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Zoning board approves conditional use for tobacco/vape store at 4814 Southwest 9th Street
Summary
The Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a conditional use, 6–0, allowing a tobacco/vape retail tenant at 4814 Southwest 9th Street subject to staff’s 11 conditions and added hours (10 a.m.–8 p.m. Mon–Sat; noon–6 p.m. Sun).
The Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment granted a conditional use 6–0 for a tobacco/vape retail tenant at 4814 Southwest 9th Street, subject to staff’s 11 recommended conditions and an added hours‑of‑operation requirement.
Bert Dross, planning staff, told the board the proposed tenant bay is part of a newly constructed three‑bay strip center and that the site meets the city’s 500‑foot separation requirements from other tobacco retailers, schools, parks, or daycare facilities. Staff recommended approval with 11 conditions, including a 1,500‑square‑foot cap on the tenant bay and a clause allowing the zoning officer to bring the use back to the board if it becomes a nuisance.
Applicant representative Reese Yulenhop said the business, Central Iowa Vapor South LLC, had moved from the adjacent property to the north and acknowledged they were already operating at the new location while the conditional‑use process proceeded. Yulenhop said the applicant was current on its retail license and added, “we do not want to be open later than 8:00 p.m.,” and agreed to the hours the board added as a condition.
Board members asked staff questions about signage, non‑frontage wall signage allowances, and whether the board could impose hours. Counsel and staff said hours could be added as a condition and that the applicant’s stated hours (10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. Monday–Saturday and 12:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Sunday) could be memorialized in the decision. The board voted to approve the conditional use with the staff conditions plus the hours agreed by the applicant; vote was 6–0.
Staff said the applicant will receive a written decision and order and must secure any required building and sign permits from the city’s permit and development center. Condition 11 allows the zoning officer to return the item to the board if repeated violations or nuisance behavior occur.
The decision resolves the conditional‑use request at the hearing; any enforcement or complaints going forward will be handled through the city’s standard zoning enforcement processes.
