09-27-2023 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MAY 25, 2022 2 state law compliance and clarity. She explained that the two main changes are the City of Little Canada would not issue tobacco store or general sales & display licenses to any new business, owner or person. She stated the license holders that have a valid city tobacco license as of the date of the ordinance adoption, would be able to renew the same tobacco license as long as no changes are made to the business, owner or person that currently holds the license. She reported the second change would be that after June 30, 2024, no indoor smoking or sampling of any type would be allowed in any tobacco stores in Little Canada. She stated the exception to the indoor smoking ban that was made in 2013 for the two existing stores would end. Keis opened the public hearing. Cap O’Rourke, O’Rourke Strategic Consulting, stated he was there on behalf of The Hookah Hideout and stated that in 2006 when the State Legislature passed the smoking prohibition, they added sampling language. He stated that the specific sampling language was done very intentionally in order to allow customers to try the products they purchase. He explained that The Hookah Hideout has two- thirds of their store dedicated to hookah use and this ordinance ending the indoor smoking would put them out of business. He stated they do things in order to not attract youth, like cover the windows. He stated the business reached out to him in order to try to work something out with the City since they have invested money in the business in order to bring back customers after the pandemic, and the two- year window is not long enough for them to recoup their costs. Said Ahmed, community organizer. He thanked the City for this leadership in limiting hookah indoors. He stated that hookah causes health and long-term addiction issues. Jane Hess, a family practice doctor in the community and a Little Canada resident. She stated that she knows how hard it is for people to quit. She stated that people are not actually sampling if they are hanging out in the Hookah Hideout lounge. She stated that it is no benefit to the City of Little Canada to promote smoking. She stated that smoking is the number one preventable cause of death. She urges the Council to close the indoor smoking loophole and cap the number of licenses. Logan, 8th grader at Parkview Middle School. He stated he was here to say thank you for helping with tobacco prevention for himself and his friends. He stated the tobacco industry targets kids and the LGBTQ+ community, and stated they are one of the groups hardest hit by this industry. There were no further comments from the public. Upon motion by Fischer, seconded by Miller, the public hearing was closed. Keis stated that he is not a fan of smoking, and he saw both of his parents smoke and it did not end well. He feels this is a next step that is happening across the U.S. and the city is going in the right direction. Miller stated that he agrees with Keis. She noted that quitting smoking was the hardest thing she has ever done. Fischer stated that he grew up with both of his parents smoking and he could not see across the room due to the smoke. He stated that the word sampling means something to him, and the word has a meaning, and the word is not being adhered to here and it’s time to start scaling back. Torkelson stated that he also believes that the word sampling does mean something. He stated that The Hookah Hideout is designed for the customers to hang out and be there for awhile and hang