The council held a lengthy workshop discussion Nov. 6 on a proposed ordinance to license and regulate smoke shops and tobacco retailers.

What’s proposed: The ordinance would create a municipal licensing regime for smoking‑product retailers and electronic nicotine delivery product vendors — activities that currently are regulated by state agencies — and would give the city authority to inspect licensed premises, assess municipal license fees and pursue municipal suspension or revocation when vendors violate city or state tobacco laws.

Council concerns and requested amendments: Multiple council members pressed for clearer enforcement mechanisms, a cap on new licenses and buffer distances. Councilman Velez and others asked for provisions that would prohibit new smoke shops from opening within a fixed distance (for example, 500 feet) of other smoke shops, schools, parks and houses of worship, and to prevent storefront operations with residential units above them. “We don’t need any more smoke shops,” said a council member. Several members requested hours‑of‑operation rules, proximity limits to schools and churches, and a referral to planning/zoning for any changes that affect land use or parking.

Enforcement and agency roles: Corporation counsel and the director explained that some proposed amendments would implicate land‑use laws and might require a planning‑board referral; officers also noted that state agencies (ABC, state tobacco enforcement) already perform some compliance work and that municipal licensing would provide an additional local enforcement lever. Legal advised the council to supply an itemized list of amendment requests so staff can determine whether a zoning/planning referral is required.

Next steps: The council placed the ordinance on the regular calendar for further review and asked legal and planning staff to advise on specific buffer‑zone language and whether the proposed caps or proximity rules require a planning‑board review. Council members signaled they would prefer a version with explicit caps and buffer zones to reduce youth access to flavored vapes and limit clustering of smoke shops in neighborhoods.