Green Party Candidate
for Mayor of St. Paul
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Green Party Candidate |
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Press Conference Address by Elizabeth Dickinson August 23, 2005 As many of you know, about a year ago I produced a short, 12-minute documentary called Always Low on the negative effects of Wal-Mart on communities like St. Paul. This afternoon, as many of you also know, there is a protest at the St. Paul Wal-Mart, which I will attend. What you may not know is that the Green Party itself has been very active in promoting small business through the Metro Independent Business Alliance, a non-profit membership organization working to strengthen and promote locally-owned, independent businesses in the Twin Cities region. The organization exists to help the Twin Cities maintain its unique community character, provide continuing opportunities for entrepreneurs, build economic strength, and prevent the mass displacement of community-based businesses by national and transnational chains. Why is small business so important? First, 75% of all new jobs come from small businesses. If an acre of land is devoted to a big box development, that development will only provide about 25 jobs — but if that same acre is devoted to small businesses, it will yield 100 jobs. Second, relative to their size and profits, small businesses spend three times as much in the community as do big box stores like Wal-Mart because they tend to buy, and spend, their money locally. Money that stays in the community enriches the community. Third, local businesses are far more likely to increase the tax base and reduce homeowners' tax burdens. The cost to taxpayers for roads, water, and sewage for big box development is often more than the payment of sales and property taxes. Barnstable, Massachusetts, did a study of big boxes vs. local businesses and found that downtown stores generated a net annual surplus — that's tax revenue minus costs — of $326 per 1,000 square feet, while big box stores created an annual tax deficit of $468 per 1000 square feet. Today I want to put some proposals on the table for the city of St. Paul. First, we need to improve our planning and land use policy to ensure that years of revitalization and investment are not undermined by uncontrolled, competing retail. We should think about enacting a temporary moratorium on construction of large retail stores, like the moratorium currently under consideration in the City Council. Additionally, we should look at a size cap, such as either the 50,000-square-foot size cap proposed for the city by the Green Party of St. Paul, or the 25,000-square-foot size cap suggested for Grand Avenue by the Summit Hill Association and District 16 Neighborhood Council. This may slow down the encroachment of multiple formula businesses like CVS, Walgreens, and EQ Life so close to the family-owned Bober Pharmacy. As a year-long Consumer Reports investigation noted, independent drugstores like Bober Pharmacy outperform chain drugstores not only in personal service and the extras like in-store health screenings, speed of filling prescriptions, supplying hard-to-find and out-of-stock medicines, but also in the price of items. Third, we should require an economic impact review for any proposed retail construction of more than 25,000 square feet. The impact on tax revenue, city services, employment, traffic, the downtown business district, parking, and the community's character should be examined. If a store's costs to the city outweigh its benefits, then the developer should be denied a permit. Fourth, we should look at restricting the number of formula businesses, defined as businesses that feature standardized services, methods of operation, decor, uniforms, architecture, or other features virtually identical to businesses elsewhere. Coronado, California, allows no more than 10 formula restaurants and requires a special review and permit for all formula retail stores. Formula stores make it more difficult for local and independent businesses like Bober Pharmacy to maintain a foothold in the city. St. Paul's caption should not be "Come to St. Paul — we're just like everywhere else." Fifth, we should look at creating Neighborhood Commercial Individual Districts like those in San Franciso, where ordinances limiting retail building, sizes, and styles are tailored to suit the individual character of each neighorhood. The needs of the East Side are going to be different from the needs of Grand Avenue. Finally, we should create, within the mayor's office, the position of a liaison to help small businesses. The Small Business Development Director would aid small businesses in practical ways, including:
Small businesses can be the engine of economic growth for St. Paul. They can, and do — just look around you on Grand Avenue — define the atmosphere of the city. Their unique character, attention to service, job creation, local focus, and the value they bring to our community deserves St. Paul's respect and support. Cities — great, successful cities — are incubators of dreams. If St. Paul is to be an incubator of dreams, we must help our best and most imaginative entrepreneurs make their dreams a working reality. Contact Elizabeth Dickinson, (651) 235-1208 (cell) Mary Petrie, Campaign Manager, (651) 226-3527 (cell) Christopher Childs, Communications Coordinator, (651) 312-1216 Elizabeth Dickinson for Mayor 384 Hall Avenue St. Paul, MN 55107
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Click here to read the pre-event press release. Click here to read the post-event press release.
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Elizabeth
Dickinson's Speech on "Big Box" Development