Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Item No: 1 <br />Meeting Date: October 3, 2011 <br />Type of Business: Work Session <br />City of Mounds View Staff Report <br />To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From: James Ericson, City Administrator <br />Item Title/Subject: Review Proposed Revisions to Tobacco Licensing <br />Requirements <br /> <br />Introduction: <br /> <br />On May 9th of this year, the City Council adopted Interim Ordinance 859 establishing a <br />temporary moratorium on new tobacco products licenses and zoning approval for a period <br />not to exceed 12 months to give the City sufficient time to review the current laws, model <br />ordinance language, zoning issues and licensing matters. Since that time, staff has been <br />working with representatives from the Ramsey Tobacco Coalition to review model <br />language they prepared with the League of Minnesota Cities and the Public Health Law <br />Center for purposes of incorporating the same or similar language into the City’s code. <br /> <br />Discussion: <br /> <br />While many businesses sell tobacco products as part of their retail operation, only two <br />businesses in the City are licensed solely for tobacco sales—Vino and Stogies and <br />Tobacco View. Staff sent letters to both business owners and requested an opportunity to <br />meet and discuss their operations. While Tobacco View did not respond to my letter, I was <br />able to meet with Greg Waste of Vino and Stogies. One of the questions the City asked of <br />Mr. Waste was how important the “sampling” provision was for his business. He indicated <br />retaining such a provision would be critical to the success of his business, as many <br />customers will not purchase quantities of product without sampling first. Staff asked the <br />Ramsey Tobacco Coalition for potential language to allow Vino and Stogies to continue <br />sampling while prohibiting all others, present and future, from doing so. (To our <br />knowledge, the only other affected business, Tobacco View, does not permit sampling of <br />product within their premises.) <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br /> <br />Review the attached draft Ordinance 865 which incorporates language prepared by the <br />Ramsey Tobacco Coalition, League of Minnesota City and the Public Health Law Center. <br />Representatives from Ramsey Tobacco Coalition will be present to answer questions of the <br />Council. <br /> <br />Respectfully submitted, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />________________________ <br />James Ericson <br />City Administrator