ROCKFORD The City Council approved an ordinance this week regulating hookah lounges, including requiring installation of an exhaust system and installation of carbon monoxide detectors.
City Legal Director Nicholas Meyer said the ordinance should pave a way for officials to consider proposals for the establishment of hookah lounges that had been put on hold as the city developed its regulations. We had a couple businesses come through seeking a tobacco license, and we knew they were going to open a hookah lounge, and we wanted to make sure if they are going to do that, we were prepared to put some rules in place on what they were going to do, Meyer said. If we didn’t pass the ordinance, they likely would have been able to open without any oversight from the city at all.