A. License Required: No person shall sell or offer to sell any tobacco, tobacco products or tobacco related devices, electronic delivery devices, or nicotine or lobelia delivery devices without first having obtained a license to do so from the City Clerk or other such City office which the City Council may from time to time designate to carry out the duties of the City Clerk set forth in this chapter.
B. Application: An application for a license to sell tobacco, tobacco products, tobacco related devices, electronic delivery devices, or nicotine or lobelia delivery devices shall be made on a form provided by the City. The application shall contain the full name of the applicant, the applicant's residential and business addresses and telephone numbers, the name of the business for which the license is sought, and any additional information the City deems necessary. Upon receipt of a completed application, the City Clerk shall forward the application to the City Council for action at its next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. If the City Clerk shall determine that an application is incomplete, he or she shall return the application to the applicant with notice of the information necessary to make the application complete.
C. Action: The City Council may either approve or deny the license, or it may delay action for a reasonable period of time as necessary to complete any investigation of the application or the applicant it deems necessary. If the City Council approves the license, the City Clerk shall issue the license to the applicant. If the City Council denies the license, notice of the denial shall be given to the applicant along with notice of the applicant's right to appeal the City Council's decision.
D. Term: All licenses issued under this section shall expire on December 31 of the year of issuance.
E. Suspension: Any license issued under this section may be suspended as provided in this chapter.
F. Transfers: All licenses issued under this section shall be valid only on the premises for which the license was issued and only for the person to whom the license was issued. No transfer of any license to another location or person shall be valid without the prior approval of the City Council.
G. Movable Place Of Business: No license shall be issued to a movable place of business. Only fixed location businesses shall be eligible to be licensed under this section.
H. Display: All licenses shall be posted and displayed in plain view of the general public on the licensed property.
I. Renewals: The renewal of a license issued under this section shall be handled in the same manner as the original application. The request for a renewal shall be made at least thirty (30) days but no more than sixty (60) days before the expiration of the current license.
J. Issuance As Privilege And Not A Right: The issuance of a license under this section shall be considered a privilege and not an absolute right of the applicant and shall not entitle the holder to an automatic renewal of the license.
K. Smoking Not Permitted: Smoking shall not be permitted and no person shall smoke within the indoor area of any establishment with a retail tobacco license. Smoking for the purposes of sampling tobacco, tobacco products, tobacco related devices, electronic delivery devices, and nicotine or lobelia delivery devices is prohibited.
L. E-Cigarettes: Smoking of e-cigarettes, or electronic delivery devices as defined herein, is prohibited in any area that Minnesota State Statute restricts the smoking of tobacco products. (Ord. 536, 11-20-2018, eff. 3-1-2019)