Bellingham Board of Health Revokes Tobacco License, Reduces Active Permits to 26

BELLINGHAM — August 5, 2025 — Bellingham Board of Health revokes a tobacco license and schedules a show-cause hearing for a closed smoke shop. The board voted unanimously at its August 5 meeting to revoke the lapsed tobacco permit held by Vets Liquors — whose owner's wife told Health Agent Dylan the family was "done" with tobacco sales — bringing the town's active tobacco license count to 26. The board also voted to summon the Borderline Smoke Shop on Moody Street to the September meeting after Dylan reported visiting the location four times and finding it never open following a fire more than six months ago. Members approved septic plan variances for 38 Victor Street, where the replacement system will actually improve setbacks from three feet to five feet from the property line, and voted to hold Household Hazardous Waste Day on Saturday, September 20. A heated discussion arose over a DPW decision to begin charging fees — $5 per tire, $15 to $20 per television, and a yet-to-be-confirmed rate per mattress — at the recycling center starting September 1, with Chair Rick Gilbert warning that inadequate public notice would drive illegal dumping: "We're going to find more in the woods."