TUSCALOOSA, Alabama ? Consultants working on a joint business study with Tuscaloosa and Northport met with officials and staff members Friday to speak about their first meetings with business owners and discuss their planned report.
Connie Cooper and Eric Kelly, who began conducting the study for Cooper Consulting Co. in January, gave an update on their progress in studying a list of uses given to them by the cities and asked for feedback, concerns and questions.
?It?s always interesting to have a joint contract. This could not be working out better,? Cooper said.
The consultants have identified more than 110 businesses in Tuscaloosa and Northport that fall under the categories of tattoo and body piercing parlors, pawn shops, check-cashing outlets, title loan businesses, payday loan businesses, tobacco shops, sex item stores and hand carwashes.
Cooper said the company would provide a draft of recommendations for the cities to address any issues with those businesses within 30 days and plan to give a full report within 60 days.
Both of the consultants have previously worked in Tuscaloosa. Cooper worked on the city?s downtown urban renewal plan and a study on The Strip. Kelly also worked on the Strip study and helped the city form a new sign ordinance.
Tuscaloosa and Northport city staff members, Cooper and Kelly met with business owners and representatives yesterday in a daylong ?listening session,? Cooper said.
?One of the things Eric and I do ? and I think it?s worked well for our reputation ? is we don?t come in with any preconceived notion and try to fit the ordinance to it,? Cooper said. ?We find it very important to listen to the businesses that you?re concerned with, and we understand not just from your viewpoint, but from their viewpoint, how they operate.?
The consultants heard from local pawn shops, hand car washes, tattoo shops, title loan businesses, payday loan businesses, check-cashing outlets on their operations and thoughts on regulations, but have not yet heard from any tobacco stores or adult businesses.
Kelly said title and payday loan business operators generally did not see any need for regulations, but pawn shop and tattoo parlor representatives recommended more rules. Cooper and Kelly gave the example of tattoo parlor owners being open to the idea of limiting operating hours.
?We rarely have a meeting like that, and it was so interesting,? Kelly said.
Cooper said it became clear that pawn shops work under strict regulations and work closely with police in part by reporting pawned items to a national lead database. However, ?We Buy Gold? businesses don?t operate under those same standards, leaving room where the city could step in, Kelly said.
There are serious constitutional issues with regulating businesses including sex item stores, and the operations of check cashing, payday and title loan businesses and pawn shops are heavily regulated by federal and state governments, so the cities? focus should be on land use issues, Kelly said.
Communities across the county have imposed limits on how many such businesses can be placed on a block or within a certain distance of one another, much like the city?s new mixed-use zones in the tornado recovery area.
?I think when you get clustering, you can get a perception of blight,? Kelly said.
Brendan Moore, the development ombudsman for Tuscaloosa, said that perception is a major issue in some areas of the city when it comes to recruiting new businesses. ?
?It?s trying to convince (businesses) that it is a safe environment, that you?re not going to run into any problems,? Moore said. ?Some of those businesses raise concerns.?
Cooper Consulting?s report will lay out any constraints on regulations that the consultants might find, Kelly said.
?We can give you some models, we can make pretty specific recommendations about what can be done,? Kelly said. ?There are going to be other things that we may say that you have to decide whether this is a major public policy issue. There?s going to be dispute about it, but here are some of the things you can do if you want to address this.?
The company?s end product should help dispel misconceptions about certain types of businesses as well as lead to recommendations about potential regulations, Cooper said.
Cooper and Kelly have received crime data for the past five years and will pare down that list to see how crime relates to the businesses on their list. The cities have been able to provide information to consultants quickly, Cooper said.
Kelly suggested that city could consider issuing licenses for certain businesses that have specific criteria and could be taken away if the business runs into issues with law enforcement.
When consultants and Tuscaloosa city staff discussed the lax state standards for tattoo parlors, City Attorney Tim Nunnally said the city could look into whether it can make regulations more stringent based on health and safety issues.
A few officials offered comments and questions on the study and impacted businesses. Councilman William Tinker told Cooper and Kelly he was concerned with
the location of payday loan businesses and lighting on tattoo parlor
signs. Councilman Bobby Howard asked about stores that cashed checks for a small or no fee and explained why the city included tobacco shops in its list of businesses for the study.
Northport retail development director Alan Harper said he appreciated the consultant?s approach and focus on finding a ?saturation point? for the businesses being studied.
?We need a better look to recruit better retail,? Harper said.
Article source: http://blog.al.com/tuscaloosa/2013/03/tuscaloosa_northport_officials_1.html
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