Councilmember Jesse Lopez on Tuesday pressed the city to tighten land‑use controls on smoke shops and related storefront businesses, arguing current zoning treats many outlets as ordinary retail and leaves gaps that allow clustering near schools and in neighborhoods.

"The city lacks zoning tools that could limit the number of smoke shops in a given area, prevent clustering, or restrict their proximity to schools," Lopez said, urging a code change or ordinance to close what she described as a loophole. She requested an immediate and enforceable solution and said the item came from neighborhood complaints.

Multiple councilmembers expressed support for a permanent ordinance rather than a temporary moratorium. City Manager Alvaro (as introduced in the meeting) told the council staff could “bring an ordinance with the key specific aspects” within roughly 90 days, noting the department will draw on existing code language in chapters 18 and 41 and work with the city attorney on due process and enforcement. The manager said he preferred focusing staff work on a durable ordinance that can withstand legal challenge rather than repeatedly invoking short moratoria.

Councilmembers raised enforcement concerns including illegal sales of cannabis‑type products in unregulated shops and asked that any ordinance include buffers from schools and a conditional‑use or public‑notice process where communities could weigh in on proposed locations. Councilmembers also asked code enforcement and the police department to continue targeted operations against illicit activity while the ordinance is drafted.

Next steps: staff will prioritize a proposed ordinance for council consideration within approximately 90 days, and will present draft land‑use changes and enforcement mechanisms (including conditional permitting and buffer distances) for review.