Officials in New Haven are considering changing regulations to limit where new smoke shops would be able to open.
There could be a change in New Haven that would limit where a new smoke shop is allowed to open.
The city’s Board of Alders is reviewing an ordinance amendment that would add provisions on the zoning regulations for new smoke shops.
The proposal to make changes to the city’s zoning regulations as it relates to smoke shops was presented by Alder Richard Furlow of Ward 27, Alder Frank Redente Jr. of Ward 15 and Alder Eli Sabin of Ward 7.
“We wanted to put some regulations to have, you know, common sense controls about where they can go, we don’t want them concentrating too much in certain areas," Sabin said.
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Sabin said the idea came from the concerns he and his fellow alders have received from their constituents.
"In all of our neighborhoods, people are frustrated about retail locations being taken over by these businesses,” Sabin said.
The proposed changes under review are:
- New smoke shops must be 3,000 feet apart from an existing one
- New smoke shops cannot be built within 1,000 feet of a park, school or church
"In particular, the public health impacts as I was saying, these are legal products that people are allowed to buy, but we don't need them everywhere,” Sabin said.
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People in New Haven expressed a mix of opinions on the matter.
One man said the ordinance change would be positive for his community, because he believes smoke shops promote unhealthy habits, especially for young people.
“It's not a good influence, for people that are in church, then you have kids coming up and they’re watching people smoke and stuff,” resident Dominic Armour said.
Meanwhile, another man believes people have the right to choose to have good or bad health, and it's not something the city needs to revise.
“If someone wants to ruin their own health, it's their own personal prerogative. I don’t think a smoke shop being on every corner is going to ruin everyone’s health, like I said, it's a personal decision,” resident Dave Nielsen said.
Mayor Justin Elicker said the proposal is also a way to reduce young people’s access to tobacco products.
Elicker emphasized the proposal is not a smoke shop ban.
"There are areas in the city where smoke shops can open up. If one of the smoke shops existing decides to close down, then the 3,000 foot rule expands because if there's not a smoke shop in a certain area, then there's another one that could eventually open up,” Elicker said.
The proposed zoning regulations are under review by the New Haven Board of Alders. Once the review is complete, a committee hearing will be held in January, then the committee could vote to approve, amend or reject it before the item is presented again to the full board, according to Elicker.
Sabin added the zoning regulation proposal will go hand-in-hand with a licensing requirement, where smoke shops will need to have a license from the city in order to sell tobacco products.
