Council advances zoning definitions for smoke/head shops, CBD, vape shops and mobile vending

The Seabrook City Council on Nov. 19 advanced a package of zoning-code amendments that separate and define smoke/head shops, CBD sales, vape shops, mobile vending and mobile food vending and add associated parking requirements.

Sean (planning staff) told council the city’s 2012 land-use matrix treated head shops broadly and that business owners have pushed to separate CBD and vape operations from traditional head-shop definitions. The proposed language defines a CBD store as primarily selling cannabidiol-derived products (oils, edibles, topicals) and forbids sale of tobacco paraphernalia and smoking accessories in such shops. The vape-shop definition is restricted to e-cigarettes, vape pens and related e-liquids and accessories, with an explicit prohibition on tobacco and head-shop paraphernalia in a vape-shop use.

The Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously recommended the changes. Staff also proposed adding mobile vending and mobile food vending to the land-use matrix, with a permitting process and parking minimums (two customer spaces per mobile unit) and conditional-use review in certain commercial districts so council can evaluate site-specific impacts and conditions.

Public speakers included commercial broker Vincent Worley, who urged council to use zoning and facade upgrades to attract higher-rent retail tenants, and Jonathan Byers, who supported clearly differentiating vape shops from head shops. Council advanced the ordinances on first readings and asked staff to finalize ordinance language and parking table entries for future action.