Launched by Adorn Salon owner Rebecca Hecht, an online petition calling for local leaders to “regulate and/or place a moratorium on chain and formula stores in downtown” has garnered more than 2,000 signatures in about a week.
Some locals, including Hecht, argue that the small businesses comprising Asheville’s mosaic of creative commerce downtown simply can’t compete with chain stores like Urban Outfitters, which already operates from a prominent intersection, and Anthropoligie, a corporation that hopes to open a space downtown soon. Still others cite job creation and longer hours as benefits to having chains downtown.
Hecht’s call for action is in response to Anthropologie’s interest in opening a downtown shop.
“Allowing large chain and formula stores downtown will eliminate the unique appeal at the core of Asheville’s identity,” Hecht writes. “It is a fact that large corporate chain stores take their profits out of the community, while much of locally owned business money is returned directly to the local economy. Many small and locally owned businesses pay a better wage than chains.”
“Many of these businesses can afford to run a location at a loss in order to maintain their presence in a desired community,” she continues. “They are able to pay from 100-1000 percent more than market rates, driving up rental and property values. There isn’t a small independent business anywhere who can compete with that.”
On the petition page, where most signatories claim an Asheville-area address, support for limiting franchises’ presence downtown comes in many forms:
“I am the owner of Spiritex where our fabric to the finished garment is all made locally. We work a tight budget as it is, if rents went up it would knock us out, along with the retail, production and warehouse jobs as well” — Marylou Marsh-Sanders, Spiritex owner, Asheville
“I’ve been involved with zoning issues in Charlotte for the past 15 years and have seen firsthand the damage generic development can do to a vibrant, authentic community. The damage is usually in the form of transplanted and inauthentic identity and often a breach of the existing scale, which can displace or upset the context that has been so inviting in the first place.” — Peter Tart, Asheville
“Asheville’s charm is directly related to it artist community; fine arts, music, theater, dance, and writing. This needs to be nurtured NOT big chains, boring formulaic shopping destinations. Keep Asheville the vibrant, alive place it is by eschewing the mediocrity that this type of retailing promotes.” — Amy Mozingo, Lititz, Pa.
“Asheville is a unique and beautiful mountain city. Local businesses thrive with the tourist trade. Bringing in chain stores owned by corporations is a disgusting slap in the face to all of the business owners and all of the tourist and people who love Asheville, call it home and want to preserve the uniqueness of our home town.” — Hannah Desmond, Asheville
“I’m an Asheville native, and I’ve witnessed the changes in downtown considering most of them positive. I live, work and play downtown and would hate to see the landscape become “expected”. The small shops and restaurants that heavily pepper our streets are the reason I choose to spend time and money for the uniqueness. Change is inevitable but chains like this belong in a mall.” — Heather Smith, Asheville
“I want to keep mom and pops businesses alive no matter how weird they may be! Keep Asheville weird and local!” — Michelle Raynor, Lake Lure
To read more resident sentiments, view the petition here.
Unfortunately for the signers, nothing in NC law would permit a city to regulate who can do business in town.
So, while I appreciate the concern of the people signing this petition, I’m not clear who it might be directed to, or what the effect could be.
Private property rights are unassailable in North Carolina.
Even the Soviet Union fell. Statutes change with new perspectives… perspectives that only improve the sustainability of markets.
It’s true that what goes in the place of conventions like effectively hiding the volume and costs of renter evictions, banning rent control, and basically no tangible renter rights or political position for renters in North Carolina is the difference between good strategy and BAU.
Finally someone has common sense on this page.
Cecil. IMHO, For now it is directed to anyone that might be considering leasing space to these formulaic stores. As noted by Rebecca and others their [chain stores] presence would do nothing more than establish additional market share and foothold for their companies. What would the whole of Asheville and the vibrant, constructive community of Asheville merchants be if they were silent or didn’t formally put their signatures where their mouths are, as your comment about who the petition is for implies???
Banana Republic recently left Asheville in favor of pouring money and advertising efforts into their factory outlet that recently opened. When I asked the GM at the Gap why she said that sales had been declining at the store for a few years and that the Asheville Mall was asking them to sign a longer term lease which BR refused. So they left. And took their jobs with them.
What happens when the Anthropologie’s, Urban Outfitters do the same thing after raising the heck out of lease rates downtown? How will local businesses fill those spaces?
Who are the owners of the building renting to Anthropologie? Could we hear from them?
Let’s progressively outlaw private property in the City of Asheville like they did in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Who’s with me?
Don’t worry, we would never come after yours.
Oh, I do so love hyperbole and exaggeration!
Do you also love logical extension? Or philosophical basis?
Do you have nothing to add to this important topic but smartass nonsense rejoinders? Then you should LOVE Barry’s company.
