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Council approves transfer and expansion of tobacco/head‑shop licenses amid neighborhood density concerns
Summary
Council approved a transfer and expansion of tobacco and head‑shop licenses for a business operating as Yo Dabadavas despite council discussion about high concentration of similar shops in a two‑block area and classification issues dating from earlier licensing changes.
The City Council on Sept. 9 approved ordinances allowing AAA Retailers LLC (doing business as Yo Dabadavas) to obtain a Class C head‑shop license and a Class B incidental tobacco dealer license at the existing location, after extended council discussion about shop density and prior misclassification of license types.
City attorney/staff explained the business had operated under a prior tobacco license and had been categorized as a Class C when the city moved to the new, three‑class licensing system. At renewal the owner requested both Class B and Class C status; staff said the business had in practice been operating as both and the current transaction appeared to be a business transfer rather than a change in operations. “When the cap … the classes were introduced … each establishment that existed was assigned into one of those classes,” staff explained, saying the city later discovered classification inconsistencies and was correcting them.
Several council members raised concerns about the concentration of smoking/vape/head‑shop businesses in the 4300–4400 blocks of Avenue of the Cities and questioned whether the city should limit density or import spacing rules used for alcohol licenses. One councilmember said the community had too many such shops and opposed approving an additional license in that area; others argued it would be unfair to deny a buyer who purchased a business expecting to continue existing operations. Discussion included a suggestion to consider zoning or spacing limits in future code changes rather than retroactively denying a business transfer.
Council votes approved advancing the ordinances and ultimately passed the measures. The record shows some votes in opposition on individual readings, but both the Class C and Class B transfers advanced and were approved in subsequent readings and roll‑call votes. Staff said they will continue to audit other licenses for similar classification errors and, if the council desires, consider adopting distance or other regulatory tools from alcohol licensing for tobacco retailers in future code updates.
