Over 800 businesses belong to the Elk Grove Chamber…. businesses that provide over 20,000 jobs for Elk Grove residents. 

The mission of the Chamber is very clear:  to develop, promote and advance our key constituency, the Elk Grove area business community.  Our core values include belief in the free enterprise system and entrepreneurship.  Therefore, we become very concerned when a public agency considers any ordinance or legislation which would limit our ability to grow a business in a free enterprise system.

We absolutely agree that the City has a responsibility to manage development and growth in the City, and to provide certain services to its residents, in a manner that will help maintain the quality of life here in Elk Grove and enhance our local economy.

We disagree, however, that a ban on any one business or any one type of legitimate business is a necessary part of the Council’s ability to fulfill its mission.

As we suggested to the City Council earlier this year, (1) we should look very carefully at why we are considering an action, and (2) we must always be aware of unintended consequences of our actions. 

You have before you tonight suggestions from a total ban of one type store to a ban on one specific type of retail operation from competing in one specific product area.  While there may appear to be some appeal to these ideas, it brings you to the brink of a very slippery slope.  Today, it is a limitation on the sale of groceries in a variety store.  Will it next be a limitation on the number of tee shirts allowed to be sold by a variety store because it will compete with another local business?  How about pharmacy needs? 

In reviewing the staff report provided to the Commission, it appears that almost all of the findings could apply to almost every business and every type of business in Elk Grove at some time or another.

For instance, paragraph #8 refers to a shift of dollars from existing retailers, rather than adding new retail services or bringing in new customer dollars.  If that was the sole criteria, then a certain high end grocer would not be allowed to open a new store on Elk Grove Boulevard…..it is doubtful that very many of the products are unobtainable here in Elk Grove or that many customers would commute from Galt or Lodi just to shop there.  Most of the customers will be migrating from existing grocery stores. 

Paragraph #11 states that “….superstores adversely affect the viability of small-scale, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood commercial areas….”  Many businesses other than superstores can also be a catalyst for change in neighborhood commercial areas.  For instance, was there not a small grocery in an older Elk Grove-Florin Road neighborhood center?   It is no longer there; did it fall out of favor with some shoppers when other grocers entered the Elk Grove market?

An important part of our value system is the ability to choose where we spend our dollars.  Over 130,000 people live in Elk Grove.  Many of them make very careful choices of how they spend their money. 

We believe Elk Grove can be welcoming to new businesses, provide adequate choices for all the income levels and interests of its residents,  and at the same time use design review and zoning to maintain the quality of life in Elk Grove.  I urge you to move away from a ‘ban’ and consider other alternatives to deal with the legitimate issues of traffic and location in siting a new business. 

In closing, we urge the Commission to carefully consider why you would want to limit a business from competing in an area.  Any such decision should be a reason that will stand up when applied to any other type of business, large and small, street front or in-home, local or regional.