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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Municipal Ord (Option 1) ORDINANCE NO. 1571 (Option 1) BEING AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 1490, CITY CODE OF 2005 RELATING TO THE USE OF SMOKE SHOPS WITHIN THE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS Section 1: The City of Columbia Heights does ordain: Chapter 5, Article III, Section 5.302 of the Columbia Heights City Code, is proposed to include the following additions and deletions: § 5.302 DEFINITIONS. Except as may otherwise be provided or clearly implied by context, all terms shall be given their commonly accepted definitions. For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. COMPLIANCE CHECKS. The system the city uses to investigate and ensure that those authorized to sell tobacco, tobacco products, and tobacco related devices are following and complying with the requirements of this article. Compliance checks shall involve the use of minors as authorized by this article. Compliance checks shall also mean the use of minors who attempt to purchase tobacco, tobacco products, or tobacco related devices for educational, research and training purposes as authorized by state and federal laws. Compliance checks may also be conducted by other units of government for the purpose of enforcing appropriate federal, state or local laws and regulations relating to tobacco, tobacco products, and tobacco related devices. INDIVIDUALLY PACKAGED. The practice of selling any tobacco or tobacco product wrapped individually for sale. Individually wrapped tobacco and tobacco products shall include but not be limited to single cigarette packs, single bags or cans of loose tobacco in any form, and single cans or other packaging of snuff or chewing tobacco. Cartons or other packaging containing more than a single pack or other container as described in this definition shall not be considered individually packaged. LOOSIES. The common term used to refer to a single or individually packaged cigarette. MINOR. Any natural person who has not yet reached the age of 18 years. MOVEABLE PLACE OF BUSINESS. Any form of business operated out of a truck, van, automobile or other type of vehicle or transportable shelter and not a fixed address store front or other permanent type of structure authorized for sales transactions. RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT. Any place of business where tobacco, tobacco products or tobacco related devices are available for sale to the general public. The phrase shall include but not be limited to grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants. SALE. Any transfer of goods for money, trade, barter or other consideration. SAMPLING, TOBACCO.The lighting, inhalation, or combination thereof of tobacco, tobacco paraphernalia, or tobacco-related products for the purpose of testing a tobacco product prior to the sale of such product. SELF-SERVICE MERCHANDISING. Open displays of tobacco, tobacco products or tobacco related devices in any manner where any person shall have access to the tobacco, tobacco products, or tobacco related devices, without the assistance or intervention of the licensee or the licensee's employee. The assistance or intervention shall entail the actual physical exchange of the tobacco, tobacco product, or tobacco related device between the customer and the licensee or employee. The phrase shall not include vending machines. Self-service sales are interpreted as being any sale where there is not an actual physical exchange of the tobacco between the clerk and the customer. SMOKE SHOP. A retail establishment that has obtained an appropriate license, in which the primary revenue for the business is generated from the sale of tobacco, tobacco products or smoking related accessories. TOBACCOTOBACCO PRODUCTS. or Any substance or item containing tobacco leaf, including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, fine cut or other chewing tobacco, cheroots, stogies, perique, granulated, plug cut, crimp cut, ready-rubbed, and other smoking tobacco, snuff flowers, cavendish, shorts, plug and twist tobaccos, dipping tobaccos, refuse scraps, clippings, cuttings, and sweepings of tobacco, and other kinds and forms of tobacco leaf prepared in such manner as to be suitable for chewing, sniffing or smoking. TOBACCO RELATED DEVICES. Any tobacco product as well as a pipe, rolling papers or other device intentionally designed or intended to be used in a manner which enables the chewing, sniffing or smoking of tobacco or tobacco products. VENDING MACHINE. Any mechanical, electric or electronic, or other type of device which dispenses tobacco, tobacco products or tobacco related devices upon the insertion of money, tokens or other form of payment directly into the machine by the person seeking to purchase the tobacco, tobacco product or tobacco related device. (Ord. 1371, passed 5-11-98) Chapter 5, Article III, Section 5.303 of the Columbia Heights City Code, is proposed to include the following additions and deletions: § 5.303 LICENSE. (A)License required. No person shall sell or offer to sell any tobacco, tobacco products, or tobacco related device without first having obtained a license to do so from the city. (B)Smoke Shop License. No person shall operate a smoke shop without first having obtained a Smoke Shop License to do so from the city. At any given time, there shall be no more than five (5) Smoke Shops, all with appropriate licenses, throughout the city. Currently existing smoke shop establishments should be granted the first preference to renew their smoke shop license if they choose to do so. (C) (B) Application. An application for a license to sell tobacco, tobacco products, or tobacco related devices shall be made on a form provided by the city. The application shall contain the full name of the applicant, the applicant's residential and business addresses and telephone numbers, the name of the business for which the license is sought, and any additional information the city deems necessary. Upon receipt of a completed application, the Clerk shall forward the application to the Police Department for a background and record check prior to formal review by the City Council. If the Clerk shall determine that an application is incomplete, he shall return the application to