Aurora extends moratorium on smoke, tobacco and CBD shops

Smoke, tobacco and CBD shops are still banned in Aurora after the city extended its years-long moratorium another year.

The moratorium, which city council unanimously approved on Feb. 10, 2025, prohibits the city from accepting and issuing permits for vape shops, e-cigarette shops, smoke shops, tobacco shops and shops that sell any product related to CBD, cannabidiol oils or edibles.

Aurora first imposed a 12-month moratorium on such business on Feb. 12, 2023, then extended it until Nov. 20, 2024. The 2023 moratorium cited rising use of tobacco products by youth and noted that e-cigarettes are “unsafe for kids, teens and young adults due to most e-cigarettes containing nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development.”

The ordinance also stated such establishments “may have harmful impacts on the public health, safety and welfare of Aurora residents,” and that a moratorium would allow the city to develop regulations that better serve its residents.

Council approved another 90-day extension on Nov. 11, 2024. That legislation noted that Ohio voters had on Nov. 7, 2023, passed Issue 2, which legalized recreational marijuana, but stated that the city needed more time to review and analyze studies in order to determine “how to properly proceed with future development within the city.”

New in the Feb. 10 moratorium is a statement that the city has hired a consulting firm (ZoneCo) to analyze and update its zoning code with regard to these sorts of businesses, as well as a host of other zoning issues. ZoneCO started reviewing the city’s zoning code in November 2023.