Resident warns of smoke shops near Dixie Highway; mayor cites half-mile separation policy

Joanne Reese, who identified herself as chairwoman of the advisory board, raised concerns during citizen comments about the number and placement of smoke and tobacco shops, particularly near Dixie Highway. Reese said she checked an online source and found "30 smoke shops with tobacco shops in Broward County," and that she believed "maybe it might be 7 in Hollywood." She said youth she speaks with described products and activities available at some shops, and said that "things lead to other things," expressing concern for young people in the area.

"I took the time, like, a couple hours ago... to go into the internet and find out that we have 30 smoke shops with tobacco shops in Broward County," Reese said. She asked commissioners to be aware of the issue and noted the board has a survey in progress and a professional staff liaison, Allison Stanford.

The mayor (unnamed) replied that the city previously addressed the issue by adopting a distance-separation approach: "we enacted a a pretty broad distance separation so that smoke shops are not allowed within roughly half a mile of another existing 1, so they can't pop up everywhere." He added that the police department can investigate specific complaints about illegal sales: "if you know of a particular smoke shop that is selling something that's illegal, perhaps please, you know, let police know, they can, you know, covertly go and inspect and do what they do and, make sure that people aren't, you know, selling kids dangerous things..."

No staff report, ordinance number, enforcement action, or specific shop was identified during the meeting; the mayor's remarks referenced an existing local distance-separation policy but did not provide the ordinance citation. The complaint was presented as citizen comment; the commission did not vote or direct a formal follow-up during the session.