After months of discussion in policy committee meetings and input from members of the public, Aurora City Council members approved the creation of a retail license Monday that limits and imposes certain requirements on businesses that sell tobacco and psychoactive products.

The intent of the license is to prevent youth access to such products by requiring local licensure and compliance checks, according to council documents.

It does not ban flavors and existing businesses will be grandfathered from distance restrictions, council documents say.

The ordinance, presented by Councilmembers Ruben Medina and Stephanie Hancock, was initially presented in a Management and Finance Committee meeting in November, getting support from Councilmembers Francoise Bergan and Alison Coombs and opposition from Councilmember Curtis Gardner.

In the time since, the ordinance sponsors have made changes to reflect industry feedback and feedback from members of the community and the council.

Many people have spoken in support of the ordinance during public comment at recent council meetings, and several people spoke Monday in support of the license. Nobody spoke in opposition to it.

Aurora currently has 354 licensed tobacco retailers, 101 of which are within 1,000 feet of schools and recreation centers, according to Aurora Partners for Thriving Youth.

The Adams County Board of Health supported the ordinance in a resolution, saying tobacco is the No. 1 cause of preventable and premature death in Colorado.

Julie Dreifaldt, who spoke on behalf of nonprofit One Chance to Grow Up Monday, supported the ordinance, saying more access to products like those limited by the license normalizes and reduces the perceived risks of such products.

“The adolescent brain develops until 25 … during this time of brain maturation, exposure to high THC and other psychoactive substances increases addiction, psychosis, anxiety, depression, suicide ideation and long-term cognitive harm,” Dreifaldt said.

Grier Bailey, the executive director of the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said his board was against the ordinance initially, but has seen that Aurora needs special attention in addressing concerns about youth access to age restricted products.

“When you’re talking about retailers that are doing the right thing, when you pass an ordinance like this it increases the regulatory burden on them, takes time away and increases the cost on their businesses,” he said. “And sometimes, it’s going to be okay when there’s other members of our community that are not doing the right thing. We do have a shared responsibility to hold our own retailers accountable.”

However, his board will watch the city’s future decisions closely, and further action to enact laws like flavor bans, they will oppose it, he said.

Councilmember Gardner, who expressed opposition to the ordinance in previous meetings, voted with the rest of the council to approve it after making several amendments, including removing several sections of the ordinance that did not directly apply to the sale of products to youth.

The council voted unanimously Monday night to approve the creation of the license.