Members of the Mauldin Planning Commission will convene tomorrow to consider amendments to zoning classifications for dollar stores or small box stores, but they are being met with opposition.
Similar moratoriums have been suggested before but have continuously been waylaid opposition.
Councilman Taft Matney says the moratorium was born of a movement several years ago as they tried to plan for the city's future, especially concerning zoning.
Matney previously drafted a development moratorium along Mauldin thoroughfares approximately five years ago, but local business owners did not support it.
The plan then was to put the moratorium on hold for six months and begin discussions again with local businesses, but Matney says those discussions were never had for a number of reasons.
"On February 17, City Council adopted a six-month moratorium on the additional development of small box discount retailers while awaiting recommendations from the Planning Commission. With the initial moratorium set to expire in a couple of months and with the Planning Commission still working on recommendations, last Monday night City Council gave first reading to an ordinance that will extend the moratorium by an additional three months so the Planning Commission can continue its work examining the subject," Matney reports.
Matney tried another moratorium with a narrower scope, this time focusing on halting commercial zoning butting up against residential areas.
This also did not get any traction.
The moratorium on the table tomorrow is narrowing the scope once again to restart the conversation.
"The moratorium more than anything else is just about pressing pause so we can see if we're growing in the right way because we're going to have to the live with the decisions we make now for the next 20, 30, 40 years," Matney said.
Crystal Ghassemi, a spokesperson for the Dollar General Corporation, says they are looking to add a third store to the Mauldin area and that they oppose the moratorium.
Ghassemi said times such as COVID-19 force the American public to seek necessary items at lower prices; Dollar General believes they have been able to provide those necessary services for the people of Mauldin.
In a statement, the Dollar General Corporation said they "believe that this measure is based on factually incorrect and baseless assumptions and paints the 'dollar store' industry with an unfairly broad brush" and "seeks to harm consumer choice and limit free enterprise."
"We respect the council's motives in terms of being able to serve the Mauldin community. We certainly share those, but we don't think limiting the ability for us to serve the community is a way to increase some of the healthier eating options there in town," Ghassemi said.
Ghassemi went on to say it is important to understand Dollar General is not a grocery store.
"When you look at our stores and the fact that our average basket size is around $12 that shows that people are coming in to fill in on items, not fill up as they would at other grocery stores," Ghassemi said.
The Planning Commission Meeting is scheduled for June 23rd at 6 PM at City Hall.