Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDERATION OF INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 19-1937, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 3501 (TOBACCO DISTRIBUTION) OF CHAPTER 5 (BUSINESS REGULATIONS) OF ARTICLE III (PUBLIC SAFETY) AND SECTIONS 63150.5 ET SEQ. (TOBACCO AND ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE PERMIT) OF CHAPTER 3 (BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND TRADES) OF ARTICLE VI (TAXES AND LICENSES) OF THE CARSON MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROHIBIT THE RETAIL SALE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES) AND TOBACCO PARAPHERNALIA, AND MAKING A FINDING OF EXEMPTION UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
This ordinance has been proposed by Mayor Robles to ban the retail sale of tobacco products (including electronic cigarettes) and tobacco paraphernalia in the City, and to provide for the termination of the City's existing tobacco and electronic cigarette permitting program. The City would cease accepting new permit applications on December 1, 2019, and would cease issuing new permits on January 1, 2020. Existing permittees would be allowed to continue to operate under their existing permits and/or apply for permit renewal authorizing continued operation until December 31, 2020, at which point any and all permits remaining active would permanently expire.
Permitted retailers would be allowed to apply for up to two one-year hardship exemptions, which would be granted upon a hearing by an independent administrative hearing officer provided the applicant can establish that it would suffer undue hardship due to loss of reasonable investment-backed expectations resulting from immediate effectiveness of the ban as to the applicant's business.
Persons who operate illegally as tobacco and electronic cigarette retailers after the effective date of the ban would be subject to a civil action for injunctive relief and recovery of prevailing party attorneys...
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