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Athens BZA denies request to allow vape/tobacco shop at 79 East State Street
Summary
The Athens Board of Zoning Appeals voted 0–4 to deny a variance that would have allowed a tobacco and vape retail establishment at 79 East State Street because the property sits within the ordinance’s 500-foot buffer from a church and a licensed tobacco retailer; the appellant did not appear.
The Athens Board of Zoning Appeals on April 14 denied a variance request for 79 East State Street that would have allowed a tobacco and vape retail business to operate inside the city’s 500-foot buffer from churches and licensed tobacco retailers.
Chair Rob Delich opened the hearing and said the board would proceed even though the appellant did not appear in person, relying on materials submitted with the application. Zoning Director Tom Pyle told the board the principal-use permit was filed Feb. 2 and the office’s measurements placed the site about 450 feet from Central Avenue Methodist Church and roughly 304 feet from the Busy Day Market, a licensed cigarette retailer. Director Pyle described the permit’s denial by the prior director and summarized the ordinance provisions that bar the use within 500 feet of a church or another licensed tobacco seller.
The board reviewed the variance criteria set out in the Athens code, including the need for exceptional circumstances or undue hardship tied to the property and a requirement that any variance be the minimum necessary and not cause substantial detriment to adjacent properties. Members repeatedly noted that the ordinance (identified in the record as ordinance 0-65-24, adopted in 2024) applies the 500-foot restriction across business and manufacturing zones and that, on the facts presented, the application did not show a property-specific hardship.
Several members said the corridor around the site is a high-traffic commercial area and that it would have been useful to hear from the applicant about their business model or plans to relocate. At the same time, the majority characterized the appellant’s request as a general objection to the ordinance rather than an exceptional circumstance limited to this property, noting that a similar request could be made for other locations in the same zone.
After deliberation, a board member moved to grant the variance from ACC 23.04.07 A15 to allow the tobacco and vape establishment; the motion was seconded. The board then voted and the motion failed, with the result recorded as “variance is not granted 0 to 4.”
The denial leaves in place the city’s 500-foot buffer for tobacco and vape retail uses in business and manufacturing zones. The board did not take further action on the case and did not set a new hearing date.
