[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Chili 2-14-2024 by L.L. No. 2-2024. Amendments noted where applicable.]
To further the goals of New York State's tobacco use prevention and control program, as identified in New York State Public Health Law § 1399-ii, the Town of Chili finds that:
A. 
Tobacco is a leading cause of preventable death and disease in New York State;
B. 
Adolescent brains are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of nicotine and the formation of nicotine dependence;
C. 
Tobacco and vapor/e-cigarette retail outlet density is associated with high rates of youth and adult tobacco use, as well as higher rates of initiation of nicotine use among adolescents and young adults;
D. 
Tobacco and vapor products usage is linked to an increased incident in cancers and disease and therefore is harmful to the public health; and
E. 
Restricting the sale of tobacco and vapor/e-cigarette products to certain zoning districts and reducing the concentration of sale locations will reduce the availability of tobacco and nicotine to residents, including adolescents, improving public health and lessening the incidence of various cancers and diseases.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
SMOKE SHOP(S)
Any shop, store or business of which 2% or more of its retail floor space is dedicated to the sale of tobacco products and/or smoking paraphernalia, as herein defined.
SMOKING PARAPHERNALIA
All equipment, products, and materials, of any kind, which are used, intended for use, or designed and/or adapted for use in packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling and/or otherwise introducing into the human body tobacco products.
TOBACCO PRODUCTS
Tobacco, tobacco products, including but not limited to cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars, electronic cigarettes, vape pens, vapors, e-liquids, e-vaporizers and other like substances, CBD (cannabidiol), and CBD products, including but not limited to CBD gummies and/or CBD oil.
A. 
Smoke shop locations may only operate between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
B. 
A special use permit (§ 500-29) and rezoning (§ 500-26) is required for each and every smoke shop. No smoke shop may open, operate, or exist in the Town without first obtaining a special use permit from the Planning Board following a public hearing. A property owner and/or landlord shall not permit a tenant or subtenant to open or operate a smoke shop within the Town unless a special use permit has been obtained for the demised premises.
C. 
A smoke shop is only allowable, subject to a special use permit, on a parcel of land in the AUO Adult Use Overlay Zoning District. A smoke shop may not open, operate, or exist in the Town without first applying for and obtaining approval by the Town Board to rezone and establish any such location/parcel of land as an AUO Overlay District pursuant to § 500-26 of the Town Code. A property owner and/or landlord shall not permit a tenant or subtenant to open or operate a smoke shop within the Town unless the Town Board has zoned such parcel of land as part of the AUO Overlay District, and unless a special use permit has been obtained.
D. 
It is unlawful for a smoke shop to knowingly allow or permit a minor, not accompanied by his or her parent or legal guardian, to enter or remain within any smoke shop.
E. 
Each and every smoke shop shall post clear signage stating that minors may not enter the premises unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. One said sign, measuring approximately 144 square inches, shall be placed in a conspicuous location near each public entrance to each and every smoke shop. It shall be unlawful for a smoke shop to fail to display and maintain, or fail to cause to be displayed or maintained, said signage.
F. 
Attention-getting devices, including, but not limited to, LED signs, flashing lights, flags, and banners which display and/or reference tobacco products and/or smoking paraphernalia, shall be prohibited outside of the structure of a smoke shop. No internal exterior-facing advertising of any kind is permitted other than name, address, or those identifications of the premises required for emergency services.
G. 
No more than one smoke shop per every 8,000 residents (as reported by the latest U.S. Census data) of the Town of Chili shall be allowed at one time.
A. 
A smoke shop shall be allowable only in the AUO Adult Use Overlay District, § 500-26, subject to the issuance of a special use permit, and subject to the regulations set forth herein.
B. 
No smoke shop shall be permitted within 1,000 feet of another smoke shop.
C. 
No smoke shop shall be permitted within 1,000 feet of a school, nursery school, day care, playground, public library, municipal park, or other similar uses where children regularly gather.
D. 
No smoke shop shall be permitted within 300 feet of the lot line of any lot zoned for residential use.
E. 
No smoke shop shall be permitted within 200 feet of a house of worship.
F. 
Said distances shall be measured from property line to property line.
A violation of this chapter constitutes an offense, and the owner, person, or smoke shop violating this chapter shall be subject to a fine of no less than $500 per day for each and every day that the violation exists. This chapter shall be enforced by the Town of Chili Code Enforcement Officer, Monroe County Sheriff, and/or the New York State Police.
Special use permits issued pursuant to this chapter shall be effective for a period of three years from the date of filing with the Secretary of the Planning Board. Each application for a renewal of a special use permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall include all of the information required under § 500-29 and identify any material changes relating to the operation or ownership of the subject smoke shop relative to any prior application(s). Special use permits shall not be transferrable from one owner to another.
A. 
The provisions of Article VIII of Chapter 500 of the Town Code concerning nonconforming uses in existence at the time of the adoption of this chapter shall apply to smoke shops. In addition to the provisions of Article VIII of Chapter 500 of the Town Code, if there is any change in the ownership of an existing smoke shop after the adoption of this chapter, then any further use of such property as a smoke shop shall be required to conform to this chapter and be required to apply for a special use permit and/or rezoning, as applicable. No existing smoke shop shall be permitted to expand the square footage of its existing footprint without conforming to this chapter and obtaining a special use permit and/or rezoning, as applicable.
B. 
All smoke shops covered under this chapter and in existence at the time it is enacted shall be required to apply for a certificate of nonconformity within six months of the date of enactment hereof. The burden of establishing that said smoke shop is lawfully existing under the provisions of this chapter shall, in all cases, be upon the owner of such smoke shop and not upon the Town. The owner of a smoke shop in existence at the time this chapter is enacted shall apply to the Code Enforcement Officer for a certificate of nonconformity to establish the legality of the nonconforming smoke shop as of a specified date. Such application shall contain such information as may be required by the Code Enforcement Officer as necessary to establish the legality of the preexisting smoke shop. If, upon review of the application for a certificate of nonconformity, the Code Enforcement Officer shall determine that the smoke shop was lawfully existing at the time of the adoption of this chapter creating the nonconformity and remains lawfully existing subject only to the nonconformity at the time of such application, the Code Enforcement Officer shall issue a certificate evidencing the facts and setting forth the nonconforming smoke shop; otherwise the Code Enforcement Officer shall decline to issue such certificate and shall declare such preexisting smoke shop and/or property to be in violation of this chapter. If such Code Enforcement Officer declines to issue a certificate of nonconformity, then any further use of such property as a smoke shop shall be required to conform to this chapter and be required to apply for the special use permit and/or rezoning, as applicable. Any certificate of nonconformity issued to a preexisting smoke shop shall be immediately revoked in accordance with any discontinuance, change of use, and/or destruction in accordance with Article VIII of Chapter 500 of the Town Code concerning nonconforming uses, or any change in ownership of the smoke shop as set forth hereinabove.
If any section, subdivision, or provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance be adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall be confined in its operation to the section, subdivision, or provision of or application directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this chapter, or the application thereof to other persons or circumstances.