Cruel and Unusual Punishment

On December 26th, four vape shops in Bountiful Utah (Vapor R Us, Urban Vapor, Vapor Dreams & VaporLoc) received notice from the city that their stores were in violation of the state zoning ordinances and that they must shut down their business in five days. This disastro us news came out of nowhere. When the shops opened in early 2013, long after the zoning ordinance was enacted, th e city granted them a business license. They were told specifically they would

not be classified as a ‘Retail Specialty Tobacco Business’

(RSTB) and would be allowed to open at their desired locations. The shops consulted with the city attorney, city licensing, Utah ATF, and the state tax commissioner. Every governmental agency assured the stores that they had the green light to do b usiness in Bountiful at their chosen locations. The stores opened and operate d all year without incident. Unbeknownst to the stores, the city was alerted by the health department earlier this year that the stores are indeed a RSTB. The City took no action and did not inform the stores of this new development until the day after Christmas. This action will force dozens of employees out of work and cause the business owners to lose their livelihoods and cost them tens of thousan ds of dollars in lease termination pena lties. The owners will have to file bankruptcy if this cannot be resolved.

There are two things we ask from all vapers around the country:

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Utah Vapers has set up a legal defense fund to help offset the cost of hiring an attorney to fight this action. Utah Vapers is asking vapers around the count ry to assist with donations of whatever they can afford. All funds collected will be split ev enly amongst the fou r vape shops in Bountiful to offset their direct costs associated with the ir legal action. The Utah Vapers will collect money on their behalf through the duration of the legal action and full accounting will be shared with anyone that requests to see it with legitimate cause. To donate, please visit: http://bit.ly/SaveUtah To donate, using PayPal, please visit: http://uta hvapers.com/support /bountiful/bount iful_legal.htm l

2.

Starting on Monday we as k that you start calling th e Bountiful City Hall. Try and get through t o the Mayor and City Attorney and let them know that you feel their actions are un-American and a violation of the Due Process clause of the 14th amendment since they are not providing the shops enough time for proper due process under the law. Ask them if they think that it is fair to give someone five days notice that their business is being shut down. Ask that the city allow the stores be grandfathered into their locations as a result of the mistakes by the city attorney and the zoning commission. We want their phones to be flooded with phone calls, the ir email system to be hammered, and above all else we want these thugs to realize that the vaping community cannot be bullied without consequen ce.

Contact Details:

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City Attorney Russell Mahan - rmahan@BountifulUtah.gov

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Planning and zoning chair Beth Holbrook - bholbrook@bountifulutah.gov

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City Manager Gary Hill - ghill@bountifulutah.gov

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Switchboard main number: 801-298-6146 open from 7 am to 6 pm MST Monday - Thursday. Some of the media coverage on the story:

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