Hanover weighing new restrictions on vape and hemp shops

Hanover supervisors are expected to consider new regulations on vape and hemp shops later this summer. Pictured is Tobacco and Vapor Zone in the Hanover Square shopping center. (Jack Jacobs photo)

Hanover officials are considering new restrictions on shops that primarily sell vapes, hemp items and similar products.

A proposed amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance would establish new rules on those retailers, such as requirements that they secure conditional-use permits and be a certain distance away from schools and parks before being allowed to open.

The Planning Commission is slated to hold a public hearing and vote on whether to recommend approval of the proposed regulations later this month. The Board of Supervisors would need to provide final approval of the ordinance amendment.

As proposed, any new shop looking to open to primarily sell “recreational substances” would require a conditional-use permit, which are approved by the Board of Supervisors on a case-by-case basis. The shops would only be able to operate in the B-2 and B-3 business districts as well as the M-1 and M-2 industrial districts with an approved permit.

“Recreational substances” would be a new definition in the ordinance, and would refer to tobacco products, vaporizers, hemp and CBD products that are either in their raw form or added to food or drink, and kratom, per the proposed amendment language.

The stores would also be subject to specific standards, including being located at least a mile from the property lines of public and private schools and at least a half-mile from the boundaries of municipal parks.

New stores would need to be at least 2,000 linear feet away from the property line of existing vape and CBD shops. Shops would be limited to operating hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. There would also be standards set for interior and exterior lighting of the stores.

The regulations are aimed at stores dedicated to the sale of vapes, CBD and similar products. The rules would apply to stores that have 15% or more of their total display space devoted to the products subject to the new regulations, or allow on-site consumption of the substances.

Convenience stores and other retailers that devote less than 15% of their display areas to those products would not be subject to the proposed restrictions.

The new regulations would only apply to new stores moving forward. Existing shops that don’t adhere to the new regulations would be allowed to continue to operate.

Currently, retail stores focused on sales of hemp, vapes and similar items are considered “tobacco stores” under the county’s ordinance, and they are allowed by-right in Hanover’s business districts B-1, B-2 and B-3.

The pending ordinance amendment would strike the “tobacco stores” definition as a permitted use in B-1 designation in favor of the new “recreational substances, retail stores” label.

Hanover is looking into the new regulations because officials have heard complaints from residents about the number of vape shops in the county, said Jo Ann Hunter, Hanover’s senior director of community development.

A staff memo stated the vape shops are increasing in popularity, and that the Community Development Committee, a land-use policy subcommittee of the board and made up of three supervisors, issued instructions to staff to review Hanover’s zoning regulations related to them.

Hunter said in an interview last week that Hanover staff were aware of 22 vape stores in the county.

She added that another factor was the recent enactment of similar restrictions in Henrico last year and in Chesterfield in 2023, which has led Hanover officials to anticipate Hanover could become a destination for those retailers seeking a looser regulatory environment.

The Hanover Planning Commission is expected to review the vape shop regulations on July 17. County supervisors are anticipated to vote on final approval following a public hearing on Aug. 27. The ordinance amendment would be effective upon adoption.

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