Earlier editions: 2026-09
Oceanside Municipal Code Ch. 10A Smoking
Oceanside Municipal Code · 2026-10 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · Oceanside
Cite as: Oceanside Municipal Code Chapter 10A · Text as of 2026-10-04
Footnotes:
--- (1) ---
Editor's note— Ord. No. 78-12, § 1, adopted March 22, 1978, repealed Ch. 10A, §§ 10A.1—10A.37, which pertained to electricity. Ord. No. 78-12 specifically provided for the adoption of the National Electrical Code, 1975 edition, as amended in Ch. 6. Ch. 10A had been derived from the following: Ord. No. 68-44, §§ 1, 2; Ord. No. 69-23, § 1; Ord. No. 77-09, § 2, adopted March 23, 1977. Subsequently, § 1 of Ord. No. 83-18, adopted May 11, 1983, added a new Ch. 10A, §§ 10A.1—10A.9.
Sec. 10A.1. - Purpose of chapter.¶
In order to serve the public health, safety and welfare, the declared purpose of this chapter is to prohibit the smoking of tobacco or any other weed or plant in public areas and places of employment, except in designated smoking areas.
(Ord. No. 83-18, § 1, 5-11-83)
Sec. 10A.2. - Definitions.¶
This section is hereby enacted to include the following definitions:
(a) Smoke or smoking shall mean and include:
(1) The carry of a lighted cigarette of any kind, lighted pipe or lighted cigar; or the lighting of a cigarette of any kind, pipe or cigar; or
(2) The use of an electronic cigarette as defined by California Health and Safety Code Section 119405 or a similar device intended to emulate smoking, which permits a person to inhale vapors or mists that may or may not include nicotine.
(b) Public place shall mean any enclosed area to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted, including but not limited to retail stores, retail service establishments, restaurants, theaters, waiting rooms, reception areas, educational facilities, health facilities and public transportation facilities. A private residence does not constitute a "public place."
(c) Place of employment shall mean any enclosed area under the control of a public or private employer which employees normally frequent during the course of employment, including but not limited to work areas, employee lounges, conference rooms and employee cafeterias. A private residence does not constitute a "place of employment."
(d) Public park means any park operated by the City of Oceanside.
(e) Playground means any park or recreational area within a park specifically designed to be used by children that has play equipment installed, or any similar facility located in a City of Oceanside public park.
(f) Tot lot sandbox area means a designated play area within a public park for the use of children where the area is not contained by a fence.
(g) Unenclosed dining area shall mean any area, including streets and sidewalks, available to or customarily used by the general public or an employee for consuming food and/or drink and not enclosed by a roof and walls.
(h) Reasonable distance shall mean a distance of twenty (20) feet in any direction from an area in which smoking is prohibited.
(i) Pier View Way Underpass shall mean that portion of the City of Oceanside bounded to the west by the easterly curb line of N. Myers Street, bounded to the east by the westerly curb line of N. Cleveland Street, and bounded to the south and north by the eighty (80) foot city right-of-way which encompasses all hardscape and softscape of the underpass. Unless otherwise noted herein, the Pier View Way Underpass specifically includes, but is not limited to, any sidewalk, stairway, ramp or other way contained within the above-described boundaries, including, but not limited to, the dirt foliage hills going up both sides to the northern and southern borders.
(Ord. No. 83-18, § 1, 5-11-83; Ord. No. 03-OR447-1, § 1, 7-2-03; Ord. No. 14-OR0225-1, § 1, 4-16-2014; Ord. No. 15-OR0137-1, § 2, 4-1-2015; Ord. No. 16-OR0591-1, § 2, 8-24-2016)
Sec. 10A.3. - Prohibitions.¶
(a) No person shall smoke in a public place or place of employment, except in designated smoking areas as set forth in section 10A.4.
(b) Smoking prohibited—Public parks. Smoking is prohibited within the boundaries of all public parks, including, but not limited to sidewalks, picnic areas, ball fields, play areas, and tot lots. Smoking is permitted in public parking lots, on public streets adjacent to public parks, and in public golf courses.
(c) No person shall chew tobacco or tobacco-related products nor dispose of such product's waste within fifty (50) feet of a playground or tot lot sandbox area in a public park.
(d) Smoking prohibited—Civic Center Plaza Complex. Smoking is prohibited and is unlawful at the Civic Center Plaza Complex, including all areas in the Civic Center Plaza Complex bounded by Coast Highway, Civic Center Drive, Nevada Street, and Pier View Way.
