Iowa City will halt new tobacco permits

IOWA CITY — The Iowa City Council this week adopted a moratorium on the issuance of new tobacco permits for the next seven months in the city.

The resolution was drafted by City Attorney Eric Goers after the council expressed concern over the “increased presence” of tobacco and vape shops in the city.

The moratorium on new permits will start June 4 and end Jan. 1, 2025.

Goers said the moratorium affects only new permits. Permit renewals will be allowed. Under Iowa code, tobacco permits expire June 30 of each year.

The pause will allow the city to study how it can mitigate the impact of tobacco and nicotine products on public health, according to the council’s Tuesday agenda packet.

Possible measures include capping the number of retail tobacco permits, or the creation of “separation distance requirements” from vulnerable populations like schools, or between the stores that sell tobacco products.

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Once an approach has been identified, Goers said he will write an ordinance to “effectuate those changes and those rules and policy changes.”

He added that between now and the June 4 council meeting, he also will be working on possible solutions to present to the council.

Council member Andrew Dunn, speaking in support of the moratorium at the Tuesday council meeting, said he thought the city should look into what more it can do in other related areas.

“We should also look into what we can do about other things that are going on just to be more broad because there’s a lot of bad stuff going on,” Dunn said.

Council member Josh Moe brought up products like kratom — an unregulated herbal stimulant that can result in psychotic symptoms — and requested information about the city’s ability to regulate them.

“I think having time to sort of answer to kratom and vape products will be helpful in that conversation because it is problematic,” Moe said. “There are minors who have easy access — if we can do something about that, we should try.”

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Other cities that have imposed moratoriums on tobacco and/or vape shops include Richmond, Placerville and Brentwood, Calif., and Aurora, Ill.

The city’s resolution cites Iowa Code Chapter 453A, which allows cities to permit or forbid the sale of tobacco products within their limits.

While the moratorium only affects new permits, the exception would be businesses that have a change in ownership. In those cases, the business is required to obtain a new permit, which would be prohibited until the moratorium is lifted or expires.

Comments: alejandro.rojas@thegazette.com