Cleveland committee approves package of ordinances to regulate ‘smoke shops,’ tobacco licensing and window signage

Cleveland’s Health Committee on (date not specified) voted to advance a package of ordinances designed to regulate so‑called “smoke shops,” tighten rules on storefront window signage, update penalties for illegal distribution of tobacco products and create a new tobacco retail licensing program.

The four pieces of legislation — introduced as Ordinance Nos. 1‑88, 1‑89, 1‑86 and 1‑87 (2025) — were read into the record, discussed at length by council members and city staff, and moved forward by the committee. Committee members also approved a narrow drafting amendment to the tobacco licensing ordinance that replaces the phrase “authorized agent” with “agent.”

Shannon Leonard, chief zoning administrator, told the committee the package is intended “to regulate the location of the smoke shops to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of all Clevelanders, to protect neighborhoods from negative externalities and secondary effects created by the concentration and clustering of such businesses, to avoid and reduce over saturation of these types of businesses, as well as to promote the public health, safety, and welfare by encouraging walkability and prohibiting signage that is a % opaque, full window coverage in all business, industrial, and overlay districts.”

Why it matters: City staff and council members said the measures are a response to rapidly rising numbers of retail storefronts selling cannabis‑adjacent and other smoke‑shop products — including delta‑8, kratom and CBD — some of which residents and council members said are operating in ways that confuse consumers and may skirt state law.

Key provisions and details - Definition and scope: The proposed code section would define a smoke shop as any retail establishment where 20% or more of floor, shelf or display area, individually or in the aggregate, is used to sell smoke‑shop products (listed examples include kratom, CBD, delta‑8 and other cannabinoids, tobacco and nicotine products, and electronic smoking devices, plus accessories). - Buffers and siting: New smoke shops would be required to be at least two miles (10,560 feet) from any existing smoke shop and may not be located or relocated within 500 feet of a…