HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Planning Commission will start discussion on small “dollar” stores during their next meeting.

The stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General are among the fastest-growing retail chains in the country. But they are also being scorned in some cities. The only grocery store in Haven closed after a Dollar General came to town and citizens in Buhler voiced such strong objection to one opening in their community, that the city turned the store chain away. Now the city of Hutchinson is looking over the stores as a fifth dollar business is set to open in the old Hastings location. “It’s something that’s kind of been simmering in planning circles for a while, on some of the concerns of the proliferation of these kinds of stores,” Planning Director Ryan Hvilok said.

One of the major concerns other than more competition is the lack of nutritional foods. “They aren’t really a good substitute for a grocery store . . . they don’t have a lot of fresh foods,” Hvitlok added.

Hvitlok says this is still a very preliminary discussion, but the Commission could begin to lean towards some type of guidelines for such stores. “I think it’s going to be along the lines of something more like a conditional use permit or some type of supplemental standards or ban on them,” Hvitlok said. Of course, any type of regulations would not affect the stores that are already here in the city. Hvitlok says the city wants to make sure that if the growth of such stores continues, they serve the neighborhoods in a way that’s fully beneficial. “I think there is certainly a lot more room for those type of stores. We’ve got some census tracks and places in the city that are classified as food deserts by the USDA,” Hvitlok said. “We want to make sure that if those stores are going into those neighborhoods, that they’re at least providing a healthy food option for those neighborhoods.”

The next Planning Commission meeting is Tuesday, August 27, at 5:30 at the Hutchinson city offices.