Small Town Destruction - Part II

Small Town Destruction – Part II

In my first column addressing the demise of small towns I pinpointed three items I believe are consistent in the recipe for disaster: highway bypasses taking traffic around town, national retailers undermining local merchants, and outdated alcohol ordinances preventing thriving dining. Objective and specific, I believe the slow withering of communities can be avoided and in no way do I question the emotional appeal of charm or the fabric of the community. Expanding further on the recipe to create sustainability several more key strategies, in addition to the original three, can be implemented.

First, tax policy can drive business toward town center through a reverse property tax or by creating community redevelopment districts. Traditionally property taxes are lower in the suburbs, by reversing the millage rate growth is encouraged toward town and away from the outskirts.

Second, mixed-use and re-use are critical to a thriving downtown. For example, a national drugstore or bookstore may come to town, but in place of a new steel and concrete structure replicated nationwide, require use of existing buildings and rehabilitation. As an avid fan of James Howard Kunstler, I must agree with his descriptions of “programming” the content inside the building versus the “container” that makes up the structure. A drugstore could operate from a 100-year old building, thus preserving the unique character of individual towns. Mixed-use and appropriate zoning would allow shopkeepers, or tenants, to live above shops in town center increasing rent and covering fixed costs for the building owner.

Third, discretionary consumerism should be incidental to the town center, not the primary focus. In a struggling economy counting on the luxury purchase of boutique goods will not save businesses. I propose keeping banking, postal, personal care, hardware, and grocery near town center instead of spreading these key needs to faceless strip malls located in yet to be developed suburbs. Consuming luxuries will follow naturally in a shopping district providing necessities.

Lastly, zoning and permit approvals should look toward the future by asking what will be left of this “container” if the business closes or moves. For example one national retailer is notorious for abandoning functional stores strongly anchoring numerous small businesses in favor of trading up to a generic “superstore” version located on cheaper land and incentivized by property tax reductions. Once left behind no other business is capable of using the commercial square footage and the nearby businesses that benefitted from the anchor fold, vandalism grows, and the entire shopping center becomes a permanent blight on the community.

Driving through the rural southeast I see success and failure from the window of my car. A thriving community is easily observed versus the shuttered, empty storefronts of a now dead town. I can’t stop and ask about the “charm” or the “fabric” of the community, but I can see the faces of those pondering what happened and why the town died compared to the success of the community next door.