Why Should Delaware Care?
Wilmington is filled with dozens of corner stores and bodegas, giving residents convenient access to necessities when larger grocery stores are out of reach. But concerns over loitering, criminal activity and limited healthy food options have sparked a new city ordinance that could change the city’s future landscape.
New corner convenience stores may soon be prohibited from opening in Delaware’s largest city.
Last week, the Wilmington City Council unanimously passed an ordinance that would place a moratorium on the businesses. The measure now awaits a signature from Mayor John Carney, whose office has not revealed whether he will support it.
Carney’s spokeswoman, Caroline Klinger, said that the mayor is generally supportive of the bill, but his team will still need to look it over before a decision is made.
“As is standard with every piece of legislation, the mayor and members of our team will review the details of the bill in its entirety, and that process will begin once it is delivered to our office by the City Clerk,” Klinger said in a statement to Spotlight Delaware.
Nevertheless, the City Council’s passage of the ordinance reflects growing concerns among city leaders that an overconcentration of corner stores is contributing to issues related to crime and public health.
The concerns add to those around smoke shops in Wilmington, which prompted city leaders to approve a similar moratorium on those businesses in February.
Councilwoman Shané Darby said a moratorium on corner stores would give city officials time to conduct a formal assessment of the societal impacts of corner stores, many of which are located in Wilmington’s lower-income neighborhoods.
Darby — who sponsored the corner store ordinance — asserted that many corner stores attract illegal activity, including groups of people who loiter outside them. She also noted that the stores sell relatively unhealthy products, such as processed foods, alcohol, tobacco, and lottery tickets.
“I think that our focus as a council should be … looking at these properties and saying, ‘how do we create healthy food options, grocery stores, cafes,’” Darby said about the formal “equity assessment” that would be completed if the ordinance is signed into law.
Darby’s ordinance states that policy changes that could result from the equity assessment could include requirements to create buffer zones between stores, capping the number of corner stores in a neighborhood, or prioritizing city approvals for businesses that bring in healthier foods.
Last fall, Spotlight Delaware spoke with several residents and convenience store owners across Wilmington about the corner store proposal. Many echoed the concerns raised by Darby and other members of the council.
“I hope that they never open up another corner store in our neighborhood,” said Joyce Woodlen, a Hilltop resident and local hair boutique owner, who previously dealt with a loitering issue caused by a convenience store across the street from her shop.
Several corner store owners noted that they understand residents’ concerns. Some said they have tried offering healthier options but claimed there was little demand for them. Others noted that they have little control over loitering and public safety issues outside their stores.
“We can’t do anything about it. If we call the cops, cops don’t come—only 30 to 40 minutes later,” said the store manager at Young’s Sub Shop, who provided his name as Muhammad.
Fiscal impact as a ‘weapon’?
The council’s passage of the corner store moratorium comes more than a month after the city approved a similar moratorium on smoke shops.
Like Darby’s ordinance, the smoke shop moratorium was designed to give city officials time to assess the impact of the stores on communities.
Unlike Darby’s ordinance, the smoke shop moratorium does not come with a fiscal note, which is an estimated cost to the city of the proposed legislation.
According to a city estimate, the Wilmington Department of Land Use and Planning would be in charge of completing the corner store “equity impact assessment” at a cost of $250,000.
During Thursday’s City Council discussion of Darby’s corner store legislation, Councilmembers Chris Johnson and Alex Hackett expressed concerns about why it included a fiscal impact while the smoke shop moratorium did not.
In a response during the council meeting, Darby claimed that the steep cost estimate came from the Carney Administration’s dislike for certain council members.
“They use this as a weapon. I’m telling this to the public. They’ll use fiscal impact notes as a weapon so that you can’t get things passed through,” Darby said.
Asked why Darby’s bill carried such a hefty fiscal impact, officials said the city recently updated its process for preparing fiscal notes through a city council ordinance, with the Delaware Office of Management and Budget now responsible for all legislation.
Johnson’s ordinance was completed during that transition period.
Carney spokeswoman Caroline Klinger said with the new process underway with OMB, the city is “committed to ensuring all ordinances are accompanied by a proper fiscal impact statement in accordance with this new law.”
While Carney’s office has not indicated whether the mayor will sign off on the corner store moratorium, Klinger highlighted concerns last fall around the capacity of land use officials to carry out the equity assessment, as well as the potential costs of the measure.
Klinger also asserted that the mayor wants to see healthier food options in the city and is willing to work with city council.
“If these stores are the most accessible food option for residents, making them healthier could be more impactful than eliminating the establishment of new ones,” Klinger said in the city’s statement in September.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include new comments received from Mayor John Carney’s office on April 8.
