Decatur, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

C, a smoke, vape or tobacco store is defined by the share of its floor space given to tobacco, tobacco products or tobacco paraphernalia rather than by product category alone, so a convenience store crossing the 50 percent threshold falls under this section even without a specialty name. 2; it is not permitted in any residential district, the Professional Office district, the Neighborhood Mixed Use district, C-1, or the Industrial district. Two distance rules apply before the Zoning Administrator can sign off: no new store within 1,000 feet of an existing smoke/vape/tobacco store, and none within 300 feet of a day care center, a city or county recreation center, park, nature preserve, garden or privately owned public open space, a hospital, the public library, a MARTA station, or a public or private K-12 school.

3 fixes how that distance is measured: from the store's front door in a straight line to the nearest public sidewalk or street, then along that sidewalk or street by the nearest route to the front door of the other use. including deliveries, and bar drive-through or drive-up service entirely. Because this store type is governed by the zoning table rather than a separate business-license chapter, an applicant still needs the City's standard occupation tax certificate under Chapter 22 in addition to zoning sign-off before opening.