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Fort Smith, AR Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Permitted
By right in C-1–C-6, I-1
Excluded
Not allowed in any residential zone
Definition
UDO § 27-201
Governing table
Land Use Matrix § 27-400

Summary

Fort Smith's Unified Development Ordinance treats tobacco and smoke shops as a distinct retail use, permitted by right only in the MEOS district and Commercial C-1 through C-6 and Industrial I-1 zones: never in a residential district.

Cigar, cigarette or tobacco store means a place where cigars, cigarettes, pipe tobacco and related items are sold at retail.

City shall mean the City of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

City administrator means the chief administrative officer of the city.

Classroom means a room in which teaching or learning takes place and which can be found in all kinds of educational institutions.

Cleaner, dry cleaning, or laundry (pick-up and drop-off) means a custom cleaning shop with drop-off service for the cleaning and pressing of garments.

Clothing and personal items means a facility for the custom making of apparel and millinery not involving a factory.

Clothing manufacturing means operations involving cutting, sewing, forming and packing of garments and similar items, including millinery and clothing accessories.

Clothing store means a retail facility for selling male and/or female apparel.

Coal mining comprises establishments that:

(1)Mine bituminous coal, anthracite, and lignite;(2)Develop coal mine sites; and(3)Beneficiate (i.e., prepare) coal (e.g., by cleaning, washing, screening, and sizing coal). Collection agency means a business engaged in the collecting or receiving of payment for others on any account, bill, or other indebtedness.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 4).

Full Breakdown

The UDO defines a 'cigar, cigarette or tobacco store' as a place where cigars, cigarettes, pipe tobacco and related items are sold at retail, and separately lists 'tobacco shop' on the citywide Land Use Matrix. That table marks tobacco retail as a by-right ('P') use in the Medical Education, Office and Scientific (MEOS) district and every commercial district, C-1 through C-6, plus the Industrial Light (I-1) district. It carries no listing at all in any residential district (RE-3 through RH) or the Transit district, so a storefront proposing to sell tobacco there needs a rezoning, not just a permit.

Violations & Fines

Selling tobacco or smoke-shop merchandise in a residential zone, or any district without a 'P' for 'tobacco shop,' is a zoning violation subject to enforcement, occupancy denial, or business-license revocation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I open a smoke shop in a Fort Smith residential neighborhood?
No. Fort Smith's Land Use Matrix does not list 'tobacco shop' as a permitted, conditional, or accessory use in any residential zoning district, so a residential-zoned property can't host one without rezoning.
Which zones let a smoke shop open by right in Fort Smith?
The MEOS district, Commercial C-1 through C-6, and Industrial I-1 all mark 'tobacco shop' with a 'P' for permitted use on the city's Land Use Matrix, § 27-400.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Fort Smith

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