Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Use Restrictions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Conway planning staff outlines options to restrict vape shops and payday lenders; commission asks for draft ordinance
Summary
Planning staff presented UDO amendment options to limit or condition vape/smoke shops and payday/cash‑advance businesses — including spacing rules, district limits, and a special‑exception process — and commissioners asked staff to draft ordinance language for future consideration.
Planning staff presented a policy discussion on possible changes to the city's Unified Development Ordinance to limit or regulate vape/smoke shops and payday/cash‑advance establishments, citing approaches used by other municipalities and several potential regulatory tools.
Staff outlined three main options for commissioners to consider: confine listed uses to light or heavy industrial districts; make certain uses conditional in particular zoning districts; or create a special‑exception process handled by the Board of Zoning Appeals that would add a public‑hearing layer for sensitive locations. Staff cited Myrtle Beach's Ocean Boulevard overlay as an example and noted that courts have upheld similar local restrictions when properly justified.
As an example of a measurable standard, staff read sample spacing language: "they would have to be 2,640 feet or a half a mile from another smoke or vape shop," and proposed a 1,500‑foot minimum distance from schools, childcare centers, parks and other youth‑oriented facilities. Staff emphasized that the intent would not be to restrict large retailers that sell tobacco or vape products as incidental sales; the focus would be businesses where those products are the primary retail purpose.
Commissioners discussed enforcement and legal risks, including amortization or sunset clauses and how reuse of a site is handled if a business vacates. Staff clarified the local 180‑day rule: if an establishment ceases operations and the location is reoccupied within 180 days, the use may not be treated as abandoned, which can limit amortization approaches. Commissioners generally favored a layered approach (permitted in industrial districts, conditional or subject to special exception in others) and asked staff to draft ordinance options and impact studies identifying what existing parcels might remain available for placement of these uses under different approaches.
Staff said it would prepare draft ordinance language and bring options back to a future meeting for further discussion and public input.
