and how it has provided more than $3 million in monetary donations and in-kind donations equal to more than 24 million meals since 2021 through its Feeding America partnership.

Representatives for Dollar Tree, which owns the Family Dollar brand, did not return a message seeking comment.

Reach Canton Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Dollar store moratorium, code restrictions proposed by Canton leaders