Planning Commission recommends smoke‑shop text amendment to City Council with changes after extended public comment

FRESNO, Calif. — The Fresno City Planning Commission voted Feb. 19 to recommend that the City Council adopt a proposed text amendment to the development code that would create a regulatory framework for smoke shops, limit the number of smoke shops, require conditional use permitting for new smoke shops, and establish operational standards. The commission made a set of amendments to the draft before forwarding the measure to council.

Planning staff presented the proposal as a text amendment to the development code that would add definitions (including “smoke shop,” “smoke shop operator,” “smoking paraphernalia,” “tobacco retailer”) and replace the existing Section 15‑2706 regulations with a new regime (added definitions would be placed in Section 15‑6208). Philip Segrace of the Planning and Development Department summarized the draft: new smoke shops would require a conditional use permit (CUP) and a city business license; operational requirements would cover landscaping, lighting, signage, window glazing, limits on vending machines, anti‑loitering measures, staff training, prohibited products and annual inspections; the draft also proposes an amortization process for existing smoke shops and a numerical cap — 49 citywide (described in staff materials as seven per council district) — and location limits, including a 1,000‑foot buffer from sensitive uses such as schools, day care centers and parks.

Segrace told the commission that staff maintained the draft after meeting with business owners and operators following a Jan. 15 continuance. He described the draft’s scope as targeting smoke shops — businesses where the sale of smoking paraphernalia, tobacco…