Saying they want to crack down on retailers selling illegal tobacco products to minors, three Fresno City Council members have proposed a new license requirement for tobacco sales.

The ordinance, sponsored by Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza, Vice President Tyler Maxwell, and Councilmember Mike Karbassi, would require a license and an annual fee for anyone selling tobacco products.

“If you don’t have your license, it’ll be a fine. If you have anything illegal, we’re going to seize it and it will escalate from there,” Karbassi said at a Tuesday news conference. “We’re gonna give them as much of a fine as we can to get them compliant. This isn’t about punishing people, it’s about taking illegal products off the streets.”

Andy Chhikara, president of the American Petroleum and Convenience Association, said rules already exist to enforce tobacco compliance. He said it burdens the already-busy code enforcement department, which can take months to respond to business needs.

“This is additional red tape on small businesses and retailers,” Chhikara told GV Wire. “I’m not seeing that this is going to help. This just puts more burden on code enforcement.”

The council will vote on the ordinance Thursday. Council members did not yet have information on how much licenses or fees will cost, an implementation timeline for the nearly 600 tobacco vendors to obtain a license, or how many additional code enforcers will be needed to conduct annual inspections.

Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz, who oversees Code Enforcement, did not immediately respond to GV Wire’s request for comment.

Businesses Wait Months for Code Enforcement, Chhikara Says

Every year, retailers will have to pay the license fee. Esparza said the license fee will fund the program, which will “inevitably” require more code enforcers.

The Fresno County Department of Public Health estimated in 2024 that the city had about 564 retailers. Passage of the ordinance would give code enforcement a more accurate figure, city staff told GV Wire.

Determining the fee will require a study, as Esparza said a grocery store’s fee will likely be different from a convenience store’s.

He said council members created the ordinance with small businesses in mind. He said black market vendors undercut legitimate businesses.

“This is about public safety, this is about fairness for businesses that do things legitimately,” Esparza said.

Chhikara said most businesses support going after people who violate the law, but the city and state already have regulations to target people selling tobacco to minors.

He said his group is currently reviewing the 24-page ordinance published Friday, but said it would add to the already high cost of doing business in the city.

Retailers have to buy a state license, and fines for selling tobacco to minors increase with each violation, including the revocation of licenses.

“I don’t see a need for additional regulations unless there’s a particularly bad player,” Chhikara said.

Staffing Limited in Last Budget

Beyond typical building inspection duties, council members in recent years have tasked code enforcement with smoke shop inspections, sign regulations, rental housing inspections, and blighted and vacant building mitigation.

They also handle most calls from businesses and property owners regarding vagrancy.

Chhikara said it already takes months for code enforcement to respond to calls for service. Many business owners have told GV Wire about difficulty getting homeless-related calls resolved in a timely manner.

A tight budget has also constrained staffing citywide.

In creating this year’s $2.56 billion budget, council members and the mayor said they narrowly avoided layoffs while trying to overcome a $34.5 million shortfall.

The proposal does not limit the number of tobacco licenses, so once a timeline is established, city staff will have to approve each license. Inspections will also have to be conducted, council members said.

Both Karbassi and Esparza said the ordinance would allow code enforcement to shift from being “reactive” to “proactive.”

“Creating a sustainable funding source here, paid for by the operators, will give us the long-term viability that we need for a program like this,” Esparza said.