Left, Jason Mattison behind the counter of Point Vapor on Isadore Street. Matisse says he allows people to use electronic smoking devices inside the store- and even created a lounge area for his customers to relax.

 “It’s not going to be the city’s responsibility to regulate through zoning whether or not it’s right, wrong, bad, healthy or unhealthy. That’s for state agencies or the federal government to act on. If someone is going to liquefy an illegal substance, that’s (already) illegal.” -Mayor Andrew Halverson

By Brandi Makuski

The City of Stevens Point is making some movement on formally permitting “vapor bars” within city limits.

In March city leaders were asked to consider whether to allow the concept of a vapor bar in the downtown area but were unable to move forward because the vapor bars, also known as “vapor lounges” aren’t referenced anywhere in the current zoning codes. The City Plan Commission this week agreed allow vapor bars to operate inside districts zoned for B1-B4 and all industrial districts but only as a conditional use.

The decision didn’t come easy. Commissioners voted twice before agreeing to the change, and voiced multiple concerns- along with members from the City Council- about a practice that has little regulation from state and federal agencies. The commission questioned everything from age restrictions on such establishments to the potency of nicotine- which can be manually increased with some e-smoking devices- in exhaled vapor and how it could affect others inside such a business.

Vaping accessories include electronic cigarettes and pipes that are injected with flavored liquid and may or may not include nicotine. A heating element inside the device allows users to “vape” instead of “smoke”, which puts its use outside the realm of the state’s smoking ban.

The rise is popularity of the products has been faster than the law regulating their sale or use, and that also worried some city leaders.

“It seems like these vapor bars are coming up quickly; like everybody’s trying to get something in before studies come out and say what could or couldn’t be bad with these e-cigarettes or vaping,” said Alderman Randy Stroik. “I don’t think we need to be on the cutting edge of this. I think we should be more stringent today until more studies come out, rather than try to be leading edge. I just don’t think we know enough about them to truly be safe.”

Alderman Randy Stroik addresses the City Plan Commission Monday.

Stroik also said he worried about the possibility of liquid narcotics being used in the smoking devices, something echoed by Alderman Roger Trzebiatowski.

“Just this past week the governor approved liquid THC, liquid marijuana, if you will, for medical purposes,” Trzebiatowski said. “We’ve seen a lot of things going on with K2 (synthetic marijuana), bath salts, other drugs- we’ve seen a lot of cases of overdoses. Will things like that become liquid form? We don’t know. We have to slow down and look at this. If we pass an ordinance, you know darn well someone’s going to find a loophole and work around it.”

But Mayor Andrew Halverson said the commission’s only responsibility was related only to zoning, adding the public protection committee would have the authority to impose any regulations on a business if it’s considered a safety risk.

“The situation we have is, obviously, the city plan commission is not the health department, nor is it the public protection committee,” Halverson said, adding that vaping and electronic smoking devices were currently a legal practice. “The operation of a legal vapor bar, however, is a situation where because of the very interest that is developing, and the fact that we already have quasi- ones that already exist, but if it isn’t defined, if it isn’t regulated, if it isn’t framed in a particular way in which it can happen, you have to create a process for us to be able to enforce exactly where we would want them to be as a city.”

“It’s not going to be the city’s responsibility to regulate through zoning whether or not it’s right, wrong, bad, healthy or unhealthy. That’s for state agencies or the federal government to act on. If someone is going to liquefy an illegal substance, that’s (already) illegal,” Halverson said.

Community Development Director Michael Ostrowski said there are already some businesses in the city which allow vaping inside, to include some retail stores which sell electronic smoking equipment and juices.

“What we’re looking at here is the actual congregating of individuals for the use of vaping,” Ostrowski said. “We don’t regulate through zoning the selling of alcohol, for example: we regulate the use of a tavern because of the negative impacts it can have on the adjacent properties. That’s what we’re regulating here, through zoning. Those (e-smoking businesses) operating now are operating under a retail environment: they’re selling (vaping) equipment. What we had a concern with is, what are the negative impacts of large groups of people that may congregate in a single building that may have negative impacts on adjacent properties.”

“Well, by denying this, we really have nothing on paper to work with,” said Alderman Tony Patton, who serves on the commission. “We can’t really move on this without having defined it.”

Commissioner Dave Cooper said from a strict zoning viewpoint, it made sense to include conditional use permits so they city has more control of vaping establishments.

“This is going to go on whether we regulate it or not, so why not just make this a conditional use so it does come before us in any zoning district,” Cooper said. “We know the state is going to come down and tell us what do to with it; we might as well regulate it.”

The commission agreed to the following definition of a vapor bar/lounge:

Any facility, building, structure, or establishment, whether fixed or mobile, whose business operation, whether as its principal use or as an accessory use, includes utilizing a heating element that vaporizes a liquid solution that releases nicotine or a flavored vapor, including but not limited to establishments known as vapor lounges or e-cigarette lounges.