Planning Commission advances draft rules for vape/tobacco shops, schedules public hearing for Aug. 6

The Bowling Green Planning Commission directed staff to take a draft zoning amendment on tobacco and vape retail to a public hearing at its August meeting after reviewing proposed restrictions including a 1‑mile buffer between dedicated vape shops and a 1,000‑foot buffer from community facilities.

Heather (staff member) presented proposed code changes that would list tobacco or vape stores as a conditional use in commercial, central business, interstate commerce and innovation employment zones (code cross‑references included in the packet: section 150.42 and proposed text under 150.69). She said staff added a prohibition on walk‑up and drive‑through windows and proposed signage requirements at public entry doors under proposed 150.69(e). For mapping, staff provided two exhibits: Exhibit A shows 1‑mile buffers drawn from existing vape shops; Exhibit B models a blank slate with 1,000‑foot buffers around roughly 56 community‑oriented facilities (day cares, libraries, schools, churches) identified by staff.

Commissioners debated the reach and effect of the buffers and other controls. Mister Waddle and others pressed for a large buffer to limit new shops inside the city; one commissioner suggested a 500‑foot buffer instead of 1,000 to allow more locations. Heather said the 1‑mile buffer between like uses was intended to limit clustering; commissioners took an informal tally and did not overturn the 1‑mile spacing proposal. The thousand‑foot buffer from community facilities drew mixed views; after discussion the commission kept the 1,000‑foot figure as the working draft.

The draft also includes operational limits and nonconforming‑use rules. Staff proposed not applying the new conditional‑use rules to businesses where tobacco or vape products are an ancillary product (for example, a convenience store or gas station) and proposed a six‑month rule for voluntary discontinuance to address nonconforming shops that close and later attempt to reopen.

There was no formal ordinance vote; commissioners agreed to hold a public hearing on August 6 to solicit public comment and to review the draft item‑by‑item at that meeting. Heather said she will prepare materials and run GIS options (including 500‑foot and 1,000‑foot overlays) for the hearing. Commissioners discussed possible numerical caps tied to population used by other municipalities (examples in staff research ranged from one shop per 1,500 people to one per 10,000) but took no final action on a population cap.

The commission’s next step is a public hearing followed by a recommendation to City Council; council will make the final determination on any zoning amendments.