Henrico passes vape shop regulations, plans to expand them

The Henrico Board of Supervisors has adopted new restrictions governing the location of e-cigarette stores.

Under the rules approved by the council on July 9, stores will now be prohibited within 1,000 feet of a school or 2,000 feet (or a little less than half a mile) of a park or other vape shop. They will also be restricted to specific zones, and the business will also have to apply for a temporary use permit before it can open anywhere in the county.

The county will define a vape shop as any business that devotes 15% or more of its display space to e-cigarettes and related items. These restrictions will not require existing vape shops within these distance limits to relocate unless they have been closed for two years or longer.

There are currently 40 vape shops in Henrico and their growth has been relatively rapid over the past few years, raising concerns that underage people are using them, Henrico Deputy Planning Director Ben Blankinship told supervisors.

“This is something we found when we reviewed nationwide studies on this topic,” he said. “Other places found that vape shops — businesses whose primary business was vaping — were less likely to check IDs of minors than, say, a grocery store or a convenience store that might also sell vaping supplies.”

Henrico District Attorney Andrew Newby explained that localities are limited by the authority granted by the state to regulate these stores, which only allows restrictions of up to 1,000 feet from a school and does not allow a limit on the total number of stores in a locality. However, Henrico has more leeway to keep vape shops away from other locations as long as the restriction has a reasonable basis, he said.

Discussion among supervisors focused on options for further strengthening these regulations and how quickly management would be able to take further action.

An example comment came from Jody Rogish, Tuckahoe District Supervisor.

“I have them across the street from Freeman High School,” he said. “I know they’re across the street from my buddy’s high school in Fairfield. I’ve driven by there, so I definitely support this resolution, and if my buddies want to strengthen it, I support that as well.”

Fairfield Superintendent Roscoe Cooper III expressed a similar opinion.

“I know there’s been an increase in vape shops in Fairfield, and we know the crime is high, we know the materials that are being sold,” he said. “So I agree with Mr. Rogish. If we can approve this with the potential to reconsider the spacing between shops, we may not be able to reduce the number of shops, but we can certainly reduce the spacing, which would make it harder to spread in some areas.”

In a conversation with Henrico Planning Director Joe Emerson and Henrico County Executive John Vithoulkas, the board ultimately decided to approve the regulations and then hear more about possible improvements during future work sessions. They could be tied to the first comprehensive overhaul of the zoning code in decades.

To prepare for future discussions, Brookland County Supervisor Dan Schmitt asked the planning department to consider establishing social distancing requirements for daycares, churches and residential areas, and to ensure the regulations cover mobile locations operating “like food trucks.”

He also asked planners to consider adding regulations covering stores selling similar products, such as CBD and cannabis products, and suggested the county ask the General Assembly to give local governments the authority to further regulate requirements for the number and distance between vape shops and other businesses of concern.

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In other business, the board postponed until Sept. 10 a proposal to expand the River Mill development in Glen Allen by 60 townhomes at the intersection of Woodman Road and Winfrey Road. The proposal, which the planning commission supported, would exceed density standards for the area.

The developer, Fairfield Winfrey Road LLC, has indicated it will make one of the lots available to a nonprofit housing organization. Emerson noted that the developer has not held a community meeting, and both the planning department and Fairfield Supervisor Cooper have received calls from neighbors with concerns.

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A similar proposal to expand the Bacova development, at the intersection of Pouncey Tract Road (Route 271) and Liesfeld Farm Drive in Short Pump, by 32 townhomes was deferred at the developer’s request until the Aug. 13 board meeting. Three Chopt Supervisor Misty Whitehead praised the developer for responding to neighbors’ concerns, saying, “I hope I get a ‘yes’.”