By Scott Allen —
Fredericksburg City Council members on Monday voted 4-1, with Mayor Linda Langerhans dissenting, against letting a chain retail store locate at one of the town’s busiest intersections.
A conditional-use permit on The Spice and Tea Exchange in the Historic District at 401 E. Main St. was denied.
Joel and Karen Marshall, applicants for the business, said The Spice and Tea Exchange has nine other locations across the country and wanted their 10th location at the southeast corner of Washington and Main streets.
But their proposed business goes against the 2008 ordinance, which gained the nickname “No Chains on Main.” That was passed by the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) to prohibit franchises and other chains from locating in the town’s “golden blocks” in an attempt to retain a unique retail environment.
“If you go and approve this, you have effectively gutted the ordinance that this (P&Z) commission worked to put together,” said Daryl Whitworth, a P&Z board member who helped draft the ordinance.
Stuart Barron, owner of the property, said his family has had business on the property since 1938 and denying certain businesses from coming in is prohibiting.
“The standardized ordinance is forcing the land lords to find new businesses,” Barron said. “Is Fredericksburg going to be a revolving door of small businesses that turn over annually or every other year?”
The location had previously had a Subway franchise in the building, but since it existed before the ordinance, it was grandfathered.
Prior to the city council meeting, the P&Z commission met and voted unanimously to recommend that the council deny the application because of the way the ordinance was written.
“At the end of the day, it was in their (P&Z commission’s) opinion, that it was a standardized business by definition and it doesn’t meet all the intended sections of the ordinance,” said Brian Jordan, director of development services.
Langerhans spoke about the council’s decision to be able to be flexible with the ordinance, even though the council would have required a super majority vote to overturn the P&Z commission’s recommendation.
“Turning down a business of this quality and caliber is wrong,” Langerhans said.
Despite the mayor’s dissent, the council voted against the conditional use permit and no further action will be taken.
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