Newport News may soon enact stricter regulations for vape shops, which have popped up across the city in recent years.
In a 5-3 vote Wednesday, the Newport News Planning Commission recommended approval of rezoning rules that would add regulations on new vape shops. The ordinance creates new regulations and guidelines for new vape shops, including a ban on drive-thru service and tinted windows, restricting sales of vapes to anyone under 21, and prohibiting vape shops from being located within 2,000 feet of a child day center or school. Existing stores would not have to comply with the new regulations, unless they close for 24 months, at which point state code requires them to comply with the ordinance.
Vapes, otherwise known as “e-cigarettes,” use water vapor to deliver nicotine with different flavors instead of tobacco smoke, and has been an increasingly popular choice for young people in recent years.
The City Council would still need to adopt the new rules and will vote on the proposed regulations on Sept. 23.
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State law already prohibits the sale of vapes to anyone under the age of 21. However, according to the proposal, increased visibility of stores with easy access combined with heightened normalization of vaping has prompted a need for further regulation.
“This distinction allows the zoning ordinance to clearly regulate where vape shops may be located and how they may operate,” city zoning administrator Nyoka Hall said during the Wednesday meeting. “The city has seen a noticeable increase in vape shops along with community concerns about youth access, clustering and the impact of visible advertising.”
Hall added currently, vape shops are not distinguished from general retail stores, leaving opportunities for excessive expansion in the city. The new regulations would be a one-way restriction, according to Hall, so churches or other organizations would still be allowed to add child day centers within 2,000 feet of existing vape shops.
It’s unclear how many vape shops exist in Newport News because they do not require a specific license. However, several are clustered along major thoroughfares like Jefferson Avenue and Warwick Boulevard.
Other localities are split in how they regulate vape shops, according to Hall. Hampton, Suffolk and Virginia Beach also allow them as general retail, while Henrico County, James City County, Norfolk and Williamsburg require conditional use permits to operate.
Planning commissioners P. Gray Bowditch and William Black, both of whom voted against the proposal, questioned the city’s continued allowance of vape shops to be licensed under general retail instead of requiring conditional use permits. Black further raised concerns over a lack of limitations on hours of operations under the proposed regulations.
“ABC Board exercises control over the operations of any restaurant or facility that sells alcoholic beverages,” Black said during the meeting. “Nobody has any controls over the times for a vape shop.”
Commissioner LaMonte Williams also questioned vape shops requiring conditional use permits, and Commissioner Katie Stodghill noted how changes in the location of child care centers in the city could affect future available space for vape shops.
“Schools pretty much stay, but child care centers come and go,” Stodghill said. “So we’re basing it on a child care center that, today it’s a child care center. Tomorrow it’s not.”
None of the commissioners elaborated on their votes during the meeting. Black could not be reached for comment afterward, and Commissioner Randie Dyess, the third no vote, declined to comment afterward.
Planning Commission chairperson Michael Taylor said after the meeting he didn’t share the concerns of some of his colleagues.
“I can only think it’ll help with the regulation side of it for the city,” Taylor said.
Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/09/04/newport-news-new-vape-shops-rules/
