HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017/03/06 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study SessionAVSt. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES
MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL STUDY SESSION
ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA
MARCH 6, 2017
The meeting convened at 6:45 p.m.
Councilmembers present: Mayor Jake Spano, Tim Brausen, Steve Hallfin, Gregg Lindberg,
Anne Mavity, Thom Miller, and Susan Sanger.
Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Haimening), Director of Inspections (Mr. Hoffman),
Inspection Services Manager (Ms. Boettcher), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Pappas).
Guest: Ruth Tripp, Hennepin County Public Health; Betsy Brock, Association for Non-smokers
Minnesota; members of non-smokers association; Laura Silverfarb, Minnesota Department of
Health.
1. Flavored Tobacco Products
Ms. Boettcher stated that tobacco is available currently in St. Louis Park grocery stores gas
stations, convenience stores, and liquor stores. There are currently no stand-alone tobacco shops.
Additionally, in response to council's inquiry regarding whether youth -enticing flavored tobacco
products are being sold in the community, staff collected retail information during the city's
annual tobacco establishment inspections.
Councilmember Sanger noted she brought this topic up a few months ago related to limiting
youth's access to flavored tobacco products. She added that if the city limits accessibility, teens
may be prevented from starting to smoke. Councilmember Sanger passed around samples of
flavored tobacco products (provided by the Minnesota Department of Health) for the
councilmembers to view.
Ms. Tripp, Hennepin County Public Health, reviewed different policy options with the council.
She noted that Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Shoreview have exempted menthol flavors, and some
communities have set up minimum pricing as part of their policies on flavored tobacco products.
She added that another option is restricting sales to people over 21.
Councilmember Mavity asked if there is any evidence or research behind each strategy and what
the impacts have been. Ms. Tripp stated that increasing the legal age to 21 reduced smoking for
15-17 year-olds by 50%.
Ms. Silverfarb, Tobacco Control Manager at the Minnesota Department of Health, stated she is
attending the meeting as a St. Louis Park resident and indicated that increasing the legal age to
21 in Minnesota could prevent 30,000 youth from starting to smoke, which would be a profound
result. These statistics have been reviewed by the National Institutes of Medicine.
Councilmember Sanger stated limiting sales to tobacco -only shops and raising the minimum age
to 21 are the neater and cleaner solutions. She stated she did not support establishing a minimum
price for these products. She added that she was impressed by the studies presented showing
smoking rates in youth went down by 50%.
Mayor Spano asked Mr. Hoffman if he thinks this is the best option for an ordinance. Mr.
Hoffman answered yes, that it would be simpler and prohibiting sales to those under 21 is
cleaner.
Councilmember Lindberg added this is an important issue, but he is concerned this solution is
one that is not in the staff report. He added he does not want to encourage tobacco -only shops,
and he has concerns the market will demand these shops in certain areas of the community.
Special Study Session Minutes -2- March 6, 2017
Ms. Silverfarb stated Minneapolis has had tobacco -only shops, and 90% of the sales were
tobacco related. She added tobacco shops in St. Paul and Shoreview are also being tracked on
how they are working. She added that the policy information is included in materials given to the
council and noted that 200 cities across the nation have done this in order to limit sales.
Councilmember Miller asked about adopting an ordinance restricting tobacco sales to tobacco -
only shops and what the general consensus is on this in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Shoreview.
Ms. Brock, Association for Non-smokers Minnesota, stated she has worked with Minneapolis on
their policy, and it has worked well.
Councilmember Lindberg asked if the council can review some information on current zoning
and where a tobacco shop might be located. He asked if tobacco shops could be restricted
altogether. Mr. Hoffman stated this would be a city attorney question, also noting it would be
difficult to prohibit them completely by ordinance, as tobacco shops are a permitted use.
Councilmember Hallfm stated that while he abhors anything to do with tobacco, he is also a
veteran who served his country proudly. He stated that he thinks if an 18 -year-old can take a
bullet for their country, they should be able to smoke, so he disagrees with the 21 -year-old
policy. Councilmember Hallfm added that 18-year-olds are legal adults in this country, noting
that he would consider restricting flavored tobacco products.
Councilmember Lindberg stated his concern is by removing it from current sales locations, we
create a market for vendors to go elsewhere.
Councilmember Hallfm asked if there have been any reports from underage undercover work or
any issues with compliance. Ms. Boettcher stated there have been no incidents as part of the sting
and no information on flavored tobacco with kids,
Councilmember Brausen stated he is in favor of making the products more expensive or more
difficult to get. He added that he does believe this is a public health issue and is in favor of
restricting it as much as possible.
Mayor Spano stated he is also in favor of some restriction, but would want to keep it simple and
restrict it to tobacco -only shops and to 21 -year-olds. He added that his preference is to adopt an
ordinance and only have one tobacco shop. He added he would want staff to make it easy, not
complex.
Councilmember Mavity asked for clarification about pricing, as she would not want the city to be
in the business of pricing these products. Councilmember Mavity also asked how the price is
established for these products. Mr. Hoffman stated the city would estimate a minimum pricing
for each product within the ordinance. There would be a set price and a mechanism for staff to
monitor it.
It was the consensus of the council to have staff explore this further and determine how to make
it as easy as possible.
The meeting adjourned at 7:22 p.m
:, City Clerk