Columbia zoning board upholds straight-line measurement, denying vape-shop appeal

The Columbia Board of Zoning Appeals on April 3 affirmed the zoning administrator's use of straight-line measurements to determine whether a proposed smoke and vape shop met the Unified Development Ordinance's 1,000-foot distancing requirement, a decision that leaves the applicant unable to operate at the proposed location.

The ruling matters because the measurement method determines whether uses such as schools, churches and daycare centers fall within the ordinance's protective buffer. Attorney Toby Ward, representing the applicant, argued the board should use a "walking method" that measures the shortest pedestrian route and said the walking distances he calculated put the proposed shop outside 1,000 feet of the listed uses. "If you apply the straight line view as the city did, then you have to fly over buildings, walk through buildings, and trespass on private…