Gloria Wilkson was less than pleased with the Columbus City Council’s unanimous decision Tuesday to impose hour limitations on certain convenience stores.
She said she’s worked at area convenience stores since 1991, and said the ordinance is not fair to store owners who do business the right way. Instead, she challenged security and law enforcement personnel to do a better job.
“Just riding through and looking and you stopping only when you feel like you want to stop — that’s not going to work,” she told The Dispatch after the council’s decision Tuesday. “Do your job and everything might come out to be a whole lot better. But you cannot fault every store for something going on somewhere else.”
Councilmen voted 5-0 during Tuesday night’s meeting to approve the ordinance, which goes into effect Oct. 6.
The ordinance mandates a 10 p.m. close on Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. for Friday and Saturday for convenience stores in single-family residence neighborhoods. The same restriction applies to convenience stores in neighborhood-commercial districts that are within 50 feet of a single-family residential property, and convenience stores in highway commercial districts within 60 feet of a single-family residential neighborhood and 175 feet of a multi-family zone property.
Stores impacted by the ordinance cannot reopen before 4:30 a.m.
During the meeting Tuesday, Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor acted as mayor pro tempore in place of Mayor Robert Smith, who was absent. Taylor could not vote, but noted his support for the ordinance.
City attorney Jeff Turnage said the ordinance came about in response to feedback the city gathered during four public hearings after a March shooting at Sim Scott Park.
Columbus Police Chief Tony Carleton said the new ordinance should help reduce some of the reported problems that occur near convenience stores.
“We certainly feel that through the cry out of the community from the meetings that we had, that this will help curb some of the problems,” he said. “Some of the calls and arrests that have been made are underage drinking, gang activity, loitering, littering, loud noise, disturbing the peace, fighting, discharging of firearms, graffiti, vandalism, burglary illegal drugs and trade and underage smoking.
“Those are some of the things we heard through the meeting and we want to be certain we’re doing something to address them,” Carleton added.
Opinion was split among some of the members of the public who attended Tuesday’s meeting and a shouting match was held outside the municipal complex.
“We had 3 to 4 meetings,” one person said. “I didn’t see (any) of y’all at the meetings. Now you want to raise hell because you’ve got to go home at 10 o’clock. Go home.”
Turnage said state law allows the mayor and council police powers to regulate the opening and closing hours of businesses that sell beer and light wine.
“When you have police powers to do such things, you don’t have to have notice and an opportunity for a public hearing or any other due process according to the case law interpreting that statute,” Turnage said.
Wilkson and several other convenience store employees or managers gathered outside the municipal complex after the meeting said officials are casting too wide a net and punishing convenience stores broadly when only a few are trouble spots.
She also questioned if the new ordinance would really have any impact.
“If you’re closing at 10 or closing at 11, it’s not going to make a difference,” she said. “If they don’t get it there, they’re going to go somewhere else to get it. What makes you think they’re not going to come around those stores and act a fool or throw down trash? They’ll do the same thing that you say they’re doing now.”
Definition of convenience store
■ Convenience stores, as defined in the ordinance, are any businesses that are less than 4,500 square feet that primarily sell gasoline and basic food, household and/or pharmaceutical items and beer and/or light wine.
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