Gloucester MA Looks To Cap Smoke Shops
The move would limit tobacco sale licenses to 36
The city of Gloucester is looking to clamp a cap on the number of stores that can sell tobacco and smoking paraphernalia that could be used for tobacco or marijuana.
The Board of Health is weighing a proposal that would limit the number of tobacco license holders in the city at any one time to 36. There is no such limit now. The order, which would be the latest amendment to a tobacco sales ordinance in effect since 1994, faces a public hearing before the board Thursday at 5:30 at the City Hall Annex at 3 Pond Road.
The amendment would include a provision stating that, if a permit is not renewed and a shop closes down, the license for that store would be taken back by the Board of Health and “permanently retired,” cutting back on the number of available licenses as time goes by.
The order also calls for capping the number of “adult-only” tobacco or smoke shops that do not allow any customers under 21 to shop to five. Currently, the city —which again has no cap on the number of licenses — has just three such shops: Boston Smoke Shop on Washington Street, 3D Smoke Shop on Main Street and High Tides Glass Co. on Center Street.
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