At its April 2 meeting, the Richmond City Council took its first steps towards a 45-day Moratorium on smoke shops.
The council was ready to move forward at the meeting, however, by not having a super majority (4/5) of the council at the meeting, they have to bring back the item to the April 16 meeting for a vote. The item came before the council after members of the community expressed concerns about the number of smoke shops in the city
The City of Richmond identified 78 licensed tobacco retailers—including at least 3 operating without proper licenses. This equates to two shops per square mile to purchase tobacco products. If a moratorium is approved, it would be first for 45-days, but could be extended to up to 2-years.
Mayor Eduardo Martinez stated not included in the report was that many grocery stores and tobacco also sell tobacco and the city is being inundated with tobacco outlets that are not only selling tobacco.
“One of the issues is many of these tobacco shops sell more than tobacco, they sell paraphernalia which is associated with tobacco, but a lot of the paraphernalia is associated to other habits. We really need to consider which of these tobacco shops are strictly tobacco and which are expanding the term of tobacco which include other things which should be regulated under the cannabis rules,” stated Martinez. “If any of them are selling cannabis, they should be paying for a cannabis license which is not available since we have a moratorium on dispensaries.”
Councilmember Cesar Zepeda shared while 78 are licensed, but said many could be unlicensed.
Staff confirmed 3 locations were determined to be tobacco resellers without a license. Staff said they have began the process of getting the properties ready for inspection and will issue notification and bring the business owners/property owners into compliance.
“The moratorium is essential. We need the moratorium so we have the space and time to look at all of the regulations, all of the rules we have and find out which way is the best way to move forward,” said Martinez.
Hector Rojas, Community Development, shared with the City Council that the existing municipal code requires a tobacco retailer license for a business selling tobacco products and/or paraphernalia. No CUP or public hearing is required. Also, tobacco retailers must be located at least 500 feet away from other tobacco retailers and at least 1,000 feet away from schools, playgrounds, parks, and libraries.
Other existing regulations include:
- Sale of flavored tobacco products and electronic cigarettes is prohibited
- Tobacco self-service displays and vending machines are prohibited
- Tobacco retailer license must be renewed annually and are subject to suspension or revocation
- Regulations are currently enforced by the Code Enforcement Division
Proposed Moratorium (see staff report)
- Initiated to address recent community complaints about the proliferation of tobacco retailers
- Would prohibit issuance of new tobacco retailer licenses for 45-das, unless extended
- Requires 4/5 majority vote
- Would be effective immediately upon adoption
- Exiting tobacco retailer licenses may still be renewed, suspended, or revoked during moratorium.
According to Rojas, during the moratorium, the city would evaluate whether to regulate vaping pens and products, increase penalties for code violations, review licensing fees and restrictions, or could require a CUP and public hearing for future tobacco retailers.
“What do we envision for Richmond? If we want a healthy Richmond, smoke shops are not the answer,” said Councilmember Claudia Jimenez who said this needs to be a bigger discussion to make the city create healthier choices for the city.
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