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The town where I went to college had about 7,000 non-student residents, and maybe 300 students. No chains were allowed to set up inside the a certain zone -- maybe 7 blocks by 5 blocks. That restriction didn't seem to hamper business much. There was one private coffee shop, many restaurants, gift shops, touristy things, a couple of small clothing stores.
I think Main Street USA has its place, and we should try to maintain that in the very center of the city. But it doesn't hold further out, especially if there's not a built in clientele of students walking around every day.
Putting moratorium on new residences strikes me as stupid. If you want business, you need people. Keeping the city authentic is as simple as setting up zoning laws on how the new buildings must look.
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1987 325 eta
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