Florence County, SC Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Table
- Table XI, County Code § 30-80.2(c)
- Excluded use
- Tobacco, e-cigarette, and smoking-supply retail (NAICS 455110, 455, 458, 459)
- General retail status
- Permitted (P) only in MU and CMU districts
- Excluded use status
- Not listed, so not permitted in any of the six districts
- Rule
- Unlisted uses are not permitted, per § 30-80.2(b)
Summary
Unincorporated Florence County's mixed-use and townhouse zoning table carves tobacco, e-cigarette, and other smoking-supply retailers out of the general 'all other retail' permitted-use line. Because County Code § 30-80.2(b) treats any use not separately listed in Table XI as unpermitted, that carve-out means these retailers cannot locate in the TH, MR, MMF, MU, CMU, or FO/LI zoning districts at all.
(b)Table interpretation. ... Where a given use or NAICS reference is not listed in this table, said use shall not be permitted. ... TH MR MMF MU CMU FO/LI ... All other retail, excluding tobacco, e-cigarette, and other smoking supply retail 455110, 455, 458, 459 N N N P P N 1.0 per 350 s.f. GFA
Full Breakdown
Florence County does not require a special county business license for tobacco or vape retailers, but its zoning ordinance singles them out for a use restriction most other retail categories do not face. Table XI, adopted for the Townhouse and Mixed-Use Districts by Ord. No. 21-2023/24 (Jan. 2(c), lists 'All other retail, excluding tobacco, e-cigarette, and other smoking supply retail' (NAICS 455110, 455, 458, 459) as a 'P,' permitted use, but only in the MU (Mixed-Use) and CMU (Commercial Mixed-Use) districts; it is marked 'N,' not permitted, in TH (Townhouse), MR, MMF, and FO/LI.
2(b) states that a use or NAICS reference not listed in the table shall not be permitted, these retailers have no permitted path into any of the six zoning districts Table XI governs, including MU and CMU where general retail is welcome. A business wanting to sell tobacco or vape products would need to locate in a zoning district governed elsewhere in Chapter 30, outside this townhouse and mixed-use table, or seek a text or map amendment through the planning commission and county council under Article IX.
The parking standard listed for the general retail line, one space per 350 square feet of gross floor area, does not apply to the excluded tobacco and e-cigarette use since it carries no permitted designation in this table at all.
Violations & Fines
Operating a tobacco, e-cigarette, or smoking-supply retail store in a TH, MR, MMF, MU, CMU, or FO/LI zoning district without a permitted use designation is a zoning violation: § 30-80.2(b) treats the unlisted use as not permitted, and the county can deny or revoke the certificate of zoning compliance a retailer needs to open, the standard enforcement tool for unpermitted uses under Chapter 30.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open a vape shop in Florence County's mixed-use zoning districts?
Does the county require a special license to sell tobacco or vape products?
Where can a tobacco or vape retailer legally locate in unincorporated Florence County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Florence County
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