LAPORTE — The LaPorte City Council, expressing a desire to protect children, has made it more difficult for any new smoke and vape shop to opening.
A recently adopted ordinance presented by Councilwoman Lauren Huffman requires any new smoke and vape shop be approved by the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals.
Previously, Huffman said smoke and vape shops wanting to open in the city were restricted only by a state law mandating they be no closer than 1,000 feet from a school zone.
The measure approved unanimously by the council on Aug. 5 adds a 500 foot restriction from a daycare operation, park, church or anywhere else children typically gather.
Huffman said it was “incredibly important” for her to limit the exposure of establishments she feels are a source of temptation for children just by their presence.
“Hopefully, the out-of-sight, out-of-mind comes into play when it comes to vape and tobacco,” she said.
To illustrate the need for the tougher restrictions, Huffman cited statistics from the Indiana Department of Education that show the percentage of high school children in the state vaping at least once every 30 days is close to double digits.
“Nine point two percent doesn’t sound like a lot but 9.2% of 360,000 is a lot of kids,” she said.
The restrictions do not apply to any existing stores or new gas stations that might offer such products, officials said.
Mayor Tom Dermody said he believes there are enough stores already offering such products in the city to satisfy consumer demand.
“It’s not like we’re looking for our next one,” he said.
State law prohibits the sale of vaping and tobacco products to anyone under 21.
However, Dermody said minors locally are still getting their hands on the devices through other means, including black market sellers conducting exchanges from their vehicles.
“High school kids can text and have it delivered to their doors. I’ve seen it first hand,” he said.
Dermody also said he hopes the ordinance will help curtail the number of vaping devices regularly found in bathrooms at the high school and alarms consistently set off by detectors in bathrooms from use of those instruments during class breaks.
“We know we have a problem,” he said.
Huffman said another reason she presented the ordinance was to prevent a smoke or vape shop from opening downtown, in an effort to keep downtown family friendly, particularly during major public happenings.
“We have a lot of parades. We have a lot of family events and things that go on where we have a lot of children and teenagers,” she said.
Since passage of the ordinance, LaPorte Code Enforcement Director Jeff Batchelor said he’s been visiting existing smoke and vape shops to verify they all have the necessary operating permits.
If not, Batchelor said a violator could be shut down.
“If you’re legitimate and doing what you’re supposed to do we don’t have a problem with it. But, if you are going to try and work your way around the code we don’t want you in the city. We want you to do things the right way,” he said.
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