The Stockton City Council unanimously approved an urgency ordinance that amends the city’s tobacco retail licensing rules, aiming to curb the spread of smoke shops and strengthen enforcement against illegal sales, especially those targeting youth.
The ordinance went into effect immediately when it was passed last week to avoid a regulatory gap before a year-long moratorium on new smoke shops was set to expire March 2.
Stockton has seen an increase in tobacco retailers, commonly known as smoke shops, that sell cigarettes, vaping products and other tobacco items, according to city documents and staff. City officials report these businesses have become sites of illegal activities like flavored tobacco sales, which are banned under state law, and associations with unlicensed cannabis and drug paraphernalia.
The city first required all tobacco sellers to obtain a local license in 2023, for responsible practices and to prevent sales to minors, according to city documents. However, problems persisted, leading to a temporary ban on new shops being extended in April of last year through next month.
Stephanie Ocasio, director of community development, explained that under the proposed ordinance, 10 new definitions for what is considered a recreational smoke shop facility or a public space were created, while two existing definitions were amended.
The designations included alcoholic beverage sales establishment, convenience store, hookah, intoxicating cannabinoid, loitering, playground, retail store, school, smoke shop and smoking lounge.
“These definitions provide additional clarity and assist with the regulatory efforts of the ordinance,” Ocasio said. “Without being able to identify what the certain retail store types were, it makes it really hard to regulate. So these are essentially the backbone of this ordinance.”
The new ordinance introduces four distinct license types to better tailor regulations to different types of businesses where tobacco products are sold: smoke shop, smoke lounge, ancillary and exempt.
Businesses that qualify as smoke shops would face stricter regulations, including submitting a detailed layout and security plan to the Stockton Community Development Department, owner background checks, 1,000-foot buffer between the store and public schools or residential areas and must only operate between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
No alcohol sales are permitted in the store, video camera security surveillance is required, tobacco products must be in one contiguous area per the approved site plan and no sales from vehicles or parking lots are allowed. Clerks in the store must be 21 years or older.
A business would meet smoking lounge license criteria, if its entire business model and product stock are for the purpose, as a whole or in part, of purchasing and immediate use of tobacco products. This includes places like cigar and hookah lounges or tobacco and bars.
Regulations for smoking lounges include background checks for the business owner, a 1,000-foot buffer between public schools and residential areas, and for hours of operation to only between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Exempt licenses apply to businesses where tobacco takes up less than 5% of space and fresh foods exceed 10%, such as grocery stores. These businesses are exempt from location buffer regulations, including the 1,000-foot separation requirements from residential areas or other tobacco retailers, the need for detailed security plans, restricted selling hours, or prohibitions on alcohol sales that apply to smoke shops.
However, they must follow the regulations that apply to all businesses, including no sales to anyone under 21, adhere to bans on flavored tobacco, and allow for inspections. Violations can lead to fines, suspensions or revocation of their tobacco selling license.
Ancillary licenses apply to businesses where tobacco sales or displays must occupy less than 250 square feet of the store in total to keep tobacco as only a small part of business sales, with more than 10% of the store space must be dedicated to fresh foods.
These licenses are also exempt from regulations, including the 1,000-foot buffer from schools and residential zones, or limited hours of operation. However, the license is tied to the specific location and owner, while changing owners would require a new application.
Businesses would need a smoke shop license if 25% or more of the store floor space is used for the sale or display of tobacco products, and if the business markets itself to the public as a “smoke shop” through signage, advertising, or inventory.
The Stockton Police Department would inspect the business to determine if the store meets the specific license criteria.
Applicants for all four license types must also submit a layout of their businesses, showing where tobacco products will be sold and stored, as well as submit a security plan for review and approval by the Stockton Police Department that includes a video surveillance, physical security and uniform security personnel deployment plan.
Penalties for first violations include a 30-day suspension of the business’ license. Such violations include selling to minors or selling flavored products. Penalties for a second violation within a five-year-period include a 60 day suspension of a businesses license and a $2,000 administrative citation.
A business will see their licenses revoked altogether on a third violation within five years.
If the violation includes a felony involving illegal sale of narcotics or gambling, the tobacco retail license would be automatically revoked. The general business license is adjusted to prohibit tobacco sales, but the business can continue non-tobacco operations.
Council approved the ordinance with amendments, including fees for all re-inspections, destruction of seized items and replacing “minor” with “under legal sales age” for clarity.
Mayor Christina Fugazi also expressed a need for identifying all retailers, suggesting maps from community groups to track unlicensed operations.
“I think that’s important, that we are able to map those (retailers) out, because tobacco displayed for sale without a valid (tobacco retail license), then there should be a fine,” Fugazi said. “We need to know where they all are.”
Council members also spent quite a bit of time discussing amendments to the proposed ordinance changes, some of which were added, while others were left on the table.
Mayor Fugazi and Councilmember Michele Padilla pushed for stronger language that was included in the updated ordinance, which included changing “may revoke” to “shall revoke” for violations involving cannabis sales. The amendment makes revocation of tobacco licenses mandatory in violations when a tobacco retailer is found selling illegal cannabis without a proper license.
Some of the councilmembers also pushed to make the ordinance stricter against smoking lounges, possibly even banning them altogether. Confusion then arose over exemptions allowing flavored tobacco in lounges for premium cigars or shisha consumed on-site.
“I also don’t really see a need for smoking lounges, so I’m not at all opposed to revising language and taking that part out,” Councilmember Micheal Blower said. “I think I’ve seen a hookah on TV, but I’ve never been in one of the lounges, and I just don’t think we really need places where people can go and smoke.”
Vice Mayor Jason Lee expressed that the smoke shops were the issue, not the smoke lounges, and questioned why the focus had shifted to lounges.
“Are we saying that kind of Hookah Lounge we’re banning because I’m concerned with what we’re trying to do,” Lee said. “What we’re saying is that it’s illegal flavored tobacco sales in the smoke shops that we’re regulating, if I understand correctly. Are we saying that smoking lounges that currently exist within the city, that was not a part of the original discussion.”
The state of California has banned the sale of flavored tobacco with the exception of hookah lounges. City staff clarified that without flavored exemptions, lounges would be impacted, as state law allows flavored shisha in lounges for those 21 years and older but bans it elsewhere.
Lee pointed out that banning flavored tobacco products would impact smoke lounge businesses and go beyond the original discussion. He suggested that the ordinance would need to be brought back if the council wanted to consider the issue.
However, they referred possible tighter controls on smoking lounges and flavored tobacco provisions back to the Legislation and Environmental Services Committee for further review.