GULF SHORES, Ala. — A new business category has been developed under the city smoking ordinance in Gulf Shores.

The city council passed a tobacco bar ordinance at Monday’s council meeting after pressure from a stalemated business plan pushed the council to make a decision.

After weeks of discussion the council came to an agreement and passed the new ordinance to answer the questions provided by this newly popular business plan.

Per the city’s smoking ordinance, the council had a hard time agreeing to an ordinance to allow the unique business.

In previous meetings council members expressed concerns of creating an unfair advantage to allow a bar that patrons could smoke in.

The biggest concern, however, was the fear from some council members that bar owners would bend the rules to allow smoking in their establishment.

A first draft ordinance was tabled at a November council meeting because of that fear.

“The issue was by using language in the first draft you would leave loopholes for other folks to come in and use the label cigar bar but not really have a true cigar bar,” City Attorney Donald Stewart said.

Councilman Phillip Harris was concerned the second draft, which tagged a percentage requirement for sales of tobacco, would be setting a business up to fail.

“It’s enforcing something (businesses) can’t control and I have an issue with that,” Harris said. “I don’t want something in the ordinance that would be counterproductive to the success of the business.”

The approved ordinance has created strong perimeters to eliminate any leeway.

The tobacco bar ordinance defines the business as “devoted to the serving of tobacco products,” serves no food except for complimentary snacks, and is a bar determined by the city’s bar definition, which will restrict anyone under the age of 21.

A tobacco bar cannot have a kitchen, has to devote 10 percent of net floor space to the “display, storage and sale of actual tobacco products,” and must have a walk-in commercial grade humidor.

The building is also required to have a smoke evacuation system separate from the building’s HVAC system and must be approved by the city Building Department. Also, the tobacco bar cannot be a section of a larger establishment.

The ordinance does not include the original proposal of a set percentage of tobacco sales required.

Harris said he felt like the ordinance is strong and will uphold a strict boundary for smoking in an establishment.

“I think we’ve worked through it, there’s been a lot of due-diligence on it and I believe we’ve got it where it needs to be,” Harris said.

Randy Haltiwanger, owner of the cigar bar The Dunes, said he’s pleased with the outcome.

The proposal of The Dunes became the catalyst for the city to address the business trend. The council was asked to define a cigar bar and create an ordinance to allow the business.

Haltiwanger said the opening of his establishment has been postponed a month pending the approval of the ordinance. Gulf Shores’ first cigar bar, The Dunes, will open in February.