Planning Commission recommends bill that puts restrictions on Downtown vape shops to city council
Pittsburgh's Planning Commission recommended a bill to the Pittsburgh City Council that would place restrictions on vape and smoke shops.
The bill, which has not been finalized, could place limits on where the shops could open. The number of vape shops in Downtown Pittsburgh is on the mind of building owner and city resident Harris Jones.
"Every time a bus unloads, I see children going to the public schools around the corner, and they flow into these stores like they are candy shops at 7:30 to 7:50 every morning," Jones said during a City Planning meeting. "It makes you cry as a parent and as a Downtown resident."
A spokesperson for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police told KDKA there are about 30 vape shops in Downtown Pittsburgh. That number has increased in recent years.
"With that comes all of the streetscape surrounding them: public drinking, drug use, street crime, loitering, fighting, public urination, drug dealing, homelessness, etc.," Jones said.
Jones explained during the City Planning meeting this week that he and other building owners have banded together to focus on eliminating impediments to Downtown living.
"The number one priority for us are the vape stores," Jones said. "I ask you to move quickly on this ordinance."
"Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania believes that reducing access to vape-related products is a laudable approach to boosting quality of life for young people and reducing health disparities that damage communities," said Hersh Merenstein, senior director of external affairs for the Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania, during the meeting.
KDKA did find more than a few people on Thursday who are against any ordinance.
"I don't agree with that," said Jessica Coban. "I don't because they put it here in the first place, so everyone's addicted to it, so now they want to take it away."
Coban said she's at the smoke shops every day, adding that they are convenient for people looking for cigarettes and beer. When KDKA told Coban that some people do not like the shops because they attract crime and other disorderly conduct, she said she does not disagree, saying people are drawn to drugs and alcohol.
"There's gonna be problems with everything," she said.
That echoed what KDKA heard from one vape shop owner, who agreed to briefly speak off-camera. They said they sell more than smokes, and there are multiple reasons people come to the stores. Multiple smoke shop owners declined on Thursday to speak on camera.
