Surfside Beach looks to limit more vape shops but unlikely to boot existing ones
SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A week after opening talks about the future of vape shops inside Surfside Beach, officials Tuesday said they’re averse to dissolving any existing ones at the risk of cutting into the town’s pro-business philosophy.
“Three’s enough. But do we allow the three that are here to stay? My opinion (is that we) told them they could come to town. We gave them a business license, we gave them a permit,” planning commission chairman Sammy Truett said at a meeting. “And now we’re going to go back and tell them, ‘sorry guys, we changed our mind?’ I don’t think it sends a good signal.”
It’s conversation likely to continue for months in the coastal town where tourism is a major economic driver. Late last month, the town council began discussing the issue.
One possibility is to create a new zoning rule that would cluster new shops along Sandy Lane, keeping them away from the well-traveled Highway 17 Business corridor that runs through town.
But even that idea met with concern from town council member Harry Kohlmann, who referenced Myrtle Beach’s Seaboard Avenue in talking about the topic last week.
“I’d hate Sandy Lane to turn into Seaboard. It’s strip joints, vape shops and tattoo parlors. It’s not even a mixture of anything. You don’t have convenience stores, you don’t have restaurants,” he said. “I don’t want a place where in the shadows, you have these businesses. They’re going to bring crime.”
Surfside Beach doesn’t have a formal definition of what constitutes a vape or CBD shop, which is part of the problem.
“This is a serious topic for the town,” Mayor Robert Krouse said. “In general, vape shops aren’t typically what you think of with a family beach but it’s a legal business, so we have to be careful there as well.”
No votes were taken on Tuesday.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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