Staff photo / Ed Runyan Family Dollar on Market Street in Youngstown is one of four in the city seeking permission to sell liquor. The city’s police chief cited the large amount of shoplifting and more serious types of theft that take place at dollar stores as a reason for opposing liquor sales.

YOUNGSTOWN — Police Chief Robin Lees said he hopes members of Youngstown City Council talk to residents and neighborhood groups to “find out whether another establishment for liquor is needed” before supporting new or increased liquor sales for four Family Dollar stores in the city.

Lees cited the large amount of shoplifting and more serious types of theft that take place at dollar stores in general as a reason for opposing liquor sales, but said he also thinks the stores “prey” on low-income people.

“I think it’s preying on our neighborhoods,” he said.

“We have a lot of shoplifting occurring at those stores, so that obviously would be a concern,” Lees said, noting that some stores sell single-serving-size alcoholic beverages that might be a target for thieves. He believes sales of such beverages contribute to that problem.

Such stores focus their sales on high-profit items such as alcohol and tobacco and provide little to no fresh fruits or vegetables compared to supermarkets that served such neighborhoods in the past, he said.

Kayleigh Painter, manager of investor and media relations for Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Inc., said Family Dollar “provides a broad range of basic essentials to families at low prices they can afford. We are trying to provide customers with a convenient option in these stores to purchase adult beverage products while shopping for everyday needs at their neighborhood store.”

The city said four Family Dollar stores are seeking permission to sell liquor — 3363 Mahoning Ave. in the Mahoning Plaza on the West Side, 2932 McCartney Road in the Lincoln Knolls Plaza on the East Side, 2224 Market St. on the South Side, and 1833 Oak St. on the East Side.

An online Ohio Department of Liquor Control database does not indicate a pending request for the Mahoning Avenue location and says the Market Street and Oak Street locations already have a permit to sell takeout beer. Those two stores have applied additionally to sell wine and mixed beverages and intoxicating liquor on Sunday. The McCartney Road location is seeking permission to sell takeout beer, the database indicates.

RECORDS SEARCH

Vindicator research through the Youngstown Police Department showed that the Market Street and Mahoning Avenue stores have each had two felony robberies since August 2019. The Oak Street store had one Jan. 16. None were on file for the Oak Street store dating back to Jan. 1, 2019, though records clerks said her search may not have captured every robbery.

A records clerk said producing a report on all of the calls for service at the four locations would be voluminous because such stores have a huge number of calls.

A Vindicator visit to the Dollar General on Market Street showed the store did not sell fresh fruit or vegetables but did sell milk and eggs. It also sold beer, including single-serving cans. The store also sold such items as greeting cards, dog food and underwear among its many aisles of goods. Twelve cans of Pepsi were $5.25, and a bottle of windshield washer fluid was $2.50.

The store, which is a quarter-mile south of the former South High School, has several vacant lots nearby and is about a tenth of a mile from a Dollar General store.

Three other Family Dollar stores are not mentioned as requesting liquor sales. They are at 3373 Canfield Road in the Cornersburg neighborhood; 2708 Glenwood Ave. on the South Side; and 667 Gypsy Lane on the North Side. The Glenwood Avenue store had two armed robberies in 2019, but the two other stores had none since the start of 2019.

The city planning commission was scheduled to meet Tuesday about the requests for approval for “off-premise packaged alcohol sales,” but canceled it because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The commission postponed all in-person meetings for the next 30 days because of the virus.

OPPOSITION

Planning commission members said they expect residents to attend their next meeting to speak in opposition to the requests from Family Dollar.

“I was at an ACTION (Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods) breakfast and there was some concern by members of the board over this,” John R. Swierz, a planning commission member, said. “I expect there to be people speaking out against this.”

City Law Director Jeff Limbian, another planning commission member, also said he’s heard concern from people about the proposals.

After the commission votes, the proposals go to city council.

If the commission recommends the approval of waivers, a simple majority of council members is needed to authorize it.

If the commission rejects the waivers, at least three-fourths of council — which would be at least six of the seven members — would have to vote to overturn the recommendation.

Even if the city doesn’t take action, Family Dollar can seek approval to sell liquor from the state Division of Liquor Control, Limbian said.

“If the city rejects it, they can still get the OK from the state and then sue the city,” he said.

IN DAYTON

The Dayton Daily News reported in January 2019 that the state overruled resolutions the Dayton City Commission approved in 2017 objecting to the issuance of liquor permits for five Dayton Family Dollar stores.

The city later appealed three. The Ohio Department of Commerce told Dayton officials the evidence the city presented for opposing the liquor permits did not meet the burden of proof under Ohio law, the newspaper reported.

Family Dollar told investors last summer it planned to sell alcohol in 1,000 of its 8,000 stores nationwide as part of a “store optimization” to improve performance that also included expanding freezers and coolers in 400 Family Dollar stores, The New York Times reported.

The Market Street Family Dollar has had a liquor license since July 2018, and the Oak Street location has had a liquor license since June 2018, the Ohio Department of Liquor Control website states.

The Youngstown Family Dollar stores need waivers for the liquor sales under the city’s zoning code. Businesses that sell alcoholic beverages are considered regulated uses and if they are within 500 feet of another regulated-use business — as the four Family Dollars are — approval of the waivers is needed from both the commission and city council.

Regulated-use businesses include those that sell alcoholic beverages, tattoo parlors, adult theaters and cabarets, pool halls, payday lending establishments, sweepstakes businesses and second-hand stores.

erunyan@tribtoday.com

dskolnick@tribtoday.com