El Centro Municipal Code Art. VIII Hookah Parlors Prohibited

The city council finds that hookah parlors have been associated with increases in noise, loitering, public drinking, possession of illegal weapons, underage drinking, and arson; that hookah parlors exacerbate the inherently dangerous behavior of tobacco use around non-tobacco users; diminish the protection of children from exposure to smoking and tobacco while they increase the potential for minors to associate smoking and tobacco with a healthy lifestyle; and weaken the protection of the public from smoking and tobacco-related pollution; and that hookah parlors if allowed in the city would have adverse secondary effects on surrounding properties, including but not limited to lowering property values and introducing incompatible land uses to existing neighborhoods; and that in order to serve the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents and businesses within the city, the declared purpose of this article is to prohibit hookah parlors in all zones whether operating as a primary, accessory, or secondary use as defined in this article.

(Ord. No. 13-05, § 2, 3-5-13)

Accessory use shall be defined as that term is defined in section 29-16 of the zoning ordinance.

Hookah parlor shall mean any business, establishment, facility or location whose business operation, whether as its primary use, accessory use, or secondary use is denoted by the smoking of tobacco or other substances through one (1) or more pipes (commonly known as a hookah, waterpipe, shisha or narghile) designed with a tube passing through an urn of water that cools the smoke as it is drawn through it, including but not limited to establishments known variously as hookah bars, hookah lounges or hookah cafes.

Hookah pipe shall mean a water pipe, bong, hookah, or similar device through which a person can cause tobacco or another lawful substance to combust and then pass through the air, gas or a liquid before it is inhaled by a person using the device. A hookah pipe does not include cigarettes, cigars, or a device where: (a) the smoke is inhaled without passing through a liquid; and (b) the length of any pipe or tube used for inhaling the smoke is not more than ten inches.

Primary use shall mean a use that is not an accessory use, or a secondary use.

Secondary use shall be defined as that term is defined in section 29-34 of the zoning ordinance.

(Ord. No. 13-05, § 2, 3-5-13)

It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to own, manage, conduct, or operate any hookah parlor or to participate as an employee, contractor, agent or volunteer, or in any other manner or capacity, in any hookah parlor in the city.

(1) Hookah lounges shall be prohibited in all zones whether operating as a primary use, accessory use or secondary use.

(Ord. No. 13-05, § 2, 3-5-13)