High density of smoke shops in East San Jose pushes plan for temporary moratorium

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- An assessment found that East San Jose has more smoke shops than anywhere else in Santa Clara County, causing a new push from elected officials to cut back.

San Jose City Councilmember Peter Ortiz is proposing a temporary moratorium to stop any more smoke shops from opening in the area.

"This is in response to Santa Clara County's Health Assessment, which found that there were more than twice - not just twice - more than twice of smoke shops located on the East Side," Ortiz said.

Ortiz said companies are targeting the community. The Latino Health Assessment said in 2023, the density of tobacco retailers in East San Jose was six per square mile.

"We need elected officials, right, who aren't just going to be rubber stamping and approving every single business," Ortiz said. "I've been in office for two and a half years and I've already denied two liquor stores from opening up in East Side San Jose; we have enough."

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The county's Latino health assessment also confirmed that cancer is the leading cause of death for Latinos in the county.

Darcie Green was part of the steering committee. She's the executive director of Latinas Contra Cancer, which has worked for a more just healthcare system for over 20 years.

"This is the work we should be doing," Green said. "We should be assessing our health and our quality of life on a regular basis, and then making adjustments."

Green said it's not a controversial step for a city to assess and then redesign itself.

"I'm a mother of a third grade 8-year-old in the neighborhood, we deserve the breathing room to reimagine East San Jose when we need to," Green said.

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Not all voices in the tobacco industry are opposed. The president of California Association of Retail Tobacconists, Charles Janigian, issued a statement in response to the proposal saying in part:

"...we would support a temporary moratorium of smoke shops in East San Jose as long as there is no disruption to existing state licensed businesses."

Ortiz proposed the moratorium to the city council rules committee Wednesday. It voted to have city staff return with a workload analysis for the memo within two weeks, to be brought back on June 11 for another vote on whether it will be referred to the full council.

If passed with council support, the moratorium could be in place for six months to a year.

Full statement from the California Association of Retail Tobacconists:

As the President of the California Association of Retail Tobacconists we would support a temporary moratorium of smoke shops in East San Jose as long as there is no disruption to existing state licensed businesses.

Our members are traditional licensed tobacconists who retail premium cigars, pipe tobacco, briar pipes and related items to those over the age of 21. Further, our members do not sell flavored cigars, vape or mushrooms.

Unfortunately today, many consumers turn to the internet and/or mail order catalogs to purchase their tobacco products to avoid the excess excise tax rate in California. This issue is beyond the local level, but requires a statewide effort to insure the wellbeing of our youth and of licensed small businesses in California.

Therefore, we would support the temporary moratorium in order for members of the San Jose City Council to research and evaluate all existing laws governing the sale of tobacco products to better understand the existing business environment.