Hearing officer fines landlord $7,563 after tenant’s vape shop cited at 108 Connecticut Ave

Hearing Officer Robert Maslin on Dec. 3 imposed a $7,563 civil fine on the property at 108 Connecticut Ave after city zoning staff said the business there operated without the special permit now required for vape shops and failed to submit a complete application despite repeated instructions.

Maslin said the citation was served by certified mail and by personal service and that no timely hearing request had been filed. “So I’m imposing a fine of 7,500 plus the $63 for the constables’ fee,” Maslin said when announcing the assessment.

City staff told the hearing that the location had previously been the subject of police action this year, and that a news report and staff notes referenced seizures of THC products. The planner on record told the panel the applicant had submitted only a partial application and had not paid the special-permit fee required for the planning-and-zoning commission to schedule a public hearing.

Manish Patel, who appeared at the hearing and identified himself as associated with the business, said he would work to resolve the deficiency. “We’re gonna pay you. Pay you,” he told the officer when discussing the landlord’s responsibility to settle the citation while the business completes zoning steps.

Maslin closed the citation file after imposing the fine but warned that enforcement staff would return another citation if the business continued to operate without having the special permit in process. He directed the property owner and tenant to complete the city’s special-permit application or to coordinate with Principal Planner Brian Baker and zoning staff to have the item scheduled for a public hearing.

Next steps: the planning-and-zoning commission must consider any completed special-permit application. If the business remains in operation before the permit is granted, zoning staff said they will issue additional citations and enforcement actions.