Restrictions unanimously approved by Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday will prohibit new vape shops from opening within 1,000 feet of schools throughout Pittsburgh.
The measure also bans self-service sales and orders vape shops to be closed between the hours of 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. Proposals to open new vape shops would need Planning Commission approval.
The new rules, which take effect as soon as Mayor Corey O’Connor signs off, do not impact medical marijuana dispensaries.
Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, who sponsored the bill, said he’s heard concerns that the proliferation of vape shops is dangerous for kids and hurting business districts.
“We need to invest in bringing in small businesses and creating safe places where our youth can congregate and be kids; we don’t need more vape shops selling these addictive products,” Wilson said in a statement after a preliminary vote on the legislation last week.
An earlier iteration of the zoning change proposed to prohibit new vape shops near daycare facilities, religious institutions, public parks, playgrounds and existing vape shops.
City planning staff said banning vape shops near all of those entities would essentially halt new smoke shops from opening in the city altogether, something the city is not permitted to do under Pennsylvania law.
The bill was ultimately pared down to restrict new ones from opening only within close proximity to schools.
Residents during a recent public hearing backed the more narrow proposal, urging officials to clamp down on the increasing number of smoke shops.
Some vape shop owners when the bill was introduced told TribLive they, too, supported regulations on an industry one shop owner described as “the wild, wild west.”