Cleveland council discusses options for regulating vape shops; staff recommends workshop

Councilmembers on March 17 discussed growing community concern about vape shops located within walking distance of schools and near neighborhoods. Emilio Navarro, director of community and economic development, told the council staff had benchmarked other cities and found few municipal regulations in place; he outlined two principal approaches: (1) zoning changes to treat vape shops as a distinct use with location‑based controls, or (2) business‑regulation tools (permits, licensing or council waivers) that could impose distancing requirements similar to the city’s alcohol rules.