S.F. scrutinizes vape maker Juul’s lease on Pier 70
City officials in Juul’s hometown of San Francisco are concerned about the vaping company’s expansion into city-owned property at Pier 70 — adding to the chorus of regulatory scrutiny and public health worries over Juul’s popular and addictive e-cigarettes.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera, in a letter dated Tuesday, asked the developer of Pier 70, Orton Development, which is subleasing space to Juul, to
provide documents showing Juul is complying with state, city and leasing requirements for handling hazardous materials like liquid nicotine and posting warnings about exposure to chemicals that may cause cancer.
The letter, also sent to Juul, notes public outcry over Juul’s lease of historic city property — Pier 70 once housed ship building operations during World War II — given the health hazards e-cigarettes pose to children. At a Port Commission meeting this month, residents and parents protested Juul’s expansion into the pier property in the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood, criticizing the company’s role in popularizing highly addictive flavored nicotine among teens.
“These comments illustrate the potential adverse financial impacts that Juul’s occupancy may have on the proprietary interests of the city, including its port, in its property,” Herrera wrote in the letter. “The backlash from Juul’s tenancy could negatively affect the master tenant’s ability to maximize revenues from the historic Pier 70 premises and therefore reduce potential participation rent payments to the port under the master lease.”
The city has given Orton until Dec. 12 to provide the information.
James Madsen of Orton declined to comment, saying the company does not comment on legal matters. Juul did not provide a response to requests for comment.
Juul signed a lease last year to occupy 60,000 square feet at the property, and over the summer expanded its footprint an additional 16,000 square feet — in total, enough space for about 500 employees. The space is zoned for light manufacturing, though it’s unclear if any Juul products or parts are manufactured there.
The company is rapidly expanding, despite a recent crackdown by federal regulators on the way e-cigarette companies market their products to teens. This month, under pressure from the FDA, Juul announced it would pull some flavored nicotine products off store shelves, though it would continue selling them online with age verification protocols.