05-14-2014 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

515 Little Canada Road, Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 (651.) 766 -4029 / FAX: (651) 766 -4048 w w w,ci.h the -ca nada mn.us MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Blesener and Members of the City Council FROM: Kathy Glanzer, City Clerk DATE: May 8, 2014 RE: Tobacco Licensing MAYOR Bill I31esenet COUNCIL Rick Montour John Keis Michael McGraw Shelly Goss ADMINISTRATOR Joel R. Hanson Discussion has occurred during the April Council meetings on the issue of tobacco license maximums. The current Ordinance sets a maximum number of tobacco licenses at ten. That Ordinance also provides for two categories of tobacco licenses Tobacco Store License and Tobacco General Sales & Display License — although the license maximum is for aggregate licenses and is not tied to these categories. As discussed during the April meetings, the current number of tobacco licenses in the City is at the maximum. Also discussed was the likelihood that CVS Pharmacies will not be renewing their tobacco license which will result in one available license for the July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015 license period. 1 have discussed this issue with CVS and was informed that they will be renewing their license for a six - month period through December 31, 2014 as they have not yet determined the exact date that they will cease tobacco sales. The CVS license falls under the category of Tobacco General Sales & Display. City staff has raised the issue of the license maximum in the event that the Council would like to make some adjustments to the current Code. As was reported to the Council, City staff gets frequent inquiries as to the availability of tobacco licenses for tobacco stores, both with and without sampling. Given there are no available licenses at this time, callers are informed of this fact. There are currently two businesses in the City that hold tobacco licenses that fall under the category of tobacco stores. One is Little Canada Smoke & Specialties and the other The Hookah I-Iideout. While it should be noted that there have been no concerns with the operation of either of these establishments, City staff wanted to raise the issue of whether or not the Council wanted to consider placing a maximum on the number of Tobacco Store Licenses in the City. Attached for the Council's consideration is a proposed ordinance which sets a maximum number of Tobacco Store Licenses at two and provides for no limit on the number of Tobacco General Sales & Display Licenses. The City Attorney reviewed the proposed amendment and suggested the addition of the phrase "tobacco store, tobacco - related devices, and delivery devices" to the Application Section of the Tobacco Ordinance. 1