No need to make the thread about me or resort to ad hominem attacks. Try addressing the issue at hand instead — said issue being breathless exaggeration of what it is the petition wants to accomplish, and hyperbole to dress that goal in sinister shades of commie olive drab.
That’s actually untrue. Their motivation is not innocent, it is evil and destructive of freedom, and that is important to point out. Which I did. You, on the other hand, have contributed no thought that would advance the discussion. I tire of you. As do, I’m sure, many.
If it is evil and destructive of freedom, don’t keep trying to make the discussion about me, and the ad hominem attacks are uncalled for. Explain how a desire to keep chains out of downtown is evil (Evil? Really?) and destructive of freedom. To simply flit in, spew out a talking point, and flit back out is a model of debate pioneered by pigeons and it accomplishes nothing. One should explain their point if in fact they have a point to make.
“To simply flit in, spew out a talking point, and flit back out”
Did I flit? I don’t think so. I don’t usually flit.
I’ll tell you what, Friend Blythe: I’ll leave it to you to explain the psychology of the impulse to control other people’s property. Maybe you could expand on your op-ed on NIMBYism and address this aberrant motivation.
hauntedheadnc
(And here I went and got my name in the paper again — tee hee.)
Those who battle downtown development are doomed to watch suburbs strangle
by Austin Blythe
Reading lately that yet another major downtown development project was chased out by Asheville’s predictable NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) opposition, I tried but failed to work up some surprise…
http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1721334&postcount=210
Attempting to change the subject while simultaneously ignoring the point of what you dug up and continuing to make the discussion about me.
That takes talent!
…And you still have not explained the “evil” or the perceived threat of destruction of freedom. I personally do not find it evil or a destruction of freedom if a community as a body decides what qualities would contribute to that community’s higher quality of life.
“And you still have not explained the “evil” ”
And I’m not going to. You’re not worth having an intelligent conversation with. I only toy with you because it amuses me. I already know you have nothing to offer in the way of discussion; only contrarian argumentativeness. It got old years ago.
Sigh… resorting to tired ad hominem attacks, and persisting in making the discussion all about me.
So sad to see such wasted potential. What a debate it could have been.
” What a debate it could have been.”
Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not a good look.
Still with the ad hominem and personal attacks!
“Still with the ad hominem and personal attacks!”
Yes. And?
Oh, nothing… I think the point’s been made. ;-)
“Oh, nothing… I think the point’s been made. ;-)”
What point. I haven’t seen any point. Do you fancy you have a point? Have any of you seen a point? Come to think of it, I’ve never seen the point of you. Just look at all these silly comments of yours. Such a lot of nonsense. It must really suck being you, Friend Blythe.
Seriously, you numbnut petition-signers don’t understand freedom. If a property owner has the gall to locate a store here that you say does not meet with your approval and all of the petition-signer and their neighbors shop there, then they make a profit (a sign of approval), and are obviously meeting a demand in the marketplace, and are engaged in a worthwhile enterprise. You tried the same thing with Walmart, even used violence to serve your ends. And yet, years later, I never pass that parking lot when it is not full. You sanctimonious armchair developers can sign petitions in your pajamas using the products of capitalism while the real achievers are improving the lives of millions around the world.
Yeah, God forbid, they tore down that gosh-awful smokestack and empty building with smashed-in windows in favor of building a nice store…
The phrase “nice store” in connection with Wal-Mart is an oxymoron. Meanwhile, it’s sad that no one could ever see the potential of that “gosh-awful” smokestack and empty building. They could definitely see the potential for such buildings down in Durham and Winston-Salem, which is why those formerly empty industrial buildings now bustle with offices, shops, and homes. In Winston-Salem in particular, they bustle with biomedical research interests. Heck, for a while we could even see the potential of such buildings here in Asheville, which is why there is a place called the River District nowadays.
Fact is, we lost an irreplaceable historic industrial building, of which there weren’t that many in this area to begin with, and replaced it with generic sprawl. We could have done much better for ourselves.
Wow, straight to the ad hominem. You surrendered on that issue pretty fast.
Wow. What a pathetic response to a serious issue. I expected nothing more.
There are many who say you can’t build a park across from the civic center too. But we still dream and we still persevere in the face of the doubters and haters.
LOL, my tax money goes to the cronies that control council for such endeavors as the art museum and you think downtown should be closed off to chains? LOL, I’m tired of funding downtown so start pulling your weight or simply go away. Only in Asheville do people accept property tax hikes on residences so million dollar corporate breweries can open yet think downtown is some special jewel. And think property owners are beholden to fund the festivals and shows while they make out like bandits.
I may not agree with Wainscott on everything, but the guy makes some excellent points about the special interest here and the complete and utter hypocrisy by many.