понеделник, 26 септември 2011 г.

ND0920112

Title: Revised Kansas City Liquor Law May Court Convenience
Description: Government regulation, not economics, has prevented convenience stores from serving Kansas City?s poorest neighborhoods. That may soon change.
Page Content:

KANSAS CITY, MO ? There aren?t many convenience stores in Kansas City?s poorest areas, and the city is examining how it can encourage, not discourage, stores from opening, notes the Kansas City Star.

?There?s no QuikTrip between Eastwood Trafficway and downtown,? complained Councilman Michael Brooks at a recent committee meeting.

However, while the article draws parallels to the food desert issue and a lack of supermarkets, the scarcity of convenience stores is a reflection of the city?s density test, which limits the number of packaged liquor outlets in a particular neighborhood. (?Two stores selling alcohol are allowed within so many feet of each other for every 1,500 population, and so on, although it gets more complicated than that,? the Star writes.) The difference is a matter of government regulation, not economics.

As a result, QuikTrip and other retailers have been forced to build stores beyond the city limits rather than in Kansas City, because its preferred city locations failed the density test.

?Half of our parking lot is in Kansas City, Missouri; it?s that close,? Dickerson said of the Raytown store at 63rd Street and Blue Ridge Cutoff.

Until this month, the only way to work around the density test requirement was to seek an exemption from the city, which was a difficult proposition.

That is now changing.

Responding to concerns from QuikTrip and CVS Pharmacies, along with the South Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the council voted unanimously this month to change its liquor ordinance in the name of economic development.

?This is good for the city,? said Councilman Scott Taylor.

While the density test remains, retailers can get around it with majority approval of neighbors, as long as their stores are larger than 5,000 square feet and if 70 percent or more of their gross receipts (minus fuel sales) are from merchandise other than alcoholic beverages.

The details prohibit the proliferation of liquor stores while encouraging the growth of convenience stores.

Content Subject: Foodservice, Operations
Formatted Article Date: September 20, 2011

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