WILMINGTON SHOULD HELP NEIGHBORS FIGHT DRUGS AND DISORDER

For several years now, Wilmington officials have been struggling to find a
way to curb malicious loitering and open-air drug dealing on corners in
poor neighborhoods.

We understand their concerns and sympathize with their efforts. But they
have yet to come up with an acceptable solution, including the latest that
would put a six-month moratorium on certain new businesses in residential
neighborhoods.

The moratorium is Mayor James M. Baker's idea. He has concluded that
certain kinds of businesses, particularly corner liquor stores and
mini-markets, attract drug dealers. He wants to give the city's legal and
real estate departments time to come up with permanent restrictions.
Unfortunately, such a moratorium might not stand a legal test if challenged.

There are ways for neighborhoods to control the kinds of enterprises in
them. One need only visit affluent city neighborhoods to recognize that.
Liquor stores and mini-markets exist there too, and generally do not create
the kinds of problems the mayor is trying to prevent. The primary reason is
that neighborhood residents have organized with city departments and police
to stymie unwelcome behavior.

This is what must happen in poor neighborhoods as well. It is good the city
administration is willing to scrutinize zoning restrictions to see if
changes can be made to prevent abuses. But ultimately the solution is going
to be enforcing laws and restrictions to prevent disorder, rather than
prohibiting legitimate commerce.

One argument for the corner business moratorium is that some proprietors
actively support the illicit drug trade or allow their stores to be used as
cover for illegal activities. We suspect such rogue merchants are in the
minority. It would be better to use existing laws to shut them down rather
than to treat all neighborhood merchants as suspect.

Municipal restrictions can be a legitimate tool to fight urban disorder,
but they should involve conventional process. Even if a moratorium is
effective in the short run, it is more likely that improvements will last
if they are built on community efforts rather than imposed prohibitions
that might not be sustainable.