Riverbank weighs regulating e-tobacco sales, luring restaurants downtown
City leaders on Tuesday will consider regulating e-tobacco sales and offering incentives to draw more restaurants downtown.
The City Council also will hold a public hearing while narrowing options, from eight to four, for dividing Riverbank into voting districts for future council elections.
City Hall has never regulated sales of e-cigarettes and vaporizing products, although leaders a year ago slapped a moratorium on new e-tobacco and hookah bars for a few months while preparing rules restricting such businesses to commercial zones. The new effort would require that e-tobacco retailers get licenses, and formalize punishments for violations such as selling to children.
Riverbank in 2025 will be a pleasant, quiet, friendly community with a distinct small-town character. … Our city should be safe and healthy for all our residents.
Riverbank Vision Statement
A report says “e-cigarettes have become increasingly popular … with flavors and packaging that are attractive to minors,” and officials hope to “encourage responsible e-cigarette retailing” with new rules. A $100 fine for a first violation would be followed by $200 for a second, $500 for a third and losing one’s license for a fourth.
Hoping to lure eateries downtown, officials studied incentives offered by various cities and are leaning toward a couple focused on grease traps, which keep fats and oils from clogging sewer lines. They can cost $10,000 to $20,000, so Riverbank is thinking about offering loans with little or no interest, or letting small restaurants get by without grease traps if they keep all food waste out of sinks and “dry wipe” pots and pans before washing.
The move from at-large to council elections will culminate with a final public hearing Nov. 24, when council members are expected to choose a map splitting Riverbank into four voting districts. Two council members would be elected in 2016 and 2018, with the mayor – whose seat is up in 2016 – continuing to be elected citywide.
Tuesday’s meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the chamber at 6707 Third St.
This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Riverbank weighs regulating e-tobacco sales, luring restaurants downtown."