In a unanimous vote, the Pottstown borough council recently voted to move forward with proposed rules to limit and regulate convenience stores, writes Evan Brandt for The Pottstown Mercury.

This allowed borough staff to formally advertise the proposed changes as a final vote could come as early as next month.

The amendments to the zoning code will limit convenience stores to highway business, downtown, and gateway zoning districts. According to the proposal, they would be prohibited in “neighborhood residential” or “traditional town neighborhood” zones, said council Vice President Sheryl Miller.

The proposal also prohibits a new convenience store from opening within 1,200 feet of another.

The discussion started after council member Dennis Arms commented that many of the small neighborhood markets “are eyesores.”

He noted that the distance between stores should be at least a mile, but was warned by Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. that this proposal may be illegal. However, reasonably regulating them was a course of action the borough could take.

Read more about the proposed rules in The Pottstown Mercury by clicking here.