Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

After a more than a year of figuring out the legality of how to regulate smoke shops, the Fresno City Council voted to implement a plan to rein in the businesses on Thursday. The council’s newest member, Brandon Vang, made what was essentially the tie-breaking vote, siding with Miguel Arias, Annalisa Perea, and Nelson Esparza, all of whom authored the ordinance. The last time the ordinance came before the council it died in a split between those…

Fresno to crack down on smoke shops following narrow vote

City leaders moved forward Thursday with cracking down on Fresno smoke shops after a somewhat tense debate.The Fresno City Council’s narrow 4-1 vote — with one councilmember abstaining and another absent — greenlit a proposal to force dozens of smoke shops to close down or change the nature of their business by 2026. “I appreciate that we’re trying to be business friendly, but some of the establishments are no better than your street corner drug…