The Dunwoody City Council, after a prolonged debate at its Aug. 10 meeting, passed an ordinance that defined regulations and limitations on vape shops within the city.
It ends a lengthy moratorium as the council and staff worked to define parameters for vape shops without an outright ban. The original measure discussed during a May 11 meeting defined the areas where vape shops would be permitted and set parameters for what would constitute a vape shop, either 25% or more of its total products sold being vape-related, or 25% of its interior space used for vape-related sales.
However, the council tabled the agenda item and directed its staff to propose an alternative regulatory scenario, which was presented at the August meeting.
The revised ordinance states that vape shops are allowed in commercial districts that allow general retail sales and imposes two types of distance requirements: 600 feet from daycare facilities, schools, and places of worship, and 1,500 feet from existing vape shops and gas stations.
“The 1,500-foot requirement prevents clustering of stores selling vapes and other smoking products in close proximity of one another,” according to a staff memo.
After the measure was discussed, several council members pushed for an amendment to ban the shops entirely, but it failed. The revised ordinance passed unanimously.
In other action, the council held a public hearing on a proposed rezoning request for a townhome development on Ashwood Parkway.
The Dunwoody Planning Commission at its July 14 meeting, by unanimous vote, recommended a zoning change from Office-Industrial (O-I) to Planned Development (PD) to allow the construction of 122 townhomes on the 11.64-acre site.
Currently, the site, located near the Dunwoody City Hall, contains a vacant 231,000-square-foot office building with 582 parking spaces.
Nobody spoke in favor of or against the proposal at the August meeting. Developers said they have been working with nearby residents to address their concerns about traffic congestion during and after construction.
Ken Wood, representing the developers, said the townhomes’ footprint would range from 2,800 to 3,000 square feet. Amenities would include public walking trails, improved landscaping, and a pool for the residents. The developers would also assume control of an existing HOA, which has been essentially inactive.
“I am a big fan of this project,” said Council Member Joe Seconder, who said a development of this sort would fill a missing element in Dunwoody’s housing market.
Mayor Lynn Deutsch urged Joe Ingram of Ashwood Grove LLC to explore whether or not elevators could be installed in portions or all of the units before the measure comes to council later in August.
However, Ingram said that multilevel townhomes are not required to adhere to accessibility requirements outlined in the federal Fair Housing Act. That changes if elevators or a shaft for future installation are included.
“If we put them one in, we may have to do it for all of them,” Ingram said.
“I’m confident that we can come to some sort of solution,” Deutsch said.
The council also:
- recognized the 2026 Officer of the Second Quarter Terrance Kinslow and the Employee of the Second Quarter Jason Horn;
- heard in City Manager Eric Linton’s report about the installation of a life-size fiberglass cow at the Donaldson-Bannister Farm in the next few months, one of 12 fiberglass cows that will be transformed and displayed in participating DeKalb cities;
- listened to a presentation by Discover Dunwoody that hotel room demand is up and Dunwoody remains third in occupancy in the Metro area;
- discussed briefly how the city will participate financially in non-city run events.
