McKinney's planning staff will bring the City Council a set of zoning options on Nov. 3 that would, for the first time, treat vape and smoke shops as a separate type of business rather than as ordinary retail.
The item is on the council's 3 p.m. work session agenda, posted Wednesday. Work sessions are for discussion; staff is asking for direction, not a vote.
What would change
Today a vape shop is regulated like any other store. Under the city's "Retail Sales" category it can open by right in the C1, C2, C3, I1, I2, GC and MTC zoning districts, and with a specific use permit in the O1 and O2 districts.
The proposed definition would cover any store that "specializes or otherwise primarily operates" in selling products containing nicotine, cannabinoids, kratom or similar drugs, or accessories for using them. Restaurants, private clubs, gas stations and other businesses that sell nicotine as a sideline would not count.
Staff's main proposal would bar the new use from the C1, O1, O2, GC and MTC districts and require a specific use permit in C2, C3, I1 and I2. Any new shop would also have to sit at least 1,000 feet from a school, hospital or religious assembly and at least half a mile from another vape or smoke shop.
Two alternatives bracket that proposal. One would also allow shops in C1 with a permit. The other would limit them to the I1 and I2 districts, again only with a permit.
Limits staff points out
The presentation lists the trade-offs plainly. A permit requirement would bring a public hearing and notices to property owners within 200 feet, and the spacing rule would keep new shops from clustering. But existing shops would not be affected, and zoning rules do nothing about illegal products sold at existing or new stores.
