The Mount Vernon City Council approved the f irst reading of ordinances on zoning for smoke and vape shops, as well as an ordinance about keeping youth under 21 from attending.
Kassy Rice with the Wellness Coalition of Rural Linn County answered two of the questions that were brought up at September’s meetings discussing these new ordinances.
When it comes to if there would need to be a separate employee to monitor patrons ages at the door, Rice said the intention is that the carding can be done by the retailer. The goal is more to keep products out of teenagers hands.
“As to why we don’t have a similar ordinance restricting those under 21 from liquor stores, I’m not sure,” Rice said. “It very well just may not have come up.”
Rice said the coalition believes restrictions on the shops will reduce risk factors for youth to not get addicted to certain products.
When it came to the zoning restrictions issue, council member Scott Rose said that limiting new shops to the light industrial zones was going to be extremely limiting.
“There are only a few locations where those zones exist, and that’s near Neal’s Water Conditioning and the parks,” Rose said. “What it feels like we’re doing is outlawing these businesses without saying that’s what we’re doing.”
As the ordinance was written, there was an additional 1,000 feet exclusion from areas where kids might be, including parks and schools. Those distances would make any location along Hwy. 1 almost an impossibility, with the proximity to Davis Park and the ballfields.
Council member Paul Tuerler said he agreed with Rose.
“If we want to ban these businesses, then outright ban them,” Tuerler said. “I don’t feel this is what we want to do.”
Tuerler moved to strike the 1,000 feet restriction on any new smoke shop or vape shop businesses, but allow them to find footing in the industrial zones.
“I fully support the work of the Wellness Coalition of Rural Linn County, but there needs to be a balance of how we monitor businesses,” Tuerler said. “I struggle when we get into government overreach like this.”
That ordinance passed with the proposed changes.
As for the ordinance that defined minors, other small language changes were also made.
One distinction that Tuerler asked for was instead of driver’s license to change to a valid government issued identification instead.
Council member Stephanie West said she had an issue with requiring employees to be responsible for those who entered a shop, when the goal is to stop sales going to minors of these products.
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Chief Doug Shannon said as long as it is posted that people under 21 are not allowed, than violators could be charged for trespassing by the owners if people underage are found on the premises.
“It’s similar to the rules we have in Lisbon for bars after a certain time of night,” Shannon said. “Because of the nature of the business, if you’re in a bar after a time like 10 p.m., we can charge violators with trespassing if the owners permit.”
Tuerler said that as long as there is an enforcement mechanism for law enforcement to use, that is best.
“There are already spotlights on these establishments,” Tuerler said. “Responsible owners are going to do the best they can to do the correct thing.”
People underage who are in one of these shops would be committing a simple misdemeanor.
Shannon also noted that if there were repeated instances of youth getting slapped with trespass or misdemeanors at the businesses, it may invite officers to discuss with owners that they need to change something of what they’re doing.
“It’s similar to a bar where we keep getting called to fights happening there,” Shannon said. “If we’re responding to multiple calls for fights or overserving, eventually we’re going to ask the owners to start working to change those issues we’re encountering to help stop the calls.”
The council approved that ordinance with changes to the language on required identification and making it clear that an employee or manager prohibit anyone under 21 from entering an establishment.