Wayne County to consider stricter setbacks for electronic gaming, tobacco and hemp retailers; public hearing set for Oct. 7

Wayne County officials on Sept. 16 moved to schedule a public hearing on Oct. 7 to consider amending the countyelectronic gaming operations ordinance to remove an accessory-use exemption for machines and to apply the ordinancesetback requirements to tobacco and hemp retail operations.

County staff told commissioners the proposed changes would require all gaming operationsincluding those now allowed as an accessory use in existing businessesto meet the same 1,000-foot setbacks from schools, residences, parks, day cares and churches. Staff also proposed applying that 1,000-foot setback to tobacco and hemp retailers.

The planning staff said the accessory exemption currently allows up to two gaming machines inside qualifying businesses such as gas stations, but that in practice some businesses have installed more than that. "A lot of these facilities, they're putting in two and then we go back and check, and they have three, they have four, they have five," a staff member said during the discussion. Staff noted a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has affected the status of many machines; "all games now since that ordinance was put in place are now basically illegal, based on the Supreme Court ruling," the staff member said.

Staff said the county cannot enforce criminal penalties under state law for unlawful gaming and instead would rely on an amended zoning ordinance to pursue civil penalties, citations and, if necessary, injunctions through the courts. "We don't have criminal enforcement authority. We can only enforce our ordinance," the staff member said. The proposed ordinance would create a civil enforcement path that could allow the county to cite noncompliant operators and seek court orders to shut them down.

The proposal would also align Wayne County with several other jurisdictions that have adopted similar restrictions; staff cited Goldsboro, Wake County and Cumberland County as having adopted comparable rules for tobacco and hemp retail setbacks. Commissioners asked staff whether existing permitted operations would be grandfathered. Staff said uses that are properly permitted and vested would retain their rights, but if an existing permitted business is found to be operating beyond its permitted allowance (for example, having three machines when only two are permitted), it would be in violation and could lose those rights under the amended ordinance.

The board voted to set the Oct. 7 public hearing so the county can advertise the change and collect public comment before taking final action.

If the board adopts the amendment after the hearing, enforcement would rely on the county's civil code-enforcement provisions and coordination with law enforcement for larger operations, staff said. The public hearing notice will list the proposed changes and invite comment on Oct. 7 at 9:30 a.m.

Less urgent procedural items tied to the ordinance change were left to the public hearing, including the precise enforcement language and the final wording for any grandfathering provisions.