On Oct. 1, an application came in for five illuminated storefront signs at 709 Coleman Boulevard. They would have advertised vaping products, CBD, hookah, cigars and kratom from a storefront about two-tenths of a mile from Moultrie Middle School, ABC News 4 reported. The first public test of that storefront was a review of how its signs looked. Within five weeks, Mount Pleasant Town Council passed something much larger on first reading: a zoning rule about where any smoke or vape shop in town may operate.
That rule is Ordinance 26060. It started with a single Old Village storefront, but as drafted it covers all of Mount Pleasant. It would also reach shops that are open today, giving them a deadline about five years out.
What a Sign Review Can Decide
The Commercial Design Review Board took up the application on Oct. 28. It told the applicant to revise the signs so they followed the color rules and kept architectural continuity with the neighborhood, according to ABC News 4. The board's direction addressed color and continuity.
The objections people raised that week went further. ABC News 4 reported that Councilmember Daniel Brownstein, speaking as a resident, objected to how bright and out of place the signs looked and said they could attract children. Superintendent Anita Huggins said signs for a vape retailer next to a middle school called for particular care. A separate ABC News 4 report said the business did not yet have a business license or a sign permit, although electrical work had started.
Those concerns centered on the storefront's location near a school. WCBD reported that Mount Pleasant currently has no required buffer between vape shops and schools.
The Nov. 2 Meeting Moved the Question to the Zoning Code
The question went to a special Town Council meeting on Nov. 2, where a first reading of Ordinance 26060 was on the agenda. The Post and Courier's Moultrie News reported that speakers pointed to how close the address is to two schools on Coleman Boulevard: Moultrie Middle School and Hibben Preschool. Nanci Steadman Shipman, founder and CEO of WakeUp Carolina, told council that about 1,800 students and preschoolers walk past the storefront every day on their way to school. Speakers also noted that similar shops already operate in the Old Village area.
Mayor Will Haynie described the products council members had seen. "They look like lollipops, and they look like Ruffles Potato Chips and they look like Lifesavers candy, and they are actually THC or they're actually kratom," he said, as reported by WCBD.
Council approved the first reading unanimously. Haynie said that vote lets the Town apply the "pending ordinance doctrine," which WCBD explained can keep businesses from rushing in applications before the new restrictions take effect. The ordinance itself is not yet law.
What Ordinance 26060 Says
The draft text would add Section 156.1662, "Smoke or Vape Shops," to the Town's zoning code. Its working parts are short:
| Provision | What the draft says |
|---|---|
| Who counts | Any business selling tobacco, tobacco products, vape products, e-cigarettes and liquids, synthetic cannabinoids or tobacco paraphernalia at retail |
| Who is exempt | Grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores and similar retailers where cigars, cigarettes, vape products or tobacco make up less than 50% of gross retail sales |
| Buffer from community uses | 1,000 feet from public or private K-12 schools, child day care facilities, youth centers, recreational facilities, parks, churches or religious institutions, and community centers |
| Buffer between shops | 1,500 feet from another smoke or vape shop, including a closed one still eligible to reopen |
| Existing shops | Shops that become nonconforming must comply or close by Jan. 1, 2032 |
| Effective date | Immediately upon final reading |
The draft sends distance measurement to an existing section of the code, § 156.1661.
Why the Draft Reaches Well Past the Old Village
Three details in that text carry the rule far beyond 709 Coleman Boulevard.
First, the buffer list goes well beyond schools. Parks, churches, recreational facilities and community centers all count, and Mount Pleasant has plenty of each. The draft also counts a protected use that is still being built, including a site where demolition or clearing has begun. It counts uses outside the Town's limits too. A storefront's eligibility could therefore depend on a church or park across a municipal line, or on a project that has not opened yet.
Second, the rule reaches back to existing shops. A shop operating legally today that falls inside a buffer would be "amortized," the draft's term, and would have until Jan. 1, 2032 to comply or close. That would cover the similar shops speakers mentioned as already open in the Old Village area, not just the one that started the debate.
Third, the 50% exemption shapes what the rule leaves alone. Councilmember Jake Rambo cited a gas station about 50 feet from Moultrie Middle School that sells kratom or THC products, Moultrie News reported. Under the current wording, a convenience store whose cigars, cigarettes, vape products or tobacco come to less than half its gross retail sales falls outside the definition. So the draft regulates a type of store, and products sold at other kinds of counters fall outside it.
What Council Has Already Asked to Change
First reading only moves the draft forward, and WCBD noted that changes can still be made. According to Moultrie News, council members raised these points on Nov. 2:
- Jake Rambo said 1,000 feet from schools, community centers and churches is not enough distance.
- Laura Hyatt wanted more separation from schools and similar facilities and called for banning kratom outright within the town.
- Daniel Brownstein suggested adding kratom compounds such as 7-OH and mitragynine, changing "synthetic cannabinoids" to hemp-derived cannabinoids, and taking a broader look that includes nicotine pouches.
- Kathryn Whitaker asked about the five-year phaseout. Town Attorney David J. Pagliarini told her council can shorten or lengthen it.
- Mike Tinkey suggested asking the Charleston County School District what it is seeing in schools and what it recommends.
- John Iacofano said minors are also being reached through Snapchat sellers, separate from any storefront, and urged support for local police.
The proposals from Rambo, Hyatt and Brownstein would make the rule stronger through bigger buffers, more products covered, or a ban on one category entirely. Whitaker's question concerns the 2032 date, which decides how long the shops already open could stay.
The Calendar Between Now and Dec. 7
Haynie said the ordinance will go through two committees before council votes on it again.
- Nov. 2, 2026: First reading approved unanimously, which Haynie said allows the Town to apply the pending ordinance doctrine.
- December 2026: The Planning Committee and the Police, Judicial and Legal Committee take up the draft.
- Dec. 7, 2026: Second reading before full council.
- On final reading: The ordinance takes effect immediately.
- Jan. 1, 2032: The draft deadline for existing nonconforming shops, unless council changes it.
Haynie has also said he wants the effort to go statewide. "We need to take this energy to the state and have kratom outlawed and vaping anywhere near schools outlawed," he said, per WCBD. For now, the version that matters along Coleman Boulevard is the one council will see on Dec. 7.
This post describes a draft ordinance as it stood after first reading. It is general information, not legal advice. Anyone whose property or business could be affected should confirm the details with the Town of Mount Pleasant or a qualified attorney.
A zoning change like this decides what can open next door to a home or a school, and that matters to anyone who owns along Coleman Boulevard or in the Old Village. If you'd like to understand what Ordinance 26060 could mean for your street, Robertson Allen can help you weigh it. Schedule a private market consultation.
