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Aldermen agree to seek ordinance limiting smoke shops to five citywide
Summary
The License and Franchise Committee directed city attorneys to draft an ordinance defining "smoke shop" and capping the number in city limits at five, with current shops to be grandfathered; questions remain about convenience-store exceptions and enforcement mechanisms.
KANKAKEE, Ill. — Kankakee aldermen discussed and directed staff to draft an ordinance that would limit the number of dedicated tobacco or "smoke shop" retailers within the city to five, while grandfathering existing authorized shops.
The committee raised several implementation questions, including how to define a smoke shop, whether convenience stores and pharmacies selling tobacco should be treated differently, and whether a percentage-of-sales threshold should distinguish convenience stores from dedicated smoke retailers. Attorney Landwehr will prepare draft language and legal review for the committee.
"Let's get that definition. Let's see what a smoke shop is," Alderman Barron said, reflecting the committee's repeated request that legal staff frame a clear, enforceable definition. Committee members described current counts and pending openings: Clerk Gall and staff reported about 62 retail locations that can sell tobacco if counted broadly (including chain pharmacies and gas stations), while attendees said the city currently has six dedicated smoke shops with two additional pending applications.
The committee debated enforcement approaches. Some aldermen favored setting a cap at five smoke shops and allowing existing shops to remain under a grandfathering provision that would allow their continued operation but prevent new licenses beyond the cap; others proposed a cap that would reduce by attrition (no new licenses when an incumbent closes). Members asked legal staff to examine models used elsewhere — including percentage-of-sales tests applied in other local licensing categories and subjective definitions such as "primary business focus" — and to return with an ordinance to consider at a later meeting.
The committee did not adopt a final ordinance or take a formal vote. Instead, members directed legal staff to draft proposed ordinance language, including a clear definition of "smoke shop," and to advise on whether to include a percent-of-sales threshold or rely on a product-line/primary-focus test. The item will be returned to the committee for further discussion.
