Michigan’s local governments are using zoning ordinances to keep dollar stores from opening.

Several local governments in rural areas require additional permits for any store that would sell primarily low-cost goods. These governments include Maple City and Empire in Leelanau County and Benzonia in Benzie County.

Almira, in Benzie County, requires any building over 5,000 square feet to receive a special land use permit.

The rule limiting commercial structures to 5,000 square feet is meant to “maintain the character of our primarily residential township,” Almira zoning administrator Kate Preston told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.

“Commercial and residential uses are often adjacent in Almira, and maintaining the value of our residential means managing the impact of our commercial. We’re a small township, and a small footprint commercial fits in better. This restriction applies to all commercial enterprises and isn't intended to restrict any particular business or type of business.”

In Empire, any building over 2,999 square feet needs a special land use permit. Any building over 5,000 square feet requires a variance. Meanwhile, Benzonia’s ordinance requires anyone who constructs a building over 5,000 square feet to get a special land use permit.

Long Lake Charter Township, in Grand Traverse County, restricts buildings that require a permit to 7,500 square feet. Buildings larger than 7,500 square feet need a conditional use permit.

The area has a Dollar General that moved in about two years ago, Supervisor Ron Lemcool said in a phone interview.

Dollar store critics compare the stores to a disease that “reveals the worst of capitalism,” Jarrett Skorup, the Mackinac Center’s vice president for marketing and communications, wrote in a March story for Reason magazine.

Using zoning to prevent chain stores from serving local communities will only undermine job growth, investment, and the needs of local residents, Daniel J. Smith, an economics professor at Middle Tennessee State University, told CapCon in an email.

“Corporate chain stores, including dollar stores, are eyeing rural Michigan communities as prime locations to establish new outlets, driven by their ability to meet the practical needs of residents,” Smith wrote. “These stores offer convenience for locals, eliminating the need for frequent trips into town to replace a spilled carton of milk or pick up medicine for a child’s fever. This accessibility enhances the appeal of living in these areas, allowing residents to fully embrace the charm of Michigan’s picturesque countryside.”

Leelanau County is the only one of Michigan’s 83 counties that doesn’t have a Dollar General.

“Fewer car trips benefit not only the environment and residents’ wallets but also bolster local economies,” Smith wrote. “By providing affordable, readily available goods, these stores create stable job opportunities for community members. Moreover, their steady stream of customers can spark additional development, paving the way for nearby businesses like barbershops or restaurants to thrive. With more time and disposable income, consumers are better positioned to support these local ventures, fostering a cycle of growth and opportunity.”

Living during high inflation means customers need their dollars to stretch further, Dollar General told CapCon in an email.

“We believe restrictive measures harm communities by limiting customer choice, convenience and affordability, particularly in inflationary times, and forcing customers to travel farther and/or spend more to access basic household and food items,” a spokesperson wrote.

“We believe the addition of each Dollar General provides positive economic benefits including additional access to affordable products for customers; the creation of new jobs for local residents and career development opportunities for our employees; the generation of additional tax revenue for the city; and the ability for local nonprofits, schools and libraries to apply for literacy and education grants through the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.”

Michigan's current pandemic plan cites evidence that does not appear to support its lockdown measures, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services updated its pandemic emergency plan in 2024, several years after the last of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lockdowns came to an end. Yet the plan is short on lessons learned from the lockdown period, and its main federal source does not support the contents of the Michigan plan.

When Michigan Capitol Confidential asked the department to provide the evidence supporting the 2024 plan, it pointed to a set of guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The guidelines do not endorse shutdowns and social distancing.

The state’s pandemic plan references a 2017 CDC report to justify its strategies. Michael Van Beek, director of research at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said the two are not compatible, calling the state’s reference misleading.

“The department either has an idiosyncratic interpretation of the 2017 CDC report that it refuses to articulate or is trying to pull a fast one,” Van Beek said. “There are no alternatives.”

The CDC explains its recommendations in table 10 under “Recommended nonpharmaceutical interventions for influenza pandemics, by setting and pandemic severity.”

CDC guidance advises preemptive measures to slow transmission before a virus starts spreading, Van Beek said, but it does not support social distancing once a virus is circulating in the population.

Even under the CDC guidelines, quarantines and isolation strategies are voluntary and do not require legal enforcement, he said.

Despite the state health department’s repeated reference to these guidelines, Van Beek said, there is little empirical evidence to support many of the interventions the state endorses. The 2017 CDC report repeats several times that there is little to no good evidence for any particular social distancing policy, he said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci was the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden. He said, during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing in 2024, that the six-foot social distancing measure was likely not based on scientific data, according to The New York Post.

In the state’s plan, however, social distancing and lockdowns could be the only tools available to slow transmission of a pandemic virus.

Lockdowns during the COVID pandemic have had lasting effects, none of which are mentioned in the state plan. Some businesses were permanently shuttered, and children still have not yet academically recovered. Suicide rates increased.

The state health department did not respond to CapCon’s emailed request for comment.