Vape shop location restrictions to be considered in Southaven
Photo: Future smoke shops or vape shops, such as this one, may have restrictions on where they can be located, if a zoning ordinance amendment is approved by the Southaven Board of Aldermen at its next meeting on April 18. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
The Southaven Board of Aldermen is expected to consider an amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance that places more restrictions on where future vape shops and smoke shops may be located in the city.
City Planning and Development Director Whitney Choat-Cook brought it up as a discussion item during Tuesday night’s board meeting.
Choat-Cook told board members she felt some limits needed to be placed on the expansion of these stores popping up all over the city.
“It’s part of my job to look at trends, positively or negatively, for the city,” Choat-Cook said. “What we have seen in a large influx of smoke shops, and vape stores. They’re going into every small tenant space we’ve got.”
Choat-Cook said the influx is not a positive thing for the city, so she wants to be able to look at them in control with conditional use permits.
“We will be presenting an ordinance change to allow them in the zones they are allowed, zones C-3 and C-4 but only under a conditional use permit,” Choat-Cook said. “The conditional use permit will state there can only be one inside a half-mile radius. That way we won’t have them popping into every retail space we have.”
She brought up the item before the board to ask if they had any comments, questions or concerns about it, but it seemed that all of the aldermen there Tuesday night were in favor of the idea.
