A nine-month moratorium on new tobacco licenses has expired after the Homer Glen Village Board Wednesday approved more stringent requirements for business owners to obtain a license.
The board in September approved the moratorium on new tobacco, liquor and gaming licenses so officials could review and amend the codes.
The tobacco ordinance, which was the last of these licenses to be updated, creates two different types of tobacco licenses and now caps the number of smoke shops whose primary sales are tobacco products to five Class B licenses.
Because the village has 11 retail tobacco shops and one retail tobacco shop and lounge, no new business licenses will be issued for businesses whose main sales are from tobacco or alternative nicotine, e-cigarettes and vaping or smoking devices, village officials said.
Existing businesses will not be affected and will be allowed to renew their licenses.
Village officials throughout the review process said they were interested in more restrictive regulations.
The village has too many tobacco shops in town, Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said.
The ordinance also creates a separate class of tobacco licenses, a Class A license, for businesses in which less than half of its revenue is generated from the sale of tobacco and other smoking products. There is no cap on the number of the Class A licenses for these type of businesses.
Altogether the village has 24 businesses with tobacco licenses, including smoke shops, convenience, drug and liquor stores, and gas stations, deputy clerk Gina Marcotte said in a presentation in February.
As part of the ordinance, no shop that primarily sells tobacco products can be located within 1,000 feet of a school, childcare facility, public park or another building that is used for educational or recreational programs by those under age 21. The Class B tobacco shops also cannot be located within 1,000 feet of an existing tobacco shop to prevent overconcentration of one business, the ordinance states..
The Village Board approved the changes by a 4-0 vote Wednesday.
The board also updated its license fees for tobacco license holders.
Previously the board charged a $250 application fee, which remains the same.
The board enacted a $650 annual fee for Class A tobacco licenses and a $1,000 annual fee for Class B tobacco licenses.
The Village Board approved the fee by a 3-1 vote with Trustee Dan Fialko saying he did not support the fee on business owners.
Melissa King, the village’s director of planning and zoning, said the village looks at several communities in the region when it updates ordinances, and many communities regulate stand-alone smoke shops. For issues regarding commercial regulations, the village will look at ordinances in communities that have heavy commercial development such as Orland Park, Schaumburg and Naperville, she said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
