A zoning bill would keep most new tobacco and vape sellers out of neighborhood corridors
Bill 260851 creates a new zoning category for any store that sells nicotine, including corner stores and gas stations. Existing stores would not be affected.
Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson introduced a bill Oct. 15 that would sharply limit where new stores can sell tobacco, nicotine or vaping products. Asked by the Inquirer whether it would effectively block new sellers in most of the city, she answered: "Bingo." The Inquirer reported that this is her tenth bill aimed at smoke shops.
This would touch nearly every commercial block. As the Inquirer described it, the bill would bar new nicotine sellers within 750 feet of a school, daycare, park or existing nicotine store. It would also put the rule on any business that sells these products, so corner stores, groceries and gas stations would be covered along with smoke shops. Stores already open would not be affected.
What the bill text does
The text of Bill 260851 on Legistar removes cigarettes and tobacco from the general "consumer goods" retail category. It creates a new use called Tobacco Sales, covering any retail or wholesale business "engaged in selling tobacco, tobacco-related products, nicotine, or vaping products," whether as its main business or alongside other goods. The bill then rewrites the zoning use tables and adds specific standards for the new use.
According to the Inquirer, new sellers could open by right only in the most flexible zoning districts, mainly Center City and University City, and in car-oriented commercial areas. On neighborhood commercial corridors they would need a special exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Everywhere else they would need a variance, which is a harder standard to meet. The paper noted that waits at the zoning board can themselves be a burden for small businesses.
Gilmore Richardson told the Inquirer that new smoke shops "would no longer be treated like any other retail business." She said she has heard no opposition from colleagues and wants it passed by year's end.
What our records add
- Sponsors: Gilmore Richardson (at-large), Jeffery Young Jr. (5th District) and Brian O'Neill (10th District), according to Legistar.
- Status: Introduced and referred to committee Oct. 15 (meeting record). No hearing is scheduled yet. It is not on the Rules Committee's Oct. 27 agenda, the committee that usually hears zoning code changes.
- A related hours bill: The same day, 4th District Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. introduced Bill 260852. It would set an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. business curfew on North 54th Street between Arlington Street and Montgomery Avenue. The Inquirer reported it is partly aimed at smoke shops.
- District-by-district limits already exist. Council has long passed district-specific use limits and business-hour curfews. The Rules Committee's Oct. 27 agenda includes Bill 260709, which restricts more uses in the Eighth District overlay. It also includes Bill 260710, which would create a limited exception to the Eighth District's commercial curfew. Bill 260851 would be one citywide rule instead.
Context
The Inquirer noted that Pennsylvania is separately limiting vape sales to products from six manufacturers. Under the bill, existing sellers keep their right to operate, so its effect would show up over time as stores open, close or change hands.
What's next
The bill needs a hearing in committee, likely Rules, then two readings before a final vote. It then goes to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. Watch the Legistar calendar for a hearing date. Zoning hearings are where business owners and residents can testify.