The Iowa City council continues to debate methods of discouraging tobacco and vape shops from springing up in the city, following a moratorium on tobacco permits that was enacted in June and expires in December. At a work session on Aug. 6, the council reviewed three different ordinances aimed at promoting public health and curtailing […]
The Iowa City council continues to debate methods of discouraging tobacco and vape shops from springing up in the city, following a moratorium on tobacco permits that was enacted in June and expires in December.
At a work session on Aug. 6, the council reviewed three different ordinances aimed at promoting public health and curtailing the corollaries of tobacco retailers, drafted by city attorney Eric Goers.
The first, a zoning ordinance, aims to restrict tobacco retailers from operating within 500 feet of K-12 schools and university property. Another measure would cap the number of tobacco permits, and a third ordinance seeks to ban Kratom, an herbal substance known for its stimulant and opioid-like effects.
In addition to schools, tobacco and vape shops would be prohibited from operating within 500 feet of each other.
Mr. Goers crafted the second ordinance to allow permit caps to be established by a council resolution, which would only require a single reading. The challenge, the council said, is determining which businesses would receive these limited permits, discussing the merits of a lottery system versus a first-come, first-served approach.
The option to grant additional permits if a store met certain requirements was briefly discussed, giving the example of a store whose tobacco sales are less than 1% of its total sales. Currently, the city has 62 active tobacco permits.
“What's the simplest path to this?” council member Megan Alter questioned. “And if it's that we just lower the cap to 55 (permits) and then just one by one they peel off because (stores) didn't renew, then that’s how we do it,” adding that the idea, although “draconian,” would be a simple way forward.
Some stores, like the shuttered Kum & Go on Mormon Trek Boulevard, “squat” on permits by renewing them despite being inactive, Mr. Goers said.
“Their permit is good, but my point is, that might change at some point. We want to be able to open it up to new businesses if we really, truly have a vacancy,” he said.
The dilemma of public health versus exceptions for new businesses isn’t as complicated an issue for some council members.
“I just recall Johnson County Public Health being here last meeting, and saying the right number (of tobacco retailers) is zero, basically,” said council member Laura Bergus. “This is something that we have an opportunity to limit negative impacts in the community.”
If the council accepts the proposed ordinances, the next step is presenting the zoning ordinance before the planning and zoning commission.
