Article from Reason by Joe Setyon.

A South Carolina island might soon ban chain restaurants and other stores from opening up new locations. One of ban’s main goals, according to the proposed ordinance, is to maintain the island’s “unique character.”

About 2,400 people live on Folly Beach Island, which itself is part of the city of Folly Beach, South Carolina. The ordinance passed earlier this month by the city council would prohibit “formula businesses within the downtown commercial, island commercial, and marine commercial districts.”

“Formula businesses,” meanwhile, are defined as establishments “with 10 or more outlets anywhere in the world; and with standardized services, such as merchandise, trademark, logo, uniforms, décor, etc.”

The island is currently home to a Subway restaurant and a BP gas station, though neither establishment would be affected by the ban. Folly Beach Island already has a ban on drive-through businesses in place.

Read the entire article at Reason.

Image Credit: By Fibonacci Blue from Minnesota, USA [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons