Clarksville leaders voted 9-3 on first reading Thursday to advance a zoning ordinance that would keep new smoke and vape shops at least 1,000 feet away from schools, churches, parks and similar community-oriented uses. The rules, if given final approval, would apply to new shops seeking to open after October 1, 2026, as well as to existing businesses that relocate.
What the Ordinance Actually Requires
According to WSMV, the ordinance would also bar new smoke shops from opening within 1,500 feet of another business serving the same purpose, and it covers cigar bars and merchandise display areas in addition to smoke and vape shops. The zoning ordinance itself states that smoke and vape shops are present in substantial numbers and are concentrated in certain areas of the city, with some located near schools, parks and religious institutions. The measure passed its first reading Thursday but still requires a second reading for official approval by Clarksville city leaders before it takes effect.
The rule was developed over two months by the Clarksville-Montgomery County Regional Planning Commission, which modeled it on the city's existing liquor store ordinance, according to Clarksville Now. Under that framework, a regulated smoke or vape shop is defined as any business dedicating more than 25% of its merchandise display area to tobacco, vaping or paraphernalia products — a formal definition Clarksville previously lacked in its city code.
More Than 50 Shops Already Operating
Regional Planning Commission Director Jeff Tyndall reported in August that Clarksville currently has more than 50 operating smoke and vape shops, and under the proposed rules, C-5 highway commercial zoning would become the only zoning classification where new shops could open. The commission's buffer map showed that most existing shops, particularly those clustered along Fort Campbell Boulevard, Madison Street and Wilma Rudolph Boulevard, would violate the new distance rules if they were opening for the first time today.
Existing shops will be grandfathered in and allowed to keep operating as-is, unless they relocate or make major structural changes, which would trigger compliance with the new buffer rules. That grandfather clause means the ordinance's practical effect falls mainly on future growth along the city's main commercial corridors rather than on businesses already open.
Council Members Split on the Approach
The measure has not been without pushback inside city government. During earlier municipal discussions in August, Councilman Tim Chandler opposed the measure as government overreach, while Councilman Jimmy Brown questioned its effectiveness, noting that convenience stores selling similar tobacco and vape products are exempt from the 25% floor-space rule that defines a specialty smoke shop. That exemption means gas stations and convenience stores can continue selling the same products near schools and churches without triggering the new zoning restrictions.
Clarksville's move mirrors zoning ordinances already adopted in other Middle Tennessee cities, including one enacted by Goodlettsville in January 2025 and another passed in Hendersonville in October 2025, according to municipal records from Goodlettsville and a report from Ecigator. The pattern suggests municipalities across the region are increasingly turning to zoning authority, rather than outright bans, to manage the density of specialty tobacco and vape retailers.
State Law Sets a Separate Baseline
Tennessee's own regulatory framework already restricts some retailers near schools. Under Public Chapter 423, enacted in 2023, retailers selling hemp-derived cannabinoid products including Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC are barred from operating within 1,000 feet of any K-12 school, according to ATLRx. Separately, state law also prohibits billboard advertising for tobacco and vapor products within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, daycares or substance abuse facilities, per Adams & Reese, while the statewide purchase age for tobacco and vapor products remains 21.
Oversight of hemp-derived cannabinoid products has also shifted at the state level. Tennessee Public Chapter 526, enacted in 2025, moved regulatory authority over those products from the Department of Agriculture to the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, effective January 1, 2026, according to Bass, Berry & Sims PLC and Harrington Beverage Law.
Public concern over youth vaping has fueled much of this regional policy push. A report released in February 2025 by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations found that 22% of Tennessee high school students vaped in 2023, more than double the national rate of 10%, according to state data cited by TN.gov. State health officials have pointed to retail licensing and zoning restrictions as tools cities can use to curb youth access to vaping products.
For now, Clarksville's ordinance remains one step from finished business. It cleared its first reading Thursday, but it still needs a second reading and formal adoption before the new distance rules take effect for any smoke or vape shop seeking to open after October 1, 2026.
