A storefront for Smokers Town sits across from the University of New Mexico campus along Central Avenue. Under a newly proposed city ordinance, future smoke shops would face strict buffer zones preventing them from opening near existing cannabis dispensaries or other nicotine retailers. (Jesse Jones)
A storefront for Smokers Town sits across from the University of New Mexico campus along Central Avenue. Under a newly proposed city ordinance, future smoke shops would face strict buffer zones preventing them from opening near existing cannabis dispensaries or other nicotine retailers. (Jesse Jones) Credit: Jesse Jones

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By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Albuquerque smoke shop and cannabis dispensary owners could soon have far fewer places to open after Councilor Renée Grout revived a bill she sponsored by request, just days after a City Council committee recommended rejecting it.

Planning Director Alan Varela told the Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee on June 10 that Ordinance O-26-39, requested by Mayor Tim Keller’s administration, reflects the administration’s position. The committee voted to send the bill to the full City Council with a recommendation not to pass it. Grout moved to revive the bill at the June 15 full City Council meeting and the council voted 6-3 to place it on the Aug. 3 agenda for final action. Councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn, Nichole Rogers and Stephanie Telles voted against reviving it.

A map provided by Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn's office shows areas of Albuquerque where cannabis and nicotine retail are prohibited (orange) versus where cannabis retail is permissively allowed and nicotine retail is conditionally allowed (green) under current zoning. Fiebelkorn says the new buffer distances in Ordinance O-26-39 would further shrink where new shops could locate. (Courtesy of Council District 7)
A map provided by Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn’s office shows areas of Albuquerque where cannabis and nicotine retail are prohibited (orange) versus where cannabis retail is permissively allowed and nicotine retail is conditionally allowed (green) under current zoning. Fiebelkorn says the new buffer distances in Ordinance O-26-39 would further shrink where new shops could locate. (Courtesy of Council District 7)

The ordinance would double the buffer between cannabis dispensaries from 660 to 1,320 feet and increase the buffer between nicotine retailers from 1,000 to 1,320 feet. It would also create a new 660-foot buffer between the two types of businesses, prohibit cannabis and nicotine retailers in live-work dwellings and ban drive-through or drive-up windows at nicotine shops. Existing businesses would be grandfathered in and could continue operating but could not reopen at the same location if they close. The bill ties the changes to the city’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan, citing goals to support mixed-use neighborhoods and create “healthy, sustainable, and distinct communities.” Large grocery and general retail stores that sell nicotine products as a secondary business would not face the same restrictions and could continue selling those products as long as they take up no more than half of the store’s floor area.

Clr. Tammy Fiebelkorn
City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn watches a monitor above council chambers during debate over housing rules, Apr. 20, 2026 (Jesse Jones, The Paper.)

Fiebelkorn called the measure a “faulty premise made out of just unfounded fears” and said she knows of no precedent for creating distance requirements between unrelated business types. She said the administration promised supporting data at the June 10 hearing but has not provided it. Fiebelkorn warned the rules would limit new shops to “those white spots up in District 4 and out in District 1.” She urged shop owners to attend the Aug. 3 City Council meeting or contact councilors beforehand. “I feel like we’ve just been very sneaky with this one,” she said. “Our zoning rules are supposed to be making our city better, and they’re not supposed to be based on individuals’ moral or ethical guidelines.”

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Jesse Jones is a reporter covering local government and news for The Paper. through a local journalism fellowship from NM Reports.

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