Vape Shops Target Of Haverford Residents' Ire At Recent Meeting

HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP, PA — Haverford Township residents came out against vape shops in their town at a public hearing Monday.

The township board of commissioners Monday held the hearing that was largely focused on the shops, which residents expressed concerns over.

Monday's meeting featured discussions on ordinance P-2024, which aims to amend Chapters 47 and 182 in the township code for games of skill and significant tobacco retailers.

The ordinance would define "any retailer or wholesale establishment that devotes 10% or more of floor area or display area to, or maintains 20% or more of its total merchandise... for Tobacco Products, Vape Products, Delta-8 THC (or Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol), kratom, ingestible CBD/cannabidiol products, Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), and/or ENDS-related products and/or any materials that can be used in Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems" as a "significant tobacco retailer."

It also includes language that would require a 1,000-foot buffer between these retailers and places including but not limited to "public, private and parochial schools and day-care centers."

Additionally, hours of operation for these businesses would be limited to 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. under the ordinance.

Board of Commissioners President Larry Holmes said this is the administration's first attempt at "confining the proliferation" of smoke and vape shops.

Restrictions on vape and smoke shops are limited under state law, he said.

As for the games of skill, which are described similarly to casino slot machines, the ordinance would ban them in "significant tobacco retailers" and convenience stores.

No residents at the hearing spoke against the proposed ordinance.

They expressed concerns over the shop altering the character of the township, which one resident said would diminish property values.

"If property values goes down, then our tax base is affected, then our schools are affected," she said.

That same resident said she worries the shops are "fronts for other enterprises," which garnered audible support from residents in attendance.

"We need to start policing these vape shops," one longtime resident said. "It's a new addiction these kids are doing."

Several residents mentioned students vaping while in school, with a local teacher saying schools deal with students vaping daily.

She cited CDC findings that show nicotine can hinder young brains' ability to focus.

"We've made it easy for [kids] to access this," she said.

One resident who lives next to a vape shop on Darby Road said he sees young people hiding behind his house, waiting for older friends to hook them up with products from the store.

Another resident, a nurse, said her son and other young people in her family are addicted to nicotine, and even offered to set up a "sting" to catch the shops that are accused of selling to minors.

Should the ordinance pass, Holmes said it would be a "positive step" toward addressing residents' concerns over these businesses.

A decision on the ordinance is expected Monday at the regular commissioners meeting.

The full ordinance is available for review online here.