Roswell Bans E-Cigarettes in Parks

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Effectively immediately, you can no longer use e-cigarettes or vapor products in Roswell parks and public spaces.

That’s because the Roswell City Council on Wednesday voted to ban those devices, as well as so-called vapor products. The Council voted 4-1 to approve the measure; Councilwoman Becky Wynn voted in opposition.

Section 14.24 of the city’s ordinance will now read: “It shall be unlawful for any person to smoke, or use any tobacco product, nicotine product, e-cigarette, vape pen or any other vapor products within any City of Roswell Park.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, e-cigarette use skyrocketed among middle and high school aged children between 2013 and 2014.

“While e-cigarettes are often promoted as safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes, which deliver nicotine by burning tobacco, little is actually known yet about the health risks of using these devices,” the National Institute on Drug Abuse says on its website.

The battery-powered devices work by turning “chemicals, including highly addictive nicotine, into an aerosol that is inhaled by the user,” the Food and Drug Administration reports.

E-cigarettes have not been fully studied, so it’s unclear what potential risks they pose, how much nicotine is being inhaled during use or if there are any associated benefits from their use, the FDA adds.

Council members also voted to defer until their Oct. 12 meeting a request from Traton Homes to rezone land along Old Scott Road at Holcomb Bridge Road from AG-43 (agricultural) and CIV (civic) to R-TH (residential townhouse) to build a 52-unit townhome development; denied a request to issue a conditional permit to Steve Allen & Co. to allow 14 multi-family units in a mixed-use building at 275 S. Atlanta Street; and approved an amendment to an ordinance prohibiting coolers, bins or other containers from being located on an outdoor dining area.

The Council also voted to defer until Oct. 12 a request to issue a conditional use permit to Bill Plummer, who is seeking to build one multi-family residential unit within in a mixed use building at 980 Canton Street.

A request for a conditional use permit from Marathon Land Company to allow for multi-family residential within a mixed use development was also approved. The company also requested -- and was granted -- a variance to reduce overall parking by 20 percent.

The council approved Marathon Land Company’s request with the condition that the the owner/developer shall install sidewalk on both Norcross and Forrest streets and the sidewalk must be brick to match the sidewalk across Norcross and Forrest streets.

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Image via Shutterstock