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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSmoke Shop Letter August 27, 2009 Direct Dial Telephone No. 763.706.3673 Re: Smoke Shop Moratorium Dear As you may or may not know, the City of Columbia Heights imposed a 6-month moratorium on new smoke shop businesses at the May 26, 2009 City Council meeting. The moratorium was established to give City Staff ample time to study the effects of a high concentration of smoke shops uses, as well as to decipher the intent of the State of Minnesota’s Freedom to Breathe Act. At this time, Staff has made a recommendation to amend the City’s Zoning and Municipal Codes in relation to smoke shop uses. The recommended amendment contains two key points of interest that may or may not affect the current operations of your business. The first is that the proposed ordinance would disallow the sampling of tobacco or tobacco related products inside the store entirely. Staff feels that the intent of the Freedom to Breathe Act is to protect the general public from secondhand smoke, and banning the sampling of tobacco would achieve this goal. The second point of interest is that those smoke shop uses that currently allow the sampling of tobacco products inside their store will be allowed to continue this practice until December 31, 2010, giving a 1-year amortization period to comply with the new ordinance. The Planning Commission will be reviewing the proposed amendment at the September 1, 2009 Planning Commission meeting. The City Council will review the proposal at the thth September 14 and September 28 City Council meetings. These meetings are open to the public. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jeff Sargent City Planner