Steven Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, NJ, is a big fan of local businesses but not large chain stores. Before the beginning of the last holiday season, Mr. Fulop asked locals to stay home on Thanksgiving Day to enjoy their families and then come to his city's neighborhoods to do their shopping over the holiday weekend. Now, he's throwing his support behind a measure that would limit the amount of space landlords could rent to chain stores in his city's downtown neighborhoods.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, new rules that Mr. Fulop intends to propose at a City Council meeting this evening would limit 30 percent of commercial space to businesses that have 10 other properties within 300 miles from Jersey City, which sits across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
Jersey City, as the Journal report points out, is not the first municipality seeking to support local businesses as chain outlets pop up all over the landscape. Nantucket, MA and San Francisco have rules limiting chains in certain areas. Some claim chain store expansion has helped to erode the unique identities of towns.
"We don't want every retail space to become a Gap, TGI Fridays or a Starbucks," Mr. Fulop told the Journal.
Mr. Fulop, who worked for Goldman Sachs before entering politics, faces critics who say the market should decide and landlords should be able to rent space to whatever business they choose.