Are they right?
No - and yes.
In Salt Lake City, for example, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a DI at 2234 S. Highland Drive, smack-dab in the bustling Sugar House shopping district.
"I've not heard a single complaint," says Mark Holland, a member of the Sugar House Community Council.
Carrying a lamp to her aging Mercedes on Monday from the Sugar House store, Shirley Waters says most thrift stores seem to be in commercial zones.
"I shop here all the time," she boasts.
However, another DI is tucked away at 131 E. 700 South, closer to downtown but away from Salt Lake City's main shopping venues.
In Murray, the hugely popular DI at 4485 S. Main is about to be torn down. But DI isn't disappearing from that choice commercial corridor. Instead, church officials plan to build a state-of-the-art store at the site with more parking and access from highly traveled State Street.
Like the Sugar House outlet, Murray's DI is part of a Redevelopment Agency area. Murray officials dream of turning the area into a city gateway by bringing in new shopping, housing and offices.
And a DI won't hurt that vision, Mayor Dan Snarr says.
"I don't have a problem with [the church's plans]," Snarr adds. "If they own the property and want to develop something nice, they can."
Unlike Draper, Murray isn't hungering for more retailers to feed the city's coffers. The centrally located Salt Lake Valley city (population 46,000) already boasts a broad sales-tax base, including a string of State Street car dealerships and the packed Fashion Place Mall. In fact, Murray collects about 5 percent of the state's total sales-tax dollars.
On the other hand, Draper (population 35,000 and swelling) is still building its retail base. Devoting coveted commercial space to a tax-exempt DI wouldn't help the city's bottom line.
But the thrift store offers more than banking new bucks, argues former Bluffdale Mayor Wayne Mortimer, who spent 30 years managing DIs across four states, many in Utah.
"Communities don't understand the services offered to them at no charge," says Mortimer, listing employment opportunities as chief among the store's attributes.
Mortimer also touts the recycling operation and even the spiritual growth a DI can bring.
"Draper's not looking at that," he says.
West Valley City, West Jordan, Sandy, Centerville and Provo all have DIs in secondary shopping areas.
The stores in Centerville and West Valley City are adjacent to supermarkets. Provo's outlet is found on State Street near banks, fast-food joints and a car dealership. Sandy's is across from the Sandy Mall - although DI is looking to shutter the store and open in Draper instead.
A Salvation Army thrift store operates on West Valley City's main commercial drag at 3500 South near 4000 West.
West Jordan's new DI is in a Redwood Road strip mall north of City Hall.
"The [City] Council had no issue with it," City Manager Gary Luebbers says. "The Planning Commission had no issue with it. The citizens had no issue with it."
Mindi Rich, delivering a load of donations Monday to the Sugar House DI, says the Draper decision screams of bias and elitism.
"I don't see the DI as some big liability," she says. "This is one of the things that helps bridge the east-west divide. We need that."
Still, as Draper City Councilman Bill Colbert notes, many of the stores don't do business in prime retail centers. While West Jordan's DI is on busy Redwood Road, it's not at the thriving Jordan Landing shopping and entertainment center.
"You don't see DI at The Gateway" west of downtown Salt Lake City, Colbert says. "You don't see it in downtown revitalization in Provo."
Colbert says he would be fine with DI opening near - but not on - Draper's burgeoning 12300 South commercial gateway.
"All I'm looking at is one block off," he says.
jsantini@sltrib.com
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Tribune reporter Derek P. Jensen contributed to this story.
