After nearly two years, multiple postponements, and two planning commission meetings, the Fresno City Council rejected an ordinance to regulate smoke shops.

Councilmembers, however, indicated the matter may come back at a future meeting.

Ordinance authors Miguel Arias, Annalisa Perea, and Nelson Esparza said the city needs an easier way to shut down smoke shops that bring crime and blight to an area. All three voted in favor while councilmembers Tyler Maxwell, Nick Richardson, and council president Mike Karbassi opposed the ordinance.

“The city lacks a formal mechanism to permanently shut down bad operators,” Esparza said.

Related Story: Would a Fresno Smoke Shop Ordinance Cost Taxpayers Tens of Millions?

The ordinance would have forced the approximately 119 smoke shops in Fresno to apply for 49 conditional use permits. It also prohibited smoke shops from being within 1,000 feet of a school or other sensitive use.

Councilmembers could request an increase in the number of smoke shops permitted in their districts. And, the ordinance called for unapproved businesses getting 18 months to clear out inventory.

Todd Wynkoop, an attorney representing an association of smoke shops, said the proposed ordinance constituted eminent domain.

Perea called it a framework for smoke shops to operate by. All three opposing councilmembers said they could support a revised measure.

Opponents Call Ordinance ‘Heavy-Handed’

The Fresno City Attorney’s Office and Fresno Police Department often found marijuana, illegal tobacco, weapons, and sometimes gambling operations during a campaign to shut down criminal activity at smoke shops.

Councilmembers say smoke shops also contribute to underage tobacco sales.

During the extensive debate on the dais, Maxwell said the “heavy-handed” ordinance “throws out the baby with the bath water.”

One big sticking point was businesses already operating within 1,000 feet. Opponents wanted those businesses grandfathered in. Arias supported some grandfathering measures, but Esparza said it would fundamentally change the ordinance.

The Challenges of Shutting Down Problem Smoke Shops

Arias said it took two years to shut down a problem business on Olive Avenue. However, a “problem” smoke shop in Pinedale took only six months to close, said Mike Karbassi.

“We didn’t need some red-tape bureaucratic policy to do that,” Karbassi said. He did acknowledge he wished it could have been closed faster.

In total, recent actions from police and code enforcers have led to 14 shops closing.

Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto said law and code enforcement has the tools to shut down businesses, but it takes time.

“I don’t want to represent a government that says ‘we can’t enforce our own rules given the tools that we have so therefore let’s make some more rules and hope that you’re lucky,’ ” Richardson said.