This petition concerns the residents of the Ben Franklin (BF) School area that includes residents of Morgantown Street, the Craig Meadows I Plan, and particularly the residents bordering the property of 367 Morgantown Street in Uniontown, PA; parents, students, and staff of Ben Franklin School; and historical preservationists.                

367 Morgantown Street, the site of the Historic Craig Mansion, has been purchased for the purpose of constructing a Dollar General (DG) on the parcel. There is conflicting information, and it is unclear if the zoning of the property remains R3 (residential, high density) or if it has been, or is in the process of being rezoned to C1 (general commercial)—in any case, this parcel borders an R1 (residential, low density) neighborhood and is directly next to Ben Franklin School, an elementary and middle school. 

A DG on this property will disturb the quiet community. It will also contribute to traffic on Morgantown Street and throughout the neighborhood, which is already regularly busy and congested with both regular traffic and school drop-off and pick-up traffic. All of this will be amplified with additional traffic from Dollar General, whose entrance will likely be right in the middle of the car pickup line.

Additionally, studies document a rise in crime rates after a DG opens.[1] Such has happened in our own community at other DGs nearby (and we already have 8 in the Uniontown area—the closest is only 0.8 miles away!) No store of this type belongs beside a school and our vulnerable children! 

Furthermore, while dollar stores claim to help economically challenged areas, they are known for having smaller packages and higher prices, and they actually hurt local business growth; studies show that other retail businesses avoid municipal areas with multiple DGs because these stores signal the economic decline of an area—therefore, the area is not seen as a good place to invest.[2]

The mansion on the property holds great significance in both architecture and history. While the rumor is that the stately home will be spared, imagine the beautiful historic home in the parking lot of a Dollar General! 

Our goals are to 1) Verify the zoning of the property was done properly, in compliance with PA MPC rules[3], and if not, reverse the zoning changes; 2) keep the area near the school safe and free of crime and more traffic; 3) preserve the historical mansion and property; 4) maintain the quiet, residential status and property value of Craig Meadows I; and 5) stop Dollar General from building at 367 Morgantown Street.

If we lose this fight, BF School traffic will be impacted, neighborhood property values may drop, area crime and traffic will increase, a part of Uniontown’s historical beauty will be lost, our area will look more economically stunted to investors, and it will mark the beginning of the death of another nice neighborhood. 

Help us say NO to Dollar General! Stand up with us and sign this petition now so we can stop DG in its tracks. #stopthebuild #nodollargeneral

  ---------------------

 
[1] https://propublica.org/article/how-dollar-stores-became-magnets-for-crime-and-killing
[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2018/12/30/will-dollar-stores-be-the-end-of-local-american-retail-ilsr-seems-to-think-so/?sh=512582b06194
[3]  https://lynchlaw-group.com/seeking-a-variance/