Henrico Board of Supervisors to discuss update about vape shop restrictions at Aug. 26 meeting

At a 3:15 p.m. special meeting Aug. 26, Henrico Board of Supervisors members will discuss an update about new vape shop restrictions the board passed at its last meeting.

The board also will meet in closed session to discuss the update with legal counsel.

On Aug. 14, the board passed an ordinance that bars proposed vape shops from receiving funding from the Henrico Investment Program, a county initiative that provides incentives to support new development in designated areas of Henrico. 

At the meeting, supervisors and Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas also brought up concerns that vape shops – which have popped up recently in several areas of Henrico – would still be able to skirt the county’s restrictions. Last summer, the board passed regulations that prevented vape shops from opening within 1,000 feet of a school and within 2,000 feet of a park or another vape shop.

The county defines vape shops as stores having 15% or more of display space containing e-cigarettes, vapes, or other similar products. Setting the threshold below 15% would cause restrictions to apply to non-vape shops that sell some vape products, such as Sheetz and Wawa, said Henrico County Attorney Andrew Newby.

At Tuesday’s 6 p.m. regular meeting, the Board of Supervisors will vote on establishing the Henrico County Sustainability and Resilience Advisory Committee and appointing 15 members of the county manager’s Henrico Environmental Action Resource Team as the new committee’s initial members. 

The board also will vote on a $7 million annual contract for new water and sewer service line installations in the county, as well as a change order of $855,750 to the construction contract for the Tuckahoe Creek Trunk Sewer between Kain Road and Bacova Drive.

To view the agendas for both meetings, click here.

Both meetings are open to members of the public; virtual participation in the evening meeting also is available. For details, click here.