The City of Fayetteville will not allow new smoke shops to open within 1,000 feet of each other and a wide variety of other establishments, according to a development ordinance change the Fayetteville City Council passed Monday intended to curb the youth vaping epidemic.
The council’s vote followed approval of the ordinance by the city’s Planning Commission meeting on Sept. 17. City council voted 7-3 to enact the ban, with Council Members Deno Hondros, Mario Benavente and Courtney Banks-Mclaughlin voting in opposition.
New businesses that primarily sell hemp or tobacco products and want to open up in Fayetteville will need to be 1,000 feet from other smoke shops, schools, day care facilities, religious institutions, group homes, public parks, group quarters (halfway house) or residential rehabilitation support facilities. Tobacco and hemp stores also cannot open within the same property, such as a strip mall with multiple storefronts. However, the ban will not affect existing retailers.
The ordinance change aligns with restrictions passed by Cumberland County early this year. It’s aimed at addressing high rates of nicotine consumption among youth by curtailing access to hemp and tobacco products, council members said. Across North Carolina, 21.4% of high school respondents to the state’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey said they currently vaped. Cumberland County’s ban was championed by school officials.
Council Member Lynne Greene said a recent law enforcement initiative to clamp down on smoke shops selling illegal products, known as “Operation Vapor Trail,” demonstrated the need to better regulate these businesses. According to the Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden, law enforcement seized over 60,000 pounds of marijuana and THC related products as part of the operation.
“The numbers, to me, kind of said it all,” Greene said. “My desire [is] to have good, safe businesses and small businesses — it’s hard to ignore those numbers when you’re looking at other factors.”
Not all council members were in favor of the change. Hondros expressed concern over the legislation serving as an “additional barrier for small businesses.” While the city “should crack down on” any retailer selling products to minors or illegal products, Hondros said, the sale of legal merchandise should not be restricted.
“But when there’s a legal product, I’m just leery and have reservations and concerns of going after one product type, in this case tobacco and vapes, versus others, even if we deem them harmful or not particularly nutritious or helpful to us,” Hondros said. “Fast food is one that an argument could be made is just as bad, [but] we don’t limit them from each other.”
Aside from adult entertainment venues, which must be 1,000 feet apart from each other, there are few restrictions on proximity for general retail businesses in Fayetteville, though special use permits can modify some separation requirements, according to city planning staff.
Colvin rejected Hondros’ comparison as “apples and oranges,” pointing to exponential increases in youth tobacco usage over the past decade. He also quoted a blog post from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on the National Association of County and City Health Officials website that states “limiting tobacco retail density near schools and parks is crucial in tobacco control as it reduces youth exposure to tobacco products.”
Benavente, who opposed the ban, questioned there being evidence that density bans on smoke shops result in a reduction in youth vaping. He argued the restrictions also infringed on individual freedom and discouraged economic growth.
“Because so far, I don’t think that the density issue actually attacks issues of the youth getting ahold of things that they’re probably getting online or from their friends,” Benavente said. “If we want to address that issue, let’s get to the root of it. I liken this to efforts by government to try and control reproductive health procedures. Outlawing those things doesn’t make it less likely to happen. It just changes the way that people go about acquiring those services.”
Local governments have shown increased interest in regulating the sale of tobacco and hemp products in recent years. In North Carolina, Wake County, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, Knightdale, Zebulon and Jacksonville have instituted similar bans. Cumberland County also banned vaping in county facilities on Oct. 21.
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608. This story was made possible by donations from readers like you to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
