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Dalton holds first reading of vape-shop ordinance proposing $5,000 annual license, location limits
Summary
City staff presented a first reading of an ordinance to define and license vape shops, proposing a $5,000 annual license, background checks and fingerprints for owners, distance limits (including 3,000-foot buffers from schools/other vape shops), and a ban in the Central Business and Overlay districts; council questions focused on grandfathering and comparability to alcohol rules.
Dalton staff presented a first reading on Feb. 2 of a proposed amendment to Chapter 26 that would create a local regulatory framework for vape shops, define such businesses, set a licensing process similar to alcohol licensing, and establish location and eligibility rules.
The draft ordinance defines a vape shop by product offering and revenue/floor-space thresholds and prescribes an annual license fee of $5,000 that would expire Dec. 31 each year. The application requirements would include a land survey, application fee, ownership disclosures for anyone with more than 5% ownership, criminal-background consent and fingerprints, and a licensing process administered like the city’s alcohol licenses. The draft also states licenses would be nontransferable.
Staff said the draft includes location restrictions that would prohibit vape shops in the Central Business District and in the West Walnut Avenue Overlay District and would impose distance requirements from schools, religious facilities and other vape shops. On distance, staff described a 3,000-foot limit in relevant subsections: “I think it’s in the slide 3 52, item number 2 within 3,000 feet of any parcel upon which another vape shop is located,” staff said. Staff noted existing businesses may be grandfathered until they close or relocate.
Councilmembers asked whether a business moving its address would lose a license; staff said an operator would need to reapply. Members also discussed difficulty comparing the vape draft to the alcohol ordinance because state law constrains alcohol rules and because grocery-store alcohol sales differ from freestanding retailers. Staff said the draft targets freestanding businesses whose primary business is vape product sales and sought council feedback before a second reading scheduled for the next regular meeting.
If adopted, the ordinance would create a formal licensing process and local enforcement authority for vape shops; the council did not vote on the ordinance at the first reading.
