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Board repeals tobacco retailer land-use rules in close 3-2 vote after retailers and commissioners debate
Summary
After repeated hearings, the board voted 3-2 to repeal county tobacco retailer land-use regulations (Ordinance 52-10). Planning staff and the planning commission recommended repeal and suggested the board consider a future process to balance health and economic impacts; some supervisors opposed repeal.
The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on July 21 to repeal Ordinance 52-10, the county's tobacco retailer land-use regulations that had established licensing and specific land-use restrictions for tobacco retailers.
Tim Pitt, senior planner with the long-range planning team, said staff returned to the board to complete a noticing correction and summarized the prior history: an interim moratorium in 2024, adoption of Ordinances 52-10 and 52-11 in October 2024, and a prior direction from the board to pursue repeal after economic-impact review. The planning commission had recommended repeal on a 4-0 vote and suggested the board consider a future resolution of intention to craft a more balanced regulatory approach that weighs both health and economic impacts.
Supervisor Parlin said she did not support repeal and argued the board could have modified the ordinance to address retailer concerns rather than rescinding it outright. "I'm not supporting this because I think that we could have had a compromise and modified instead of repealed," she told the board.
Ashley Boston of Straub Companies told the board that many retailers already maintain ID-compliance programs (she said her company IDs every customer 35 and uses scanning technology) and that compliant retailers are worried about the ordinance’s economic impact. "We remain committed to providing any insight or help with reinforcement on compliance," Boston said, urging the board to hold bad actors accountable while noting compliant stores will continue ID enforcement.
The motion to repeal passed 3-2; Supervisors Lane and Parlin recorded no votes. The motion did not include the planning commission’s added recommendation to initiate a future ROI to study a balanced regulatory approach.
