Chapter 8.43 — TOBACCO RETAILERS

The purpose of this Chapter is to establish regulations for the location and operation of tobacco retailers. Ord. 20-12 (December 2012)

The intent of this Chapter is to:

A. Establish a minimum distance that tobacco retailers must maintain from areas where children are present, such as schools, playgrounds, parks, libraries and City owned and operated recreational facilities.

B. Prevent Retail Tobacco Shops from concentrating in a particular geographic area of the City.

• C. Establish development standards and regulations for the siting of new tobacco retailers within the City. Ord. 20-12 (December 2012)

The terms used in this Chapter have the meaning set forth below:

“Department” means the Community Development Department.

“Electronic smoking device” or “e-cigarette” means an electronic and/or battery-operated device, the use of which may resemble smoking, which can be used to deliver an inhaled dose of vapors including nicotine and/or other substances. “Electronic smoking device” includes any similar device, whether manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold as an electronic cigarette, an electronic cigar, an electronic cigarillo, an electronic pipe, an electronic hookah, a vapor cigarette, or any other product name or descriptor. “Electronic smoking device” does not include any product specifically approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in the mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease.

“Person” means any natural person, partnership, cooperative association, corporation, personal representative, receiver, trustee, assignee, or any other legal entity.

“Retail Tobacco Shop” means a business establishment, the main purpose of which is the sale of tobacco, tobacco products, or tobacco paraphernalia.

“Smoking” means: (1) possessing a lighted tobacco product, lighted tobacco paraphernalia, or any other lighted weed or plant (including a lighted pipe, cigar, hookah pipe, or cigarette of any kind) and means the lighting of a tobacco product, tobacco paraphernalia, or any other weed or plant (including a pipe, cigar, hookah pipe, or cigarette of any kind) or (2) the use of an electronic smoking device.

“Tobacco Paraphernalia” means cigarette papers or wrappers, pipes, holders of smoking materials of all types, cigarette rolling machines, electronic cigarette cartridges, electronic cigarette liquids, and any other items designed for the preparation, storing, consumption, or use of tobacco products or electronic smoking devices.

“Tobacco Product” means any substance that contains tobacco or is derived from tobacco, including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, snus, bidis, or any other preparation of tobacco; any and all electronic

smoking devices; and any product containing synthetically produced nicotine. “Tobacco Product” does not include any cessation product specifically approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in treating nicotine or tobacco dependence.

“Tobacco Retailer” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Chapter 8.08.

“Tobacco Retailing” shall mean engaging in the activities of a Tobacco Retailer. Rev. Ord. 13-14 (July 2014); Ord. 20-12 (December 2012)

A tobacco retailer shall comply with all development standards and regulations for the zoning district in which it is located and any other applicable provisions of the City Code or regulations, including occupancy, accessibility, California Building Code, and Fire Code requirements.

A. Permitted in the C-1, C-2, and Certain Planned Development Zoning Districts. A tobacco retailer may be established only in the C-1 and C- 2 Zoning Districts. A tobacco retailer may also be established in a comparable Planned Development (PD) Zoning District if not specifically prohibited by the PD regulations and if the project site has an underlying Retail Commercial or General Commercial Land Use designation. Any tobacco retailer in a PD Zoning District shall be subject to the requirements of this Chapter and the requirements of the PD Zoning District. Where a conflict arises between the requirements of this Chapter and the PD regulations, this Chapter shall take precedence.

B. No tobacco retailer shall be located within one thousand (1,000) feet, as measured in a straight line from parcel boundary to parcel boundary, of a parcel that, at the time the tobacco retailer is granted a Zoning Clearance, is occupied by public or private elementary, middle, junior high or high school.

C. No tobacco retailer shall be located within five hundred (500) feet, as measured in a straight line from parcel boundary to parcel boundary, of a parcel that, at the time the tobacco retailer is granted a Zoning Clearance, is occupied by a:

1. Playground;

2. Youth center;

3. City owned and operated recreational facilities;

4. Park; or

5. Library.

D. Limited Density of Retail Tobacco Shops. No Retail Tobacco Shop shall be granted a permit to operate on a site which is within one thousand (1,000) feet of a site occupied by another Retail Tobacco Shop, as measured in a straight line from parcel boundary to parcel boundary.

E. New Tobacco Retailers. Each application for a Zoning Clearance to operate a Tobacco Retail business shall include, in addition to such other information as reasonably required by the Community Development Director, a map demonstrating that the proposed location of the tobacco retailer is consistent with the minimum distance standards established in subsections B, C and D of this section.

F. Tobacco retailers shall apply for, acquire and maintain a current and valid Tobacco Retailer License as required by Chapter 4.40.

G. Subsections B, C and D of this section shall not apply to any tobacco retailer legally in existence as of the original effective date of this Chapter.

H. Subsections B, C and D of this section shall not apply to any situation in which a tobacco retailer legally in existence as of the original effective date of this Chapter or a tobacco retailer that has been granted a Zoning Clearance expands its existing operations to an adjacent parcel but does not establish a second location at which tobacco retailing will occur. Ord. 20-12 (December 2012)

A Zoning Clearance shall document the compliance of a tobacco retailer with the above requirements and shall be kept on file in the Community Development Department for the duration of the operation of the tobacco retailer. Ord. 20-12 (December 2012)

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The Dublin Municipal Code is current through Ordinance 2-26, passed March 3, 2026.

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