Here’s when Myrtle Beach residents can give input on proposed vape, smoke shop guidelines
Myrtle Beach planning officials are looking for public input on the regulations city leaders want to place on vape and smoke shops.
With planning officials tasked with determining if smoke-centric shops should be rezoned within the city, a public hearing is scheduled Tuesday afternoon for community members to share their thoughts on what direction the Planning Commission should go in with crafting an ordinance for City Council.
“What we have is a skeleton at best and it needs a lot of flesh on it before it goes back and that’s going to take a lot of work,” Planning Chairman Bill Pritchard said during their March 5 meeting. “The timeline that they (Myrtle Beach City Council) gave us seems to me is a pretty reasonable timeline to allow us to get the depth into this thing that it warrants before putting people out of business.”
City Council passed an ordinance in January temporarily banning the city from granting permits to businesses selling CBD oil, electronic cigarettes and tobacco paraphernalia, as well as shops primarily selling cigars, cigarettes and/or tobacco products.
The ordinance was then passed on to the planning commission, which has until the end of the year to evaluate the zoning code to find an appropriate area for vape and smoke shops to operate. It will also decide if there should be any regulations on the location and whether current businesses should be grandfathered in under the potential new zoning ordinance.
While smoke and vape shops currently in business won’t be affected by the city ordinance, they will have one year to make changes if city officials approve certain regulations following the conclusion of the planning commission’s study.
“We’re not trying to zone something out, that’s not the intent here,” Planning Director Carol Coleman said. “What we’re trying to do is determine do we want to create certain parameters as to where they can go, where they would be encouraged to go, and any conditional parameters associated with the use.”
Currently, vape and smoke shops are permitted in zones where retail is allowed, which planning officials fear will result in vaping stores and products flooding the area and impacting the image of a family-friendly tourist destination.
“They go obviously right next to one another, which is happening already,” Pritchard.
Planning member Don Shanks also cited advertising as a concern. He said vape products advertised on storefronts downtown could counter the commissions goal of creating a family-friendly environment, but assistant city manager Bruce Boulineau said the city can’t regulate the content on a store’s signage.
Pritchard is hoping Tuesday’s hearing will provide the commission with some additional insight. Following the hearing, the commission plans on meeting with city staff and Myrtle Beach police to discuss enforcement, and the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce to learn what their vision for the city is. They also want to meet with the Board of Zoning Appeal, health professionals, local hospital staff, and state officials.
The public hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall.
This story was originally published March 17, 2019 at 1:29 PM.
