Vaping amendment approved by Council
The City has supported an amendment to its Town Planning Scheme that will provide greater control over the location of smoking-related shops and cafés.
At last night’s Ordinary Council Meeting, Council supported an amendment to the City’s Town Planning Scheme that would give it more control over where smoking-related shops and cafés are located within the City.
Currently, vape stores and shisha bars fall under the definitions of ‘shop’ and ‘restaurant or ‘café’, and are able to set up within most commercial areas in the City.
At the October 2022 Ordinary Council Meeting, Deputy Mayor Catherine Ehrhardt raised a motion for the CEO to investigate changes to the City’s planning framework for smoking-related venues, which was supported by her fellow Councillors.
From April to June, the City sought feedback from the community on modifying the definition of restricted premises to include places that sell tobacco, e-cigarettes and other smoking-related products.
The amendment will now go to the Western Australian Planning Commission and Minister for Planning John Carey for final approval.
Once approved, the amendment will see premises selling tobacco, e-cigarettes and other smoking products restricted from operating in certain areas within the City.
It will also require vape shops and shisha bars to obtain planning permission before establishing themselves in the City.
The amendment does not affect current premises selling smoking products.
In May, the Federal Government announced a commitment of $234 million towards reforms to tackle vaping as part of the 2023 – 24 Federal Budget.