DEARBORN – The Dearborn City Council is in the process of adapting a new ordinance that will only permit hookah lounges with a state exemption to conduct business, following a six month moratorium that banned new smoking establishments from opening within city limits. 

The move is a response to the influx of hookah lounges that have opened and continued to operate in Dearborn without a state exemption in recent years.

In 2010, the state implemented a smoke free air law that banned smoking in all public places, including restaurants and bars. 

The state permitted a limited number of “tobacco specialty store” exemptions to businesses that could serve tobacco to their patrons without a food license. There were 265 exemptions across the state. 

In Dearborn, 15 businesses were given an exemption. The city is home to the largest number of exemptions across the state. According to Mayor Jack O’Reilly, 13 of those state-exempted businesses are still open today. 

A state exemption didn’t appear to faze many businesses in the area. With little regulation from the state, many owners have been able to serve both food and hookah in their establishments. The city estimates that at least half the hookah lounges open for business do not have a state exemption. 

Business owners who did comply with the laws received the short end of the stick. Those local businesses spent thousands of dollars remodeling their facilities to meet state guidelines. A number of establishments renovated and allocated a separate building from their hookah lounge which would serve carry-out food to customers who wanted to consume hookah; all within the guidelines of the state. 

In order for a business owner to obtain an exemption, it must be purchased and transferred from another business. Obtaining one of those exemption can be costly; they run anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 and the state has placed a cap on the number it allocates. 

Council President Susan Dabaja and Councilman Mike Sareini, who both originally voted against passing the moratorium, set to expire on February 12, are now in favor of passing a new ordinance that would aim to get business owners in compliance with state laws.

“The issue is people were operating illegally and there was no enforcement,” Sareini told The Arab American News. “It is unfair for those places that have done it the correct way and spent thousands on renovations and licenses. I don’t sympathize with those who are operating illegally.” 

Sareini strongly opposed passing the moratorium without a concrete plan in place. He said the city only met twice in the last six months to discuss implementing new laws. 

Upon doing some research, Sareini discovered that the cities of Auburn Hills, West Bloomfield and Shelby Township had passed similar measures in 2013 to address the growing concern of hookah lounges. He forwarded those ordinances to Dearborn’s city officials.

At a briefing on Thursday, Jan. 15, city officials debated several options but ultimately agreed that Dearborn should adapt a similar ordinance to those cities, where the definition of a “smoking lounge” would be amended to indicate that it must posses a state exemption. 

Dearborn’s new ordinance will closely follow the precedent set by those cities, which is based on the state law, but requires an additional city approved license for businesses with state exemptions.

“If you have a state license, you would be able to apply for a city license as well,” Sareini said. “This means that if you don’t have a state exemption, we can say you are operating without a city license. We can enforce it now and say that a business is operating illegally.” 

An adoption of that law would mean several businesses in Dearborn will need to obtain an exemption and follow the state guidelines, should they decide to continue serving hookah with food. If they are unable to obtain a state exemption, they can remain open solely as a restaurant with a food license. 

It should be noted that the new ordinance will protect establishments that were open before the 2010 law was implemented. Several businesses were able to bypass not obtaining a state exemption at the time because they classified their hookah products as “herbs.” 

However, the businesses that opened after the state law was implemented and have been operating illegally will need to conform to Dearborn’s new policy.

Hookah lounges with outdoor seating will also have to comply with tighter guidelines under Dearborn’s new ordinance. Food will no longer be able to be served in an outdoor seating area past midnight. City officials may consider making an amendment to that policy during the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslim residents tend to dine out before sunrise.

There will also be several zoning requirements attached to the hookah ordinance. Any new hookah lounge will need to be located at least 1,200 feet away from an existing smoking lounge. These types of establishments will also need to be at least 700 feet away from any residential, school, park or childcare facility.  

The new ordinance will also come with a strict age limit requirement. City officials agreed that hookah lounges should only permit patrons age 18 and up. The rule will be added due to growing concerns of underage consumption of tobacco and second-hand smoking. 

Dabaja said underage consumption of hookah smoking was her top concern since the adaption of the moratorium last year. She said she’s received several complaints from parents with high school-aged children who’ve become frequent customers at the hookah lounges. 

“I received many emails from parents that are very concerned about their children and smoking,” Dabaja said. “They don’t want their children in these lounges with adult friends who are a year or two older and are able to order hookah and smoke.”

Dabaja said the new ordinance would finally position all business owners on the same playing field and leave room for potential businesses to open and blossom in the city. 

“The success of these businesses has contributed to our economy and has attracted consumers into our city,” Dabaja said.  “We strongly believe that these new guidelines will protect the interest of our business owners, our citizens and keep them within state laws so that they can continue to operate accordingly for many years to come.”