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El Centro council adopts 45‑day interim moratorium on new tobacco retail shops, votes 4‑0
Summary
City staff said concentration of tobacco retail shops downtown posed an immediate threat to public health and safety. The council adopted an interim urgency ordinance pausing new smoke‑shop permits for 45 days while staff drafts a longer, tailored zoning ordinance.
El Centro City Council on a 4‑0 vote adopted an interim urgency ordinance establishing a 45‑day moratorium on new tobacco retail shops, including new business licenses, relocations, or expansions of existing smoke shops, while staff prepares a tailored zoning ordinance.
Angel Hernandez, the city’s community development director, told the council staff and residents had raised concerns about an overconcentration of tobacco retail stores in downtown El Centro and “apparent connections” between some locations and neighborhood deterioration and illegal activity. Hernandez said code enforcement logs and photographs indicate concentrations of activity around some storefronts.
Assistant City Attorney Catherine Nishid (participating by Zoom) explained the legal standard for an urgency ordinance: the council must find an immediate threat to public health, safety and welfare. She summarized the moratorium process: the interim ordinance takes effect immediately, lasts 45 days, and may be extended — through different procedural pathways — for up to two years while the council adopts a more specific ordinance.
During public comment, Robert Rodriguez, owner of Deluxe Vapes and a longtime downtown business owner, asked the council not to group his store with other smoke shops. Rodriguez said Deluxe Vapes has operated for 12 years, brands itself as 100 percent tobacco‑free, has never received complaints or citations, and focuses on helping customers quit combustible tobacco.
Council members clarified that the ordinance is a temporary “pause” on new businesses or expansions and is not intended to close existing shops. The council indicated staff will return with a more tailored ordinance for further consideration; Hernandez said the moratorium will be brought back to the council in about a month and a half for next steps.
The motion to adopt the interim urgency ordinance passed 4‑0. No individual votes were recorded on the transcript beyond the tally.
