East Ridge council previews 'specialty shop' ordinance to restrict location and clustering of vape/CBD retailers

City legal staff introduced a draft "specialty shop" ordinance during the June 11 East Ridge City Council meeting that would regulate locations where hemp/CBD, nicotine-derivative products and edible specialty items may be sold.

Under the draft, specialty shops would be regulated as a land use rather than by product prohibition. The ordinance would establish minimum property-line separation distances (as drafted in the packet): 1,500 feet from an existing specialty shop, 1,000 feet from a school, daycare facility or church, and 500 feet from other specified sensitive uses. The measure would be implemented as a use-on-review: new establishments that meet the criteria would proceed through the Planning Commission and, if approved, return to the council; locations that do not meet the standards would be denied under the use-on-review process.

Council members asked staff a range of questions, including whether employee age restrictions are governed by state law (staff said employees must be 18 or older under state rules), how existing businesses would be treated if they discontinue operations, whether transfers of ownership would count as discontinuation (staff said transfers would not automatically be treated as discontinued nonconforming uses), and what notification and timing would be required to move the ordinance through planning and council hearings.

City staff said the ordinance would not retroactively close existing legal nonconforming businesses but would control new locations and reactivations consistent with state statutes on nonconforming uses. Staff expects the draft to go to the Planning Commission (probable July meeting) and then return to the council for public reading and hearings; timelines will reflect required public-notice windows.

What happens next: City staff will present the draft to the Planning Commission for review and public notice; if Planning Commission forwards it to council, the council will schedule readings and public hearings consistent with notice requirements. No vote was taken at this meeting.

Reporting note: Discussion focused on land-use controls and separation distances rather than product bans; staff repeatedly framed the measure as a zoning/regulatory tool.