Terrell amends zoning and smoking code to allow cigar and hookah lounges with permits

The Terrell City Council approved two related ordinance amendments to allow cigar lounges and hookah lounges in specified commercial and downtown districts with a one‑year specific-use permit and to add building and ventilation requirements to the city smoking regulations.

Assistant municipal-development director Raelynn Smith said staff and Planning and Zoning recommended the uses be allowed by Specific Use Permit (SUP) only, initially for a one-year SUP so the city could monitor how the uses operate in the community. "The recommendation was to allow these uses in Central Business District, Light Industrial, Downtown and Commercial zoning districts with an SUP," Raelynn Smith said.

Council and staff discussed that the new definitions restrict cigar/hookah lounges to businesses whose revenue and operations meet the ordinance’s definitions; the smoking-code amendment adds requirements for a separate air-ventilation system and wall separation to address fire and building-code concerns. Raelynn Smith said the code also limits how much liquor a cigar lounge may sell to ensure the business qualifies under the revenue-definition test in the ordinance.

Council voted to adopt ordinance No. 3108 (use-chart changes) and ordinance No. 3109 (smoking-code amendments); the Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended the changes with a unanimous vote. Council members asked staff to ensure consistent enforcement and to limit the uses to concentrated business footprints.

Why it matters: the change creates a regulated pathway for specialized smoking venues while leaving broader indoor smoking prohibitions in place for most other businesses; it couples land-use approval through SUPs with technical ventilation and building- separation standards.