PRINCETON, W.Va. — An ordinance to puts restrictions on vape shops in Mercer County was rejected by the Mercer County Commission on Tuesday.
The county had been trying to establish a moratorium on vape shops for about a year similar to the ones Fayette and Raleigh County passed, which crack down on pop-up vape stores that sell illegal products to underage children.
In the ordinance passed in Raleigh County, vape shop owners are required to acquire a permit from the county to operate. If a shop closes for 30 days, the owner has to apply for another permit.
Commissioner Greg Puckett says the frustration stems from the stores set up intentionally close to children, with one just yards away from a Princeton elementary school.
“I’ve got a vape store right now on Athens Road at Melrose Square that’s literally 50 yards from an elementary school. That’s an issue,” Puckett said. “You’re exposing our young people and our families to a product that says so on the product itself that it can’t even be used by anyone under the age of 21. It’s a harmful product.”
According to Puckett, the county’s lack of zoning is the reason the ordinance was not passed. Zoning allows the county to limit the amount of what goes where, and right now, Mercer County has no authority to pass an ordinance similar to the likes of Raleigh and Fayette County.
Puckett says, for now, Mercer County is going to need some help from lawmakers if they want pop-up vape shops off their streets.
“We’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and say, ‘Look. Either the legislature gives us an assistance, much like they do with exotic entertainment and other things to help create these distance regulations and products, or we’re going to have to go ahead and work through zoning,” Puckett said.
“Right now, to my understanding, there’s about 45 counties give or take in West Virginia that don’t have zoning, and without those protections, we can’t help stop this public health issue in my community,” he continued.
More than 20 vape stores are currently open in Mercer County.