Montgomery County bill could restrict hours for hookah lounges, tobacco & vape shops

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - Montgomery County leaders are considering a bill that would limit hours of operation for hookah lounges, tobacco shops, and vape shops in an effort to combat crime.

According to a memorandum on Bill 3-24, the measure is intended to address public safety concerns and crime "which has increased because of late night hookah establishments."

Data from the Montgomery County Police Department shows in the past two years, downtown Silver Spring has had 2,974 service calls in an area with at least 10 hookah lounges. According to the bill sponsors, the area has had the highest number of service calls compared to the rest of the county.

If enacted, Bill 3-24 would allow hookah lounges, tobacco and vape shops in the county to operate only during the following hours:

• Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. the next day
• Friday and Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. the next day
• Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following day, however, if the following day is a federal holiday, the hours are from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m.

At a public hearing Tuesday, most testimonies were from people who spoke in favor of the bill. Dr. Earl Stoddard, assistant county administrator overseeing public safety for Montgomery County, said county data shows police calls for service during 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. are disproportionately distributed across areas of the county where certain businesses are operating during those hours. To compensate, Stoddard said police have had to move personnel resources off earlier shifts to cover those hours, especially downtown Silver Spring.

 "In addition to public safety challenges, we also know that hookah and other smoking establishments pose an ongoing risk to public health, particularly, for the worker of those establishments. By limiting hours of operation, we can reduce the burden of exposure on the carcinogens," he said.

 Jan Brown, a resident of Silver Spring, also spoke in favor of the bill.

 "These people don’t live here. They don’t care about the residents. They just come for several hours and make our lives unsafe and miserable. The people who live here, the people who vote," Brown said.

 Stephanie Helsing, President and CEO of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, said the bill was about public safety. Helsing said the chamber supported it, as the current approach on curbing crime "is not working".

"We don’t want to fearmonger, but we also cannot deny that the increased violence that is invading our community has people scared. I know there are folks working tirelessly to address this, including business owners themselves and MCPD, but the reality is we are still hearing from our businesses and property owners about the negative impacts of late night activity," she said. "Enough is enough for us."

Among the list of speakers Tuesday, two people spoke on behalf of hookah lounges. Allan Ebert said of the three lounges he represented, there have been no incidents of crime.

 "The lounges themselves have security. They have been working with the police. They have been trying to comply with all of the regulations to date, so far. Our hookah lounges do not have alcohol in them," Ebert said.

 Some owners have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into keeping their businesses afloat, Ebert said.

"They would ask for some leniency, not to expedite this as much as some people are testifying to. Perhaps even move forward with it within a year and give them a year, because their families depend on this," he said.

Ahmed Kamal, who also spoke on behalf of hookah lounges, said he felt the businesses were being unfairly targeted and connected to crime.

"They do not allow any alcohol whatsoever in an establishment based on Montgomery County laws. Hookah lounges forbid patrons from bringing in alcoholic beverages," Kamal said. "They don’t exist so they revenue can be made. That’s not their purpose. The purpose is to celebrate our rich culture. Every hookah lounge in Silver Spring happens to be owned by an Ethiopian community member, who strongly celebrates their culture."

No vote was conducted Tuesday. The bill is expected to be heard before a public safety committee on March 14.