Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday that she will place limits on whether some city liquor stores damaged in April's rioting can receive state aid.
The mayor has already said that she will not grant city aid to the 23 liquor stores located in residential neighborhoods that suffered damage. But after learning that some of those stores planned to apply for state aid, Rawlings-Blake said she's seeking to block the flow of that money as well.
The mayor said she is requiring any of the businesses that want to seek state aid to first get letters from their local City Council member and the local community association, saying they approve of store rebuilding as a liquor store. She is also requiring the City Council member signing the letter to pledge to work to transform the store from a liquor-selling operation to another use.
"The city should not put tax dollars or donations into helping non-conforming liquor stores rebuild as liquor stores in those same locations," she told reporters Wednesday. "That is simply not the appropriate way for us to spend city tax dollars or donations."
City officials argue that liquor stores contribute to crime and poor health in impoverished areas, which need other kinds of stores, such as those that sell fresh fruits and vegetables.
"However, I understand that Gov. Hogan and the state have a different point of view," Rawlings-Blake said. "They appear to believe our neighborhoods need more liquor stores, not fewer. ... While Gov. Hogan and the state would like to provide economic assistance for non-conforming liquor stores to rebuild in our residential neighborhoods, the state's rules require the city sign off on any such request."
City officials have said there are about 100 nonconforming liquor stores throughout the city; they were allowed to continue operating even as zoning laws were enacted to ban alcohol sales in residential areas. Many are owned by Korean-Americans, some of whom say the city is making them scapegoats for Baltimore's problems.
Of the 380 businesses looted or damaged in the April rioting, about 100 are owned by Korean-Americans. Many have reopened and most owners want to rebuild despite having sustained as much as $500,000 damage, according to the Korean Society of Maryland, which has been trying to help.
For 23 liquor stores, rebuilding comes with added hurdles. Although the state has adjusted its policy to provide interest-free loans to those businesses, city officials have taken a harder line. The city is withholding such loans from liquor stores that have been targeted for closure because they do not comply with current zoning rules — a move that has angered owners.
Those stores, which are located in residential neighborhoods, will be asked to sell something else or relocate to an area zoned for alcohol sales, according to the mayor's office.
The state has said it will not deny assistance to the nonconforming liquor stores.
"These business owners, the majority of whom are minorities, are the victims of crime who deserve the full support of the state and city," said Erin Montgomery, a spokeswoman for Hogan. "They are Marylanders and members of our community, and using their tragedy as a political tool is wrong and needs to stop. Despite the mayor's objections, the state will be approving loans for these businesses because it's simply the right thing to do. Whether these funds get used or not by city businesses is the mayor's decision, but it's something we strongly encourage her to allow without condition."
lbroadwater@baltsun.com
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