FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Over a year in the making, a Fresno ordinance that aims to limit the number of smoke shops city-wide, could soon be up for a vote. The ordinance, introduced in Oct. 2023 by Councilmember Miguel Arias, Council President Annalisa Perea, and Councilmember Nelson Esparza, was previously discussed but not moved forward with by Fresno City Council. Now, it has been altered into a final version which would make changes to city municipal code. Arias says the whole purpose is to crack down on illegal activity. "What we're seeing is a lot of these folks have significant history and engage in illegal activity. Our hope is that they're going to completely go out of business or move out of town," said Arias. When asked for examples of illegal activity seen at smoke shops, the councilmember said those include black market cannabis sales including sales to minors, gambling operations, gun possession, and even human trafficking. "We've spent the last 18 months developing this policy. In the last 12 months we've been doing inspections of the smoke shops," Arias told me. "85% of the smoke shops inspected have been caught selling illegal products and violating state and local laws." According to Arias, the city of Fresno has roughly 400 smoke shops within city limits, of which he says most are engaged in illegal activity or are selling illegal products. He says this revised plan would eliminate all but 49 shops or seven per council district. "There would be a conditional use permit required like we do for those who sell alcohol and cannabis and controlled substances," he shared. "They would have strict rules on where they could be located. They wouldn't be allowed near schools, near parks or daycares." Permits could come down to a lottery if enough applicants meet the criteria. If council members want to add additional permits per district, Arias says those would have to be approved by the city council. Businesses not approved for a permit but which have operated legally, would be able to apply for a 180-day extension to sell off legal products before they transition to another business type or close altogether. Arias says the ordinance would also change fines for illegal products, going from $250 to up to $2,500 per illegal product found. "The fines can now be in the millions of dollars to the property owners and the business owners if they're caught engaged in repeated offenses," he said. As for the next steps, Arias tells me the final version must still go through the Citizens Committee before it could come to the council by early December. If passed, it could go into effect by early 2025.