The city of Fayetteville, N.C. has been looking into proposed legislation changes that would limit how close tobacco retailers could be to residential areas, churches, schools and other tobacco retailers, but any hopes of making those changes will have to wait for at least a few more months.

On July 15, the city’s planning commission voted to postpone any changes so staff members could resolve additional issues and make changes to draft rules.

The first draft of the ordinance could have forced the closure of dozens of tobacco shops, including cigar shops and lounges, but that number was decreased to ten stores after the first round of revisions, according to the Fayetteville Observer. With this latest postponement, it is the hope of the planning commission that no existing businesses will be forced to close.

The commission is looking at September to revisit the matter, which could get the proposal to the city council in October.

Fayetteville is located in the central part of the state. It has a population around 200,000 and is home to the U.S. military installation Fort Bragg.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.