Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tobacco Retail Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Toledo committee forwards tobacco shop permit to council after debate over concentration and past unpermitted operation
Summary
The Zoning and Planning Committee sent a special-use permit request for a tobacco shop at 3015 Glendale Ave. to the full City Council on April 8 after debate over its proximity to other smoke retailers and the applicant's four years of prior operation without a city special-use permit.
The Zoning and Planning Committee on March 19 forwarded a request for a special-use permit for a tobacco shop at 3015 Glendale Avenue to the full City Council for final action on April 8 at 4 p.m.
The applicant, Bridal Nagy, told the committee the business opened in March 2021 and is moving to a different unit in the plaza. Nagy said, “we opened March 2021, and there wasn't like, when I opened, I did check with the city, with the zoning, with everything. If there's any permits that I need or anything, and there was nothing that I needed beside my tobacco license from the state.” The planning commission recommended approval subject to 11 conditions, and staff said the applicant is seeking to conform to the rules now that they are relocating.
Council member Martinez said he is familiar with the area and raised broader concerns about a concentration of smoke shops along that commercial corridor. “Overall, these types of industries are hazardous to our community...the value add I don't see the value add to the surrounding neighborhoods,” Martinez said, and stated his recommendation that the council disapprove the permit. Martinez also noted the pattern of state licensing that does not notify city zoning staff and described the recurring regulatory confusion that creates cases like this one.
Dale Tollson, the property owner’s representative, spoke in support of the applicant and appealed to the committee to avoid what he described as punishing a tenant who had operated for four years in good faith: “it would be very unfair to, punish somebody who's been in business for 4 years and tell him that, you know, he can't reopen. That would seem an injustice to me in my opinion.”
Director Gibbons (planning staff) told the committee the business was not in compliance previously but the applicant is now seeking a special-use permit voluntarily as part of the move. Gibbons described the recurring issue in which state vendor licenses are issued without prior zoning certification and then the city must follow up when the operator appears before the commission.
The item will be considered by the full City Council on April 8. The committee record shows a divided recommendation from council members present: the planning commission recommended approval with conditions; Council member Martinez said he would recommend disapproval. The committee did not record a formal roll-call vote on the referral; staff instructed the applicant to complete required paperwork before the council hearing.
How the council balances the planning commission conditions against the neighborhood-concentration concerns raised at the committee will determine whether the permit is granted.
