The Seal Beach City Council adopted an ordinance that regulates the sale of electronic cigarettes at the agency’s Monday, Feb. 10, meeting.
The ordinance was part of the Consent Calendar and was voted on without discussion. The new ordinance defines cigarette shops, sets rules for selling tobacco and smoking-related products and prohibits selling drug paraphernalia.
However, the city has to take another procedural step to regulate shops that sell tabacco and so-called e-cigarettes.
A zone text amendment is required to add smoke shops to the list of businesses that require a conditional use permit to operate. That will require a public hearing that is scheduled to take place later this month.
Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are devices that resemble expensive pens that allow users to smoke liquid with varying degrees of nicotine in them.
The council unanimously approved the introduction (or “first reading” of the ordinance on Jan. 27. Like this week’s adoption of the ordinance, the new rules for smoke shops was part of the Consent Calendar and approved without discussion.
The final version of local tobacco product and e-cigarette regulation defines a smoke shop as as “establishments that primarily engage in the wholesale or retail sale of electronic smoking devices, tobacco products, tobacco paraphernalia, or any combination thereof,” according a Jan. 27 staff report by Jim Basham, director of Community Development.
The city code now treats e-cigarettes the same way that traditional cigarettes are treated under the law.
Smoke shops would have to get a conditional use permit to operate.
The final version of Seal Beach’s new ordinance does not impose location restrictions on smoke shops.
The new law does, however, prohibit “lounges” where people buy tobacco or e-cigarettes to smoke on site.
The Planning Commission would have to hold public hearings for each store requesting a permit to specialize in selling tobacco or smoking-related products.
The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on a zone text amendment to add smoke shops to the list of businesses that require a conditional use permit.
The hearing will be held at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 24.
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