Members of the Fresno City Council voted 3-3 on a new smoke shop ordinance on Thursday, March 13, 2025. It failed on the split vote. Video screengrab

The current six-person Fresno City Council was split Thursday on approving an ordinance to reduce the number of smoke shops after a heated debate during the Thursday meeting.

The proposed ordinance that would’ve limited the number of smoke shops in each district to seven — sponsored by Council Vice President Miguel Arias and Councilmembers Nelson Esparza and Annalisa Perea — failed to pass with a 3-3 vote.

Council President Mike Karbassi and Councilmembers Nick Richardson and Tyler Maxwell voted “no.”

The plan would require smoke shops to operate with a conditional use permit, provided they are not located within 1,000 feet of “sensitive use” areas such as schools, parks and daycare centers.

Originally introduced in October 2023, the ordinance initially targeted a reduction in smoke shops from the 119 identified in operation in Fresno at the time to 14 — two per council district.

The amended version presented Thursday raised the limit to seven per district, for a total of 49 across Fresno.

There are currently 140 identified smoke shops opeating in the city, according to city staff.

Several local smoke shop owners attended the meeting to express their opposition, saying it unfairly lumps legitimate business owners with “bad actors.”

City code enforcement efforts at Fresno smoke shops have uncovered evidence of illegal cannabis sales, sales to minors and the sale of illegal tobacco and vape products.

Karbassi, a business owner himself, said he worried the proposal is less about limiting access to tobacco and more about stripping away businesses from people who spent years in legitimate operation.

He also called out the Fresno Chamber of Commerce for supporting the proposal.

“How the mighty have fallen,” Karbassi said. “When it comes to an issue like this, that is literally going to shut down businesses, the Chamber is in support. Because we know who they’re bought and paid for by. They want to create a monopoly so these smoke shops can’t sell the same products a grocery store or a cannabis store can sell.”

He said he wants to find a way to get to “yes” on an ordinance that shuts down the bad actors more quickly, but not in this current form.

Several amendments were proposed for the measure, including fines for prohibited items, blocking future licenses if a shop engages in illegal activities, increasing the number of shops in a district to more than seven if a council member allows it, allowing code enforcement to seize and destroy illegal products, educating shop owners and allowing the sale of CBD products.

Maxwell, Karbassi and Richardson still voted “no,” with the seat of former District 5 Councilmember Luis Chavez vacant with his election to Fresno County supervisor. A March 18 special election will determine the next council member.

The candidates in the contentious race are Jose Leon Barraza, Paul Condon, Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas and Brandon Vang.

The smoke shop ordinance will return to the council with amendments at a future date.