the applicant with notice of the information necessary to make the application complete. (D) (C) Action. The City Council may either approve or deny the license, or it may delay action for such reasonable period of time as necessary to complete any investigation of the application or the applicant it deems necessary. If the City Council shall approve the license, the Clerk shall issue the license to the applicant. If the City Council denies the license, notice of the denial shall be given to the applicant along with notice of the applicant's right to appeal the City Council's decision. (E) (D) Term. All licenses issued under this article shall follow the calendar year with an expiration date of December 31 of each year and are not pro-rated. (F) (E) Revocation or suspension. Any license issued under this article may be revoked or suspended as provided in § 5.313. (G) (F) Transfers. All licenses issued under this article shall be valid only on the premises for which the license was issued and only for the person to whom the license was issued. Change of location or applicant will be required to be treated as a new applicant (H) (G) Moveable place of business. No license shall be issued to a moveable place of business. Only fixed location businesses shall be eligible to be licensed under this article. (I) (H) Display. All licenses shall be posted and displayed in plain view of the general public on the licensed premise. (J) (I) Renewals. The renewal of a license issued under this section shall be handled in the same manner as the original application. The request for a renewal shall be made at least 30 days but no more than 60 days before the expiration of the current license. (K) (J) Issuance as privilege and not a right. The issuance of a license issued under this article shall be considered a privilege and not an absolute right of the applicant and shall not entitle the holder to an automatic renewal of the license. (Ord. 1371, passed 5-11-98) Penalty, see § 5.313 Chapter 5, Article III, Section 5.306 of the Columbia Heights City Code, is proposed to include the following additions and deletions: § 5.306 PROHIBITED SALES. It shall be a violation of this article for any person, or employee or responsible party, to sell or offer to sell any tobacco, tobacco product, or tobacco related device: (A)To any person under the age of 18 years. (B)By means of any type of vending machine. (C)By means of self-service methods whereby the customer does not need to a make a verbal or written request to an employee of the licensed premise in order to receive the tobacco, tobacco product, or tobacco related device and whereby there is not a physical exchange of the tobacco, tobacco product, or tobacco related device between the licensee, or the licensee's employee, and the customer. This division shall not apply to retail stores which derive at least 90% of their revenue from tobacco and tobacco related products and which cannot be entered at any time by persons younger than 18 years of age. (D)By means of loosies as defined in § 5.302. (E)Containing opium, morphine, jimpson weed, bella donna, strychnos, cocaine, marijuana, or other deleterious, hallucinogenic, toxic or controlled substances except nicotine and other substances found naturally in tobacco or added as part of an otherwise lawful manufacturing process. It is not the intention of this provision to ban the sale of lawfully manufactured cigarettes or other tobacco products. (F)By means of tobacco samples intended to be smoked within the confines of a smoke shop. Tobacco sampling shall be prohibited in all Smoke Shops. (G) (F) By any other means, to any other person, or in any other manner or form prohibited by federal, state or other local law, ordinance provision, or other regulation. (Ord. 1371, passed 5-11-98; Am. Ord. 1513, passed 9-25-06) Penalty, see § 5.313 Chapter 5, Article III, Section 5.311 of the Columbia Heights City Code, is proposed to include the following additions and deletions: § 5.311 OTHER ILLEGAL ACTS. Unless otherwise provided, the following acts shall be a violation of this article: (A)Illegal sales. It shall be a violation of this article for any person to sell or otherwise provide any tobacco, tobacco product, or tobacco related device to any minor. (B)Illegal possession. It shall be a violation of this article for any minor to have in his possession any tobacco, tobacco product, or tobacco related device. This division (B) shall not apply to minors lawfully involved in a compliance check. (C)Illegal use. It shall be a violation of this article for any minor to smoke, chew, sniff or otherwise use any tobacco, tobacco product, or tobacco related device. (D)Illegal procurement. It shall be a violation of this article for any minor to purchase or attempt to purchase or otherwise obtain any tobacco, tobacco product or tobacco related device, and it shall be a violation of this article for any person to purchase or otherwise obtain such items on behalf of a minor. It shall further be a violation for any person to sell or otherwise provide any tobacco, tobacco product, or tobacco related device to any minor, and it shall further be a violation to coerce or attempt to coerce a minor to illegally purchase or otherwise obtain or use any tobacco, tobacco product, or tobacco related device. This division shall not apply to minors lawfully involved in a compliance check. (E)Use of false identification. It shall be a violation of this article for any minor to attempt to disguise his true age by the use of a false form of identification, whether the identification is that of another person or one on which the age of the person has been modified or tampered with to represent an age older than the actual age of the person. (F) Smoking inside a public building. It shall be a violation of this article for any person to smoke or sample a tobacco product inside a smoke shop or other retail establishment that sells tobacco or tobacco-related products. (Ord. 1371, passed 5-11-98) Penalty, see § 5.313 Section 2: This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after 30 days after its passage. First Reading: September 14, 2009 Second Reading: September 28, 2009 Date of Passage: Offered by: Seconded by: Roll Call: _______ Mayor Gary L. Peterson Attest: _______ Patricia Muscovitz, CMC City Clerk/Council Secretary to the