SALISBURY, Md.- A petition is circling Salisbury as some downtown business owners voice frustrations over the difficulties of having a business downtown.
Business owner Nicole Blackwater created the petition, called ‘Help Us Save Downtown Salisbury’.
“We are working to break the cycle that downtown Salisbury has been in for decades. It’s definitely been struggling for years,” said Blackwater. “This is our chance to break that cycle. When we have more development projects here, we are bringing more people, more businesses, more jobs. And what we’d really like to see more people downtown.”
Blackwater says it is hard to get customers downtown, as well as business owners to open shop there. Alfred Brewer wanted to open his business downtown, but was suggested to steer clear of downtown Salisbury.
"I was almost turned away from going downtown, not by any of the developers or real estate people, but by the locals who were like, don't do it, it's a death sentence for you," said Brewer.
Brewer says this was 5 years ago, and since then, he’s seen growth in that time. But Blackwater says it’s still a challenge. According to the petition and Blackwater, in just the last two years, 20 businesses downtown shut their doors.
“Having more people downtown allows for more customers and our businesses. It's going to have more people living here, more people doing things here and more people working here,” said Blackwater.
One change the petition is advocating for is for the city to change its code to increase the residential density. The city’s planning and zoning commission meets Thursday November 21st to vote on increasing the density, which could open the doors for more apartment complexes and living spaces downtown.
