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To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />RE: Zoning and Licensing of Tobacco Shops in Moorhead <br />11/14/2011 <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Over the past year, municipalities across Minnesota have enacted or considered new <br />restrictions on tobacco sales in their communities. These communities have come from <br />across Minnesota and include both very large cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) and <br />smaller communities (Little Canada, St. Anthony, Northfield, Prior Lake, and Oakdale). <br />These new ordinances result from the changing nature of tobacco retail sales in <br />Minnesota. These changes include an explosion of "pipe shops" across the state, <br />confusion concerning "Hookah Bars", and the "Tobacco Modernization and Compliance <br />Act of 2010". <br />I will be casually referencing several documents in this discussion. Among these include <br />the City of St. Paul's brief on changing their tobacco ordinance, the Minnesota League of <br />Cities model ordinance on tobacco sales, and various municipal codes from across the <br />state. Links are included at the end of this document. <br />LICENSES: <br />Under current Minnesota law, local municipalities are allowed to have tighter restrictions <br />than those outlined in state law. Many municipalities have taken this opportunity to <br />customize their ordinances to reflect local concerns, zoning districts, and community <br />standards. <br />Moorhead's current City Code concerning tobacco sales, in my opinion, is a very basic <br />and inadequate document. Other municipalities have much more comprehensive <br />ordinances. In late 2010, the Minnesota League of Cities, at the request of various <br />communities, provided a "Model Ordinance' which may be adopted or modified as <br />desired. <br />Some of the shortcomings in the current Moorhead city code include the fact that shops <br />selling "Tobacco Related Devices" (pipes and rolling papers) do not currently need a <br />tobacco license. This loophole is addressed in the Tobacco Modernization and <br />Compliance Act of 2010.Other shortcomings include the unlimited allowance of tobacco <br />shop licenses in mixed -use residential districts in the city and the lack of a proper <br />definition of "Tobacco/Smoke Shops" in the zoning and usage charts. <br />Some of the restrictions and additional license requirements imposed by other <br />municipalities across Minnesota include: <br />