PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson is nothing if not persistent.
She’s introduced her 10th piece of legislation aimed at tobacco sales and nuisance businesses, but she says retailers keep finding loopholes.
“It becomes this game of cat and mouse, and that’s why we’ve had to introduce the amount of legislation that we’ve introduced,” Richardson explained.
The newest bill creates a new zoning designation for smoke shops and limits by-right zoning to a very few locations citywide, making it more difficult for new shops to open.
Richardson says she hopes to stop their proliferation on commercial corridors, especially those near schools, daycares and rec centers. But she says the city is stymied both by a 2018 state law that prohibits the city from imposing new regulations on tobacco sales and by retailers finding ways around each new law they are able to pass.
“We are hopeful that this piece of legislation will be the one that will make a difference for our communities,” said Richardson.
Several community organizations support Richardson’s quest.
“We’re trying to improve Ridge Ave and make it a thriving business corridor,” said Darnetta Arce of the Lower North Philadelphia CDC, “but we have so many smoke shops, people don’t want to come to Ridge Avenue.”
Richardson said those complaints are exactly why she’s continuing to spar with these nuisance businesses.
“We are empowering our neighborhoods and our communities to be more clear about what kind of businesses they want to open in their communities,” she said.
