Fredericksburg planning commission limits locations for vape, tattoo and like businesses; denies Century 21 standardized‑business request and approves several C

The Fredericksburg Planning & Zoning Commission on an evening hearing approved a package of zoning changes aimed at directing where vape shops, tattoo studios, game‑of‑skill parlors and similar uses may locate, sent the amendment to City Council, denied an application by Century 21 to operate as a standardized business in the Historic Shopping District, approved conditional use permits for a cat café and a drive‑through associated with a retail/dry‑cleaning use, amended sidewalk standards for commercial corridors, and tabled a site‑plan review until revised engineering materials are provided.

Staff told the commission the text amendment (Z2601) adds definitions for the listed uses, moves certain categories into M2 (medium manufacturing) districts rather than C2 commercial, and requires conditional‑use permitting in C2 where the uses remain allowed. The proposal adds distance requirements intended to protect places where children gather—500 feet from schools, daycares, youth centers, parks, churches and similar uses—and a 1,500‑foot separation requirement between like uses. Staff emphasized that legally existing businesses would remain nonconforming but that expansions or changes would trigger compliance with the new requirements. “By law, we need to provide some place for them to go. We can't just say none can come into the city,” staff said, urging that the amendment is intended to manage location and public review…