Fresno City councilmembers introduce proposal aimed at managing smoke shops

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- This week, a projected fume store program volition beryllium introduced to the Fresno City Council, aimed astatine eliminating the merchantability of amerciable products and improving vicinity information and security.

"We are taking enactment by introducing this ordinance to support our susceptible communities," said Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza.

He represents District 7.

"It's a citywide problem. 95 percent of fume shops inspected were caught selling cannabis and different amerciable products," said Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias, who represents District 3.

Those amerciable products see amerciable flavored tobacco, cannabis, and hallucinogenic mushrooms.

The ordinance volition bring the existent fig of identified fume shops successful the metropolis from 140 to 49.

"We person the work to specify what a fume store is," said Councilmember Arias.

"Historically, it was ne'er defined."

In summation to defining a fume shop, the ordinance volition besides necessitate each fume shops to get a concern licence and a conditional usage permit. A archetypal for the city's fume shops.

"None of them person an existing conditional usage permit," said Councilmember Esparza. "We person nary regulations astir it."

Council members proposing the thought said it would beryllium successful crisp opposition to different solutions offered by neighboring cities.

They judge their attack is balanced.

"If you look astatine the City of Clovis adjacent door, they unopen down fume shops overnight. No process. You won't find one. Other cities person conscionable issued a moratorium. They're not going to open. Period," said Councilmember Arias. "We person been thoughtful implicit a two-year process to find a balanced approach."

The connection would besides bounds the fig of fume shops betwixt 2 and 3 per district, but not exceeding 7 shops total.

"In District 7, we really person the highest attraction of fume shops anyplace successful Fresno," said Councilmember Esparza.

According to Fresno Police, successful the past twelvemonth unsocial determination person been 36 incidents of transgression enactment reported astatine astir 160 fume shops citywide.

Those incidents see much than a twelve robberies, 1 attempted murder, and 1 rape.

"It's highly frustrating to person to thrust by the aforesaid fume store time successful and time retired to spot the aforesaid enactment and to person to telephone constabulary for different telephone for work and telephone inspections for codification enforcement for different inspection lone to beryllium capable to springiness them the $250 good -- a good that they tin entreaty and instrumentality up to 2 years to pay," said Councilmember Arias.

The ordinance volition summation fines from $250 per discourtesy to $2,500 for selling to minors.

"These are fines that tin instrumentality and if they don't wage it, past we could contented a lien connected their gathering and instrumentality their property," said City Attorney of Fresno Andrew Janz.

The ordinance would besides instrumentality determination restrictions.

Under the projected ordinance, fume shops would not beryllium allowed to run wrong 1,000 feet of a schoolhouse site, park, oregon different delicate usage areas oregon immoderate different fume shops.

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