Villa Rica planning commission tables text amendment on smoke, vape and dispensary rules

The City of Villa Rica Planning and Zoning Commission on an unidentified meeting date opened a public hearing on TA0425, a proposed text amendment to the zoning code that would add definitions and expand proximity limits for smoke shops, vape shops, tobacco stores and medical marijuana dispensaries, and then voted to table the item until the next meeting.

The proposal, presented by Planning and Zoning Administrator Sean Danwoods, would add new definitions to Section 13.01 and change Section 8.22 to prohibit rezoning properties within the Central Business District to allow those uses, extend the distance that those stores must be set back from “sensitive groups” and increase minimum separation between same uses.

Commissioners and staff said the change aims to address a recent influx of proposed vape and smoke shops. Danwoods told the commission the draft would, among other changes, extend the existing 300-foot proximity limit from sensitive uses (schools, family care, churches, hospitals) to 1,500 feet and add urgent-care centers to the list. The draft also would raise the minimum separation between like uses from 500 feet (property line to property line) and add a definition for “vape shop” that would treat an establishment as a vape shop if 25% or more of its aggregate retail sales are from alternative nicotine products.

The commission spent the hearing addressing several practical and policy questions. One commissioner questioned whether including medical marijuana dispensaries in the same section as smoke and vape shops was appropriate, noting uncertainty about state legalization timing and noting that medical practices and dispensaries can coexist in the same building in jurisdictions where medical marijuana is legal. Another commissioner criticized the 25% aggregate-sales threshold as low and said it could unintentionally capture convenience stores that display or sell a small share of vape products. "I just wanna see the numbers because what I don't want is for there to be a lot of convenience stores that are primarily used as vape shops in the city," a commissioner said.

Commissioners and staff discussed alternatives to a sales threshold. Danwoods said staff could ask for the applicant’s projected sales when a business applies for a business license, but acknowledged enforcement of sales-based thresholds would be difficult for code enforcement. Commissioners pointed to Decatur’s approach, using display or shelf area (50% of display area) as a more easily enforceable standard. The commission asked staff to explore replacing the aggregate-sales approach with a display-area standard or otherwise increase the threshold.

After public comment was opened and closed (no substantive opposing public comments are recorded in the transcript for this item), a motion was made to table TA0425 to allow staff to revise language and return next month before council consideration; the motion passed unanimously. Commissioners noted an existing moratorium on new permits for these uses expires in May, and that timetable constrains how quickly council could act.

The commission did not adopt TA0425 as drafted; instead it asked staff to revise definitions and enforcement language (including consideration of display-area enforcement and clearer definitions for CBD/THC sales and medical dispensaries) and return with a revised draft at the next meeting.

Looking ahead, the item will appear again to the commission with edits requested during the hearing. If the commission forwards a draft to council, council consideration would occur after the commission’s recommendation and consistent with the moratorium timing mentioned during the hearing.