City Council can choose to impose distance requirements between smoke shops and other types of properties, said John Lettelleir, Frisco’s director of development services, during an Oct. 21 work session.
Council is considering requiring 1,000 feet of separation between shops and other types of properties.
The details
These regulations would restrict smoke shops from being a certain distance away from:
- Residences
- Schools
- Places of worship
- Licensed childcare centers
- Other smoke shops
This approach is generally meant to prevent the concentration of these businesses in different parts of Frisco, he said.
“There’s a lot of [smoke shops] that are even across the street from each other,” council member Laura Rummel said during the Oct. 21 work session.
There are 41 smoke shops in Frisco, Lettelleir said. City staff came up with two possible requirements: 500 or 1,000 feet of separation.
What happened?
Council said they preferred there be a 1,000-foot distance between other smoke shops, residential areas, schools and churches. About 31 smoke shops would be considered out of compliance with how the land can be used.
Under these changes, this would mean they were previously allowed to be at their current location under city code.
These existing shops would be allowed to continue business, as long as they didn’t cease operations for a continuous six months, Lettelleir said.
What’s next?
Lettelleir said if council ultimately supports changes in requirements, they could be added to Frisco’s smoking ordinance.
This change would have to be approved by City Council.
Staff would then work to amend the city’s zoning ordinance to add the 1,000-foot distance requirement, a change required to go before the planning and zoning commission, as well as council.
These changes could be brought to council in early 2026, Lettelleir said.
