City might fill North County's hookah lounge void

The City Council is scheduled on Dec. 2 to discuss whether to loosen downtown zoning restrictions to allow such businesses, where customers smoke flavored tobacco through communal pipes. The hearing was prompted by recent inquiries the city has received from at least four hookah lounge operators, planning officials said.

The lounges, which typically attract college-age people who are old enough to smoke but too young to drink alcohol, have popped up across the nation during the past decade.

But the only lounge in North County, Hubbly Bubbly in San Marcos, closed about a year ago. Since then, area residents have been forced to travel to Sorrento Valley or San Diego's Gaslamp District to smoke hookah pipes in a public setting.

Proponents say allowing such lounges in Escondido would reduce the growing number of downtown vacancies, help fill the city's void of activities for young people, bring new energy to Grand Avenue and possibly bolster nearby restaurants and retail shops.

But opponents, including a coalition of local social service groups, worry the lounges could persuade young people that tobacco is not dangerous, while also sending a mixed message about marijuana.

"Any kind of material you're inhaling into your lungs is bad for you," said Mary Ann Dijak of the Community Alliance for Escondido. "And these lounges could normalize other kinds of smoking, like cigarettes and marijuana."

The alliance recognizes the dearth of local activities for young people, but concluded at its monthly meeting Friday that hookah lounges are not the solution.

While the Escondido Police Department has not taken an official position on the lounges, Lt. Craig Carter said Friday that they would stretch department resources by requiring undercover operations to make sure all patrons were age 18, California's minimum age for tobacco use.

"Enforcement will always be an issue," Carter said.

Concerns have also been raised about whether the clientele such lounges attract would fit with the city's vision for downtown, which is generally more upscale and sophisticated to dovetail with the nearby California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

The city recently tightened downtown zoning to prevent pawn shops, thrift stores and "99-cent" retailers from taking over many of the vacancies.

Principal Planner Bill Martin said this week that downtown zoning does not specifically allow hookah lounges, forcing city officials to reject such businesses unless the zoning is amended.

Vista outlawed hookah lounges in April, but hookah proponents said no other North County cities have addressed the issue.

Proponents said the lounges could change downtown for the better.

Vinnie Griffin, owner of Vinz Wine Bar at Kalmia Street and Grand, said Friday that he could envision hookah lounges attracting pizza parlors and other businesses that cater to youth. The lounges might also provide new customers for existing businesses, he said.

"If we get some more young people down here, it might really help some of our food establishments," he said.

George Jonson, who owns a hookah manufacturing company in Encinitas, said the city shouldn't be so picky during the recession.

"I don't think people should be complaining about any new businesses opening right now," he said. "People are afraid of something they don't understand. But the lounges will get people out of their houses and spending money."

San Marcos resident Chuck Maasri, who operated the San Marcos hookah lounge for a few years, said last week that he had about 50 customers per day.

But he warned that some young people abused the tobacco, and he said hookah lounges should never serve alcohol because tobacco and alcohol don't mix well.

Jonson said hookah lounges typically don't serve alcohol. Instead, they often serve food, high-end coffees, or both.

Two students at Cal State San Marcos, which has banned hookah smoking on campus and in dorm rooms, said Friday that the lounges would appeal to many of their classmates. But they also said students attracted to hookahs tend to be partiers.

"It's popular with the crowd that likes to party, but isn't old enough to drink," senior Shaylyn Stark said.

But John Hall, who graduated from the university last May, said a hookah is a safer option than some other activities students might pursue.

"It definitely has that aura of danger, but I know a lot of people who do it that aren't dangerous," he said.

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