Last month, DeKalb leaders put a 45-day ban on new dollar stores coming to the county.
Before they decide on putting something longer term in place, they want to hear from residents.
A public hearing on the issue is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28, according to a listing on the county website. It will be held in the Manuel J. Maloof Center at 1300 Commerce Drive in Decatur.
Led by Super District 7 Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, the DeKalb County commission approved the ban — technically a moratorium on applications for new “small box discount stores” — on Dec. 17.
“You can stand in Family Dollar and look across the street and see a dollar store,” Cochran-Johnson said at the time. “We don’t need them on every corner.”
The prohibition is set to expire at the end of this month, but officials are exploring whether or not something more permanent makes sense.
The issue is a complicated one.
Retailers say they provide affordable options and help address so-called “food deserts” in underserved and low-income areas.
But critics say the food sold at dollar stores is often frozen, heavily processed and unhealthy— and that the presence of discount stores can drive away more traditional grocers with fresher, healthier options.
According to Cochran-Johnson, DeKalb County has about 70 dollar stores, many of which have opened in recent years.
A growing number of communities across the country have already put regulations in place to restrict the proliferation of new dollar stores — including the DeKalb city of Stonecrest.
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