Label
Zoning & Planning Committee
Title
Repealing and amending portions of Toledo Municipal Code, Part Eleven, Subsections 1104.0100 and 1104.0600 Convenience Stores, to remove the 2000-foot spacing requirement and remove the requirement for a Special Use Permit; and declaring an emergency.
Body
SUMMARY & BACKGROUND:
This request is for the review of Toledo Municipal Code Section 1104.0603 to remove the 2000-foot spacing requirement between convenience stores in a special use permit. The spacing requirement for convenience stores was first added to the TMC in 1993 by Ordinance 781-93. The 2004 comprehensive rewrite of the zoning code resulted in the removal of the spacing requirement. Legislation passed in 2009, Ordinance 568-09, reinstituted the spacing requirement. The text change prohibited a convenience store from locating within 2,000 feet of another convenience store or within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, libraries, licensed day cares or children-oriented uses. Existing convenience stores will be a legal conforming status. This proposed amendment will remove the required 2,000-foot spacing requirement between convenience stores. The consequences of having that section has allowed for establishments to have government protection by controlling new competition through the zoning process.
Research conducted by the Urban Land Institute shows that urban neighborhoods are betwixt and between limited retail businesses to serve local residents. These same residents end up traveling outside of their neighborhoods for basic goods. Many metropolitan areas are redirecting growth back into existing communities to improve neighborhood retail experiences. In the spirit of laissez-faire competition, the removal of the 2,000-foot spacing between convenience stores should create an environment of healthy competition.
Plan Commission staff recommends that special use permits for convenience stores be removed entirely as licensing is a better tool to address nuisances...
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