Northeast Oregon city bans chain stores amid dollar store backlash

By ANTONIA SIERRA/Oregon Public Broadcasting

An organized campaign to prevent the spread of chain dollar stores in Wallowa County scored a significant victory this month.

The Joseph City Council passed an ordinance banning “formula” businesses from operating within city limits. While the law doesn’t identify any chain stores by name, it arrived amid community concern over the spread of dollar stores throughout Wallowa County and eastern Oregon.

Local entrepreneur Erika Polmar co-founded No Dollar General, a group that formed after the Tennessee-based chain decided to build a new store in the city of Wallowa. Joseph passed the ordinance as rumors spread that Dollar General wanted to open more locations in Wallowa County, Polmar said.

“The city of Joseph got a lot of pressure at their most recent planning commission meeting and the City Hall was being flooded with calls and emails from citizens saying that they wanted to make sure that the city was protected,” she said. “Thankfully, the City Council and the city administrators listened and took action very quickly.”

Joseph defines a formula business as a storefront that is required to have “prescribed standards and features, particularly for exterior color schemes, signs or architectural design.” The ordinance carves out exceptions for gas stations, financial institutions and a few other business types. But otherwise, most chain stores and restaurants are banned in Joseph’s commercial areas.

Joseph is not alone. Polmar said she’s identified 70 city governments that have banned formula businesses across the country.

Wallowa County’s sparse population and geographic isolation means there are only a handful of chain businesses in the county, a group that includes Safeway and Subway. But small customer bases haven’t stopped chains like Dollar General and Family Dollar from aggressively expanding throughout eastern Oregon. Critics like the members of No Dollar General argue that these chains hurt rural communities by killing local businesses and offering inferior products. Dollar General did not return an email requesting comment.

No Dollar General is fighting dollar stores on multiple fronts. The group is involved in appealing a land use permit Wallowa County granted Dollar General clearance to open a store there. Polmar said the process is still ongoing, but the company has already agreed to conduct a traffic study.

No Dollar General’s efforts couldn’t prevent the company from opening the Wallowa store. While the group is encouraging residents not to patronize the store, Polmar said she does see cars in the parking lot when she passes by.

“The thing that Dollar General does well is that they target low income communities and communities that are struggling,” she said. “Unfortunately, they will have business because people are keen on finding a bargain.”

Still, Polmar is undeterred. She said she’s reached out to Wallowa County and Enterprise, the county’s largest city, about adopting similar formula business bans.