Rome Looking To Focus On Vape Shop Regulations

The Rome City Commission has begun looking at possible ordinances to restrict the amount of vape shops within the city limits.

But what constitutes a vape shop? That’s one item, among many, that the city will have to define as they work toward crafting an ordinance.

Several commissioners expressed concern recently that shops selling primarily vaping products were popping up everywhere and are effectively unregulated and could be selling to minors.

“We know that vaping is a huge problem in city schools,” Rome Mayor Craig McDaniel said. “And they’ve even found vapes in the elementary schools.”

The City Commission enacted a moratorium, which expires in November, on new vape shops to temporarily address what they perceive as an issue and is now looking at crafting an ordinance as a permanent measure.

“I think it’s as important to address vaping products as tobacco products,” commissioner Harry Brock said. “They are everywhere, and are just as dangerous as cigarettes we are finding.”

Two different ordinance ideas were discussed earlier this week during a City Commission meeting.

The first proposed ordinance would establish a downtown overlay district that includes downtown Broad Street and much of the River District. Within that district, the ordinance would restrict stores from having coin operated amusement machines or selling vaping products in that area.

However, several city commissioners wondered if this ordinance was too narrowly defined, and would not address vape shops in other areas of the city.

The second potential concept creates a limit on the total number of vape shops based on Rome’s population. However, several commissioners noted that there were currently more shops than this ordinance would have allowed.

No proposal is ready to go before the commission for a vote at this point.

“We’re continuing to work on a variety of ordinances that might work for the city,” Rome City Clerk Joe Smith said. “But we’re not moving ahead with anything specific right now.”