Youth See Through The Smoke

On October 13th, the City Council voted to uphold the Planning Commission’s decision to revoke 10 Tobacco Retailer Licenses (TRLs). This decision follows formal hearings held by the Planning Commission which voted to revoke the licenses of retailers who had multiple violations.

During the Council hearings, the tobacco retailers and their attorneys alleged that the revocation would cause economic hardship and that the retailers had received inadequate notice that was overly vague. Also, youth members of San Lorenzo Hayward Acres Mobilized (SLHAM) showed up in force during each public comment period to urge the City Council to uphold the Planning Commission’s decision to revoke the TRLs.

Repeated Violations Bring Consequences

In 2014, Hayward adopted a strict Tobacco Retail Sales Establishment Ordinance establishing business licensing, product regulations, and enforcement processes to reduce youth access to tobacco products. This ordinance was amended in 2020 to further regulate flavored products and electronic smoking devices. Violations can include, but are not limited to, failure to post current business license; sales to minors; the sale of prohibited products including cannabis, flavored tobacco, and psilocybin; and concealed or improper storage. 

The Planning Commission voted to revoke the Tobacco Retail Licenses for 10 tobacco retailers during hearings on June 11th and June 25th. All the businesses had accumulated three or more violations within a five-year period. Of the 10, six appealed the decision to the City Council.

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The council meeting served as an appeals hearings for the six businesses defending their TRLs. Each hearing included a presentation of violations by city staff, disclosure of City Council contacts with business owners, a 10-minute presentation from business owners, City Council questions, public comment, and Council deliberation and vote. Of the six businesses that requested an appeal only four attended the meeting either in-person or virtually.

Arguments for Appeals and Revocations

Mount Everest Smoke Shop, Heart of The Bay Smoke Shop, Smokey’s Smoke Shop & Gifts, and The Gr8 Smoke Shop all based their appeals on similar grounds. Claims varied, but the businesses alleged that they made significant investments in their businesses, they will face economic hardship, TRL revocation is a disproportionate penalty, good faith efforts were made to correct violations, owners received inadequate notice, and the procedural process was unfair. 

The owner of Heart of The Bay Smoke Shop was the only appellant present without legal representation. He said that the business was his family’s sole source of income and claimed that the cannabis found during inspection was strictly for personal use. Council Member Bonilla asked City Staff to clarify how they determine whether prohibited products are intended for sale versus personal consumption. Staff present during the inspection said that the cannabis was packaged in baggies intended for sale and noted that mushrooms were also found and confiscated by the Hayward police.

Legal representatives for Mount Everest, Smokey’s, and The Gr8 Smoke Shop spoke on behalf of local business owners. Their primary arguments focused on the lack of proper notification regarding violations, saying that any notices received were overly vague. Additionally, they raised concerns regarding unfair enforcement procedures, highlighting that businesses were allowed only 10 minutes to defend themselves against closure. As James Anthony, legal counsel for Smokey’s Smoke Shop & Gifts, said, "Ten minutes is a ridiculously short amount of time to be able to defend a business from the death penalty. I’m just going to object to that for the record."

Throughout each hearing, city staff said that all businesses received consistent notification and enforcement of the municipal code. They maintained that all procedures and hearings are constitutional and that due process was afforded to business owners. Additionally, staff said that following municipal code is the owner’s , including the actions of their employees, and clarified that the municipal code does not contain an investment or hardship provision that would justify a lesser penalty.

Staff recently presented patterns of non-compliance for several businesses, demonstrating a persistent failure to take responsibility. Businesses that received violations were provided with educational resources, compliance-focused inspections, and a six-month grace period to remedy their issues. However, concerning businesses such as The Gr8 Smoke Shop, City Staff noted, “We see with the very last inspection based on our education, they chose to conceal the items so that we couldn’t see them. So definitely not seeing that the education is getting them to a place where they intend to comply. So we see willful non-compliance with the concealment of the prohibited items.”

Youth Support Revocation

Throughout the night, youth from San Lorenzo Hayward Acres Mobilized (SLHAM) made public comments in favor of upholding the Planning Commission’s decision to revoke the TRLs of the businesses. At least eleven SLHAM youth members were in attendance and made comments on the majority of appeals before the City Council. They emphasized that having a TRLs comes with significant responsibility, business owners must be held responsible for violating the law, and there are no reasonable excuses for multiple violations. SHLAM members also stressed the importance of reducing access to tobacco and other prohibited products to Hayward youth and thanked City Council and staff for enforcing the Tobacco Retail Sales Establishment Ordinance. 

“I ask the City Council to uphold Mount Everest Smoke Shop’s license revocation. The store had four documented violations including prohibited products hidden in storage. This matters because we need to protect young people and families. Store owners must follow the rules.” Matias, SHLAM youth member

In a surprising twist, a virtual attendee provided public comment in favor of Smokey’s Smoke Shop & Gifts. Their statement directly challenged the SLHAM youth members and claimed that their comments were coerced by parents or other adults. “As a kid who grew up going to lots of City Council meeting and sometimes having my parents feed me public comment some of the things that I was told to say in front of city officials I later regretted as an adult because I didn’t actually agree with the things that I was told to say by the adults in my life,” said Nara Dahlbacka. 

SHLAM parent leader Sandra Archuleta rebuked the claim that youth in attendance were forced to make comments, saying, “If you noticed each one of their comments was very specific because they do this very often and there was no coercion. These are youth leaders that have been working on prevention for over three years. These are kids that really care about their community and they’re very knowledgeable.” 

Council Uphold Revocations

The City Council ultimately upheld the Planning Commission’s decision, rejecting appeals from the six businesses seeking lesser penalties. In response to arguments from business owners who claimed their licenses were merely un-posted rather than expired, Council Members Syrop and Zermeño requested that City Staff update municipal code to clearly differentiate between non-visible and expired license violations. “My colleague Syrop mentioned earlier that there should be a difference between an expired license and a non-visible license. Maybe we can separate those two so that there’s no confusion in the future,” Zermeño said. 

Before closing the meeting, Mayor Salinas emphasized that Hayward has worked diligently over the years to protect residents, especially youth, from businesses that violate the law and city ordinances. Referencing the staff presentation, he noted that there are 104 tobacco retailers in the city—many located in residential neighborhoods—and highlighted that the 10 retailers facing revocation represent just 10% of the businesses being held accountable for violations.

Salinas also commended SLHAM youth for their engagement, saying, “I want the community to see—and I hope that other tobacco retailers see—what we did tonight and see what we are doing tonight and take heed of what those kids who clearly know what they’re talking about when they came up here to this podium: that this is a license; that it is a privilege.”