City Council Closes Gap in Convenience Store Security Requirement

The New Port Richey City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to change a city ordinance to require stores that do not sell gas to implement the same security measures as convenience stores that do.

Police and residents have expressed concerns about Main Street Food Mart. The convenience store is across the street from City Hall. It does not have pumps. The ordinance change gives police a new tool to aid enforcement there. 

New Port Richey Police Chief James Steffens said that at one point, his department received regular complaints about people outside the store from the city or residents.

The police heard concerns about regulars at the Food Mart “hanging out” outside the store.

Loiterers were ousted from the convenience store parking lot after police talked to the store management, but then people began congregating at a bus stop and corners nearby.  

Some loiterers were suspected of belonging to gangs.

Three of four suspects arrested in connection with the armed robbery of a man in New Port Richey in December were known regular customers at the Main Street Food Mart, Steffens told Patch.

The existing city ordinance, which was just approved last year,  defines a convenience store as a store "deriving fifty percent or more of its gross sales from the sale of gasoline for motor vehicles and the sale of goods, merchandise, or other articles of value in their original containers.”

These stores are required to provide a clear and unobstructed view of the cash register and sales area of a store from the street. 

The clerk and customer must be fully visible from the street at the time of the sales transaction. The store is required to have a certain level of lighting outside it, have security cameras, use a safe and install a sign that advertises the store has that safe and no more than $50 in the register.

The ordinance change expands the city's definition of convenience store. The amendment requires stores without pumps to comply with the existing city code. It also changes the city's assessment of what operating hours a store needs to have to be considered a convenience store. The first draft of the change was approved at a Dec. 20 meeting.

A clear line of sight into a store helps police monitor and assess what’s going on inside, Steffens said.

It gives employees inside the store a clear view of the parking lot so they can monitor what’s going on outside.

“This isn’t just about being able to see in,” Steffens said.

It’s a “quality of life” issue, he said

“(Customers) feel better about good lighting, good sight lines,” he said

The manager of Main Street Food Mart told the Tampa Bay Times when the ordinance amendment was proposed that the store is up to code and his parking lot is clean. He told the Times there is nothing he can do about crime off his property.

“We’re endeavoring to get a higher level of cooperation from them,” Steffens said to Patch.

Steffens said that in recent weeks, fewer complaints have been received.

A Patch reader commented on the New Port Richey Patch Facebook page when Steffens was appointed police chief in December that maybe he can do something about the Main Street Food Mart. 

“I won't even go walk downtown alone because of that place!” she wrote.

The ordinance went into effect immediately, Steffens said, and enforcement of the change will begin Wednesday nght.