Stockton City Council works to give smoke shop ordinance ‘real teeth,’ extends moratorium
Special to The Record
- Stockton City Council extended a moratorium on new smoke shops for another 10 months and 15 days.
- The moratorium aims to address youth access to flavored tobacco products despite a statewide ban.
- City officials are considering stricter regulations on existing smoke shops, including increased distance requirements from schools and harsher penalties for violations.
An extension for an urgency ordinance enacting a temporary moratorium on smoke shops was unanimously approved for an additional 10 months and 15 days by the Stockton City Council.
The moratorium had first been approved by the council on March 4. It banned the establishment of new smoke shops and prohibited the expansion or relocation of existing ones.
The moratorium was set in place for 45 days while the council considered changes to the city’s existing tobacco retailer ordinance.
Youth access to flavored tobacco products
In 2022, California voters passed a law prohibiting tobacco retailers from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, most flavored tobacco products in retail locations. These products include flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes and flavor cards.
City leaders said youth still have access to flavored tobacco products, despite the state’s ban.
Before the extension was approved at the April 15 council meeting, Mayor Christina Fugazi voiced her concerns about tobacco products being sold to children.
Fugazi, who is also a vice principal at Stagg High School, said she had a student who had more than 50 tobacco products in a box that they were selling.
“He was bragging about how he makes more money everyday than some of our staff members at school by selling this stuff and that he gets it at smoke shops,” Fugazi said.
Stockton has 78 smoke shops among 163 licensed tobacco retailers. However, city staff and police don’t know the number of additional establishments operating without a business license or unlawfully.
‘We are not here to play’
At the council meeting, city staff presented their own proposals for changes to the city’s existing tobacco retailer ordinance. These included changes to enforcement on smoke shops, licensing and fees and penalties for violations.
City staff said they plan to review and revise current application fees for tobacco retailers and introduce an annual retail tobacco license fee. They also plan to reevaluate the minimum distance requirement from sensitive uses.
The city’s existing tobacco retailer ordinance, which was adopted in June 2023, bars new businesses from obtaining a tobacco retail license within 600 feet of schools, public parks, playgrounds, recreational areas, youth facilities and other tobacco retailers. City staff is considering upping the minimum distance requirement to 1,000 feet or 2,500 feet.
In terms of enforcement, city staff is considering annual compliance checks, three-month rechecks on violators, and toughening the penalties for any business that violates the rules.
Businesses that have sold flavored tobacco products could face a $2,500 fee for their first offense, a 15-day suspension of license to sell for a second offense and their license could be put up for revocation on the third offense.
City staff also proposed that smoke shops selling to minors face a 30 day suspension to sell for their first violation, a 60-day license suspension to sell for a second violation and a third violation would result in license revocation.
However, the mayor had ideas of her own when it came to penalties.
More: California doubles down on flavored tobacco products ban
“I’m sorry, I’m going to interrupt you,” Fugazi said to a city staffer during her presentation. “Over this distance of time, I’ve done a little more research and I’m probably going to put a little wrench in what you have up there.”
Some of the mayor’s proposals include a 30-day suspension for the first license violation, a 90-day suspension for the second violation and revocation of the license for the third violation.
“But it doesn’t stop just there,” Fugazi said.
The mayor proposed that when retailers are considered restricted, they cease all tobacco retailing, remove all tobacco flavored products and remove all tobacco paraphernalia from public view. She also proposed that retailers pay a daily recurring fee for repeat offenses.
“We need to send a very clear message that we are not here to play,” Fugazi said. “We are very serious about this.”
District 3 Councilmember Michael Blower echoed the mayor’s sentiments.
“I’m right on board with the mayor,” Blower said. “It was a big effort just to get it passed … we were at least able to get it passed so this is exactly what I was hoping, that now that it’s there we tweak it, we give it some real teeth, and make it do what it needs to do.”
Creating a safe and healthy environment
During the public comment portion of the meeting, community members voiced their support for the moratorium.
Kesa Bruce, director of advocacy at the American Lung Association in California and a Stockton resident, said smoke shops are detrimental to the youth and vulnerable communities.
“We know that these are disproportionately located in Black and brown communities, and they share a great burden when it comes to lung disease and lung cancer,” Bruce said. “It is imperative that we move forward with this.”
Dawn Correll-Cruz told the council that she works at a preschool where her students pass by a tobacco retailer located one block away from their campus.
The Stockton woman said there were six smoke shops around the area so she felt that it was important for the council to extend the moratorium.
“It is important for the city council to use its authority to create a safe and healthy environment,” Correll-Cruz said. “It’s important to get this ordinance and that we don’t have anymore smoke shops around the schools.”
The moratorium will expire on March 2, 2026. In the meantime, staff said they will work with the council’s legislation committee to refine the proposals before bringing a recommendation on an updated ordinance to the full council.
