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Commission tables proposed vape-shop rules after questions over 25% sales threshold and reach
Summary
Commissioners unanimously voted to table proposed text amendments that would define 'vape shops,' add vape shops to the city code, and extend the separation distance for smoke/tobacco/vape uses from 300 to 1,500 feet; commissioners asked staff for broader review and examples from comparable jurisdictions during a 90‑day moratorium.
The Villa Rica Planning Commission on Jan. 8 voted unanimously to table proposed text amendments that would add a new definition for “vape shops,” expand minimum separation distances for smoke shops, tobacco stores and medical marijuana dispensaries to 1,500 feet from 300 feet, and add hospitals and urgent-care centers to the list of sensitive uses.
Community Development Director Nina Shabazz introduced the proposal and said staff added a definition for vape shops and increased buffer distances after reviewing other jurisdictions. Shabazz told commissioners the proposed definition would treat a business as a vape shop if alternative nicotine products, vape juice or similar products comprised at least 25% of the business’s aggregate retail sales.
Commissioners raised concerns about the 25% sales threshold and how it could capture convenience stores, package shops or other retailers that also sell vapes. One commissioner suggested a 50% threshold to avoid inadvertently classifying mixed-use retailers as vape shops; others asked staff to consider how CBD, THC and medical marijuana dispensaries should be treated separately. Several commissioners asked for examples of other jurisdictions’ ordinances that the city had consulted and recommended staff compare ordinances from municipalities of similar size.
Shabazz noted a current moratorium on accepting new applications for these uses and said staff would use the moratorium period to refine the ordinance language. Commissioners asked staff to return with additional research and draft language that addresses materials and measurement thresholds (for example, whether to use a 25% or 50% sales threshold) and to include CBD and related uses in the review. A motion to table the amendments to the March meeting passed unanimously.
The proposed changes would amend the city’s zoning text to add a new Section 8.23 for vape shops, update definitions in the definitions chapter (Chapter 13), and increase the minimum separation distance between smoke/tobacco/medical marijuana/vape uses and sensitive uses (schools, hospitals, urgent care, etc.). Staff will circulate examples of other jurisdictions’ ordinances and return with revised language during the moratorium period.
