\t\t\t\t\tWhat’s at stake?<\/p>\n
A new law that will reduce the number of smoke shops in the city beat a legal challenge in court last month. If the law continues to go unchallenged, the city will use a lottery system to determine which businesses close and which get to remain open in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A city ordinance passed earlier this year that will strongly limit the amount of smoke shops in Fresno by 2027 cleared a legal hurdle, and local leaders doubled down against the businesses.<\/p>\n
Fresno city leaders held a news conference on Wednesday morning to champion both the legal challenge\u2019s dismissal from court, and to share updates on their goal to crack down on smoke shops illegally operating in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The legal challenge to the ordinance, filed by the California Smoke Shops Association in May, faced a major setback when U.S. District Court Judge Kirk E. Sheriff denied their request to throw out the new law<\/a>. The City of Fresno and the Association settled out of court last month, dismissing the lawsuit<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fresno City Council Vice President Miguel Arias said the primary purpose of the ordinance is to ensure \u201cthe public health and safety of the city.\u201d He, alongside Councilmember Nelson Esparza and City Attorney Andrew Janz, said they believe their enforcement is doing just that.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe remain steadfast on that principle, irrespective of the claims that were being made by some of these operators that were calling themselves \u2018good actors,\u2019\u201d Arias said.<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean the fight is over. An attorney representing the business owners appeared to leave the door open to future litigation.<\/p>\n \u201cCSSA reached an agreement with the City of Fresno to dismiss the current litigation in a way that preserves CSSA\u2019s ability to re-file it, and with each side paying its own attorneys\u2019 fees and costs,\u201d said Shane Smith, attorney for the California Smoke Shop Association, in a statement over email. \u201cIn so doing, CSSA made the responsible move to conserve its own and the City\u2019s resources.\u00a0 CSSA looks forward to supporting its individual members in future cases for compensation should their businesses be lost to the City\u2019s Ordinance.\u201d<\/p>\n It was back in April<\/a> when the Fresno City Council passed the ordinance, which requires a new permitting process for business owners who want to sell tobacco products. The most severe change, however \u2014 and the one that brought on legal scrutiny \u2014 restricts the number of smoke shops in the city to just 49, or seven per council district.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city, which already has more than 49 smoke shops, said they decide which businesses get to remain open in 2027 via a lottery system.<\/p>\n Esparza, who said his district contains \u201cthe highest concentration of smoke shops in the entire city,\u201d believed the judge\u2019s ruling confirms that the city is \u201con the right side of the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor too long, smoke shops have proliferated through Fresno and wreaked havoc on our neighborhoods,\u201d Esparza said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The central Fresno councilmember later added, \u201cOur residents deserve to live in communities that prioritize their well being.\u201d<\/p>\n The new laws<\/a>, which only barely squeaked through the approval process<\/a> following the addition of a new councilmember,<\/a> were put under intense scrutiny by members of the dais and the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n Among the criticisms were arguments that the city would spend too much money going after smoke shop owners. Arias pushed back on those criticisms on Wednesday, saying that the city only spent $1,000 on legal fees in this case.\u00a0<\/p>\n He added that the city\u2019s ordinance and law enforcement teams have uncovered \u201cdisturbing\u201d legal violations during their smoke shop inspections. One smoke shop, on 4205 North Blackstone Ave, had a 16-year-old child working the shop on a school day.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt scares me that some of these quote unquote \u2018good actors\u2019 have gone from selling illegal products to minors to now employing and utilizing minors to push illegal products into the public,\u201d Arias said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fresnoland asked Janz if the city could provide more information on the citations issued to the smoke shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAll I can say is the owner of that shop is under investigation,\u201d Janz shared over text.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cali Smoke Shop 3, the business under that street address, did not immediately respond to request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city said that 26 smoke shops have been shut down following inspections.\u00a0<\/p>\n Janz said the city found that 85% of smoke shops are within 400 feet of a school.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we see in\u2026many of the smoke shops is a deliberate targeting, what I believe, of children by making these products appealing to them,\u201d Janz said. \u201cThey are trying to hook an entire new generation of tobacco and cannabis users\u2026.no question.\u201d<\/p>\n City leaders also added that they are within their right to pursue actions against public health threats, just as others across the state have done in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n