Town, State Take on Formula Stores

The growing pervasiveness of chain stores is something New York State's historic villages and towns have fought to halt in their communities for years, and now state says he has the legislation that will do just that. Simultaneously, East Hampton Town Councilwoman Sylvia Overby is looking to address the issue in the town, as well.

Thiele's bill, if passed, would give municipalities the express authority to enact restrictions and prohibitions on "formula" retail uses, i.e. chain stores with standardized merchandise, apparel, facades, decor and signage. It should come as welcome news to preservationists who worry that chains replacing independent businesses and mom and pop stores will erode community character.

“This is a recurring issue that local governments are dealing with not just on the East End of Long Island, but certainly across the country," Thiele said, adding that he saw it come up when he was the village attorney for Sag Harbor. The village wanted to regulate formula stores, “but it was unclear whether they had the authority under state law,” he said.

"Because of a lack of state legislation, there’s been really a kind of chilling effect," Thiele said.

He noted that his proposed law is not a mandate — it only gives villages and towns the option. The proposed legislation is specific to retail uses, and does not mention chain eateries.

The assemblyman said that some communities on Long Island welcome chain stores, but in others, particularity on the East End, where virtually every village has a historic district and a comprehensive plan to protect its character through zoning, his proposal will help.

In East Hampton, there has been much-to-do over chain stores. A opened in Montauk in 2010, and a 7-Eleven was also supposed to open up in Amagansett, though it hasn't yet.

Overby, who joined the town board in January, said she would start a discussion about formula stores at a work session on Tuesday. Having been a member of the planning board, she had researched formula stores and related-laws, included those that have failed in the courts. "You have to craft it very carefully," she said.

Recently, the Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee asked the board, and Thiele, for help in this matter, and Overby said it was the right time for her to bring up something she had been planning on doing all along. She was unaware of Thiele's bill, but she said it would dovetail into the town's discussion.

"Formula stores certainly have their place, but not necessarily in invading the unique qualities and characteristics that we hold near and dear and that define our community character," she said. "I want to start a dialogue."

Overby said she has seen the town board bring forth a number of legislation that are already "fully formed and fleshed out in a particular point of view" and ultimately fail. She said she hopes by starting a discussion, the board can devise the best legislation that addresses formula stores by looking at all sides of the issue.

She said the town can, among other things, look at ways to curb certain types of formula stores, like restaurants and retail, with relation to the proximity to historic districts, as well as historic housing and buildings, and by looking at the number of other stores by the same name.

Thiele said he is trying to get as many co-sponsors on board as he can before officially filing the legislation, and a copy of the bill was sent to his counterpart in the State Senate, Sen. Kenneth P. LaValle, R-Port Jefferson.