(e) Smoking prohibited—Public beaches. Smoking is prohibited and is unlawful within the boundaries of any public beach, including the picnic areas and tot lots. Except where otherwise prohibited, smoking is permitted in the public parking lots adjacent to the beach, on sidewalks and stairways, and along public streets adjacent to the beach.
(f) Smoking prohibited—Oceanside Pier and Pier Plaza Area.
(1) Smoking is prohibited and is unlawful on all portions of the Oceanside Pier, as well as below and on the ramps leading to the pier.
(2) Smoking is prohibited and is unlawful in the Pier Plaza Area.
a. For purposes of this chapter, "Pier Plaza Area" is hereby defined and declared as follows:
That portion of the City of Oceanside bounded to the west by the easterly curb line of the strand, bounded to the east by the westerly curb line of N. Pacific Street, bounded to the south by the northerly curb line of Mission Ave, and bounded to the north by the northerly side of the Oceanside Beach Community Center;
Unless otherwise stated herein, the Pier Plaza Area specifically includes, but is not limited to, the lifeguard headquarters parking lot and area beneath the pier, as well as any sidewalk, stairway, ramp or other way contained within the above-described boundaries, including, but not limited to, the Junior Seau Pier Amphitheater, its seating, stairways, and ramps, and all other ramps and stairs leading to the Oceanside Pier, including the concrete portion of the pier.
The Pier Plaza Area does not include any portion of the strand.
(g) Smoking prohibited—Unenclosed dining areas. Smoking is prohibited in unenclosed dining areas within the City of Oceanside, except places where smoking is already prohibited by state or federal law, in which case those laws apply.
(h) Reasonable distance required—Unenclosed dining areas. Smoking is prohibited within a reasonable distance, as defined in this chapter, from any unenclosed dining area in a public right-of-way or public sidewalk except while actively passing on the way to another destination.
(i) Smoking prohibited—Pier View Way Underpass. There shall be no smoking in the Pier View Way Underpass or within twenty-five (25) feet of the boundaries thereof.
(j) Enforcement. The provisions of this chapter may be enforced pursuant to chapter 1 of the Oceanside City Code.
(Ord. No. 83-18, § 1, 5-11-83; Ord. No. 03-OR447-1, § 2, 7-2-03; Ord. No. 07-OR0254-1, §§ 1—4, 5-2-07; Ord. No. 12-OR0026-1, § 1, 1-4-2012; Ord. No. 15-OR0137-1, § 3, 4-1-2015; Ord. No. 15-OR0281, § 2, 5-20-2015, eff. 6-20-2015; Ord. No. 16-OR0591-1, § 3, 8-24-2016)
Sec. 10A.4. - Designation of smoking areas.¶
(a) Except in retail stores, retail service establishments, food markets, public conveyance, theaters, auditoriums, public assembly rooms, meeting rooms, restrooms, elevators, pharmacies, libraries, museums or galleries open to the public, or any other place where smoking is prohibited by law, ordinance or regulation, smoking areas may be designated in public places and places of employment by proprietors or other persons in charge.
(b) Where smoking areas are designated, existing physical barriers and ventilation systems shall be used to minimize the toxic effect of smoke in adjacent nonsmoking areas.
(c) It shall be the responsibility of employers to provide smokefree areas for nonsmokers to the maximum extent possible within existing facilities.
(d) Restaurants covered by the provisions of this chapter shall designate an adequate amount of seating capacity to sufficiently meet the demand, and shall inform all patrons that a nonsmoking area is provided.
(Ord. No. 83-18, § 1, 5-11-83)
Sec. 10A.5. - Optional prohibition.¶
(a) All managers and owners of any establishments serving or doing business with the public may at their discretion further prohibit smoking within designated areas of their businesses, by posting "No Smoking" signs therein.
(b) Owners and manager wishing to designated nonsmoking areas pursuant to section 10A.5(a) may utilize the full rights of the provisions of this chapter.
(c) No public place shall be designated as a smoking area in its entirety except the ones enumerated in section 10A.7.
(Ord. No. 83-18, § 1, 5-11-83)
Sec. 10A.6. - Posting of signs.¶
(a) Signs which designate smoking or nonsmoking areas established by this chapter shall be clearly, sufficiently, and conspicuously posted in every room, building or other place so covered by this chapter.
(b) Nonsmoking signs shall be specifically placed in retail food production and marketing establishments, including grocery stores and supermarkets open to the public, so that they are clearly visible to persons in checkout lines and at meat and produce counters.
(c) The manner of such posting, including the wording, size, color, design and place of posting, whether on walls, doors, tables, counters, stands or elsewhere, shall be at the discretion of the owner, operator, manager or other person having control of such room, building or other place, so long as clarity, sufficiency and conspicuousness are apparent in communicating the intent of this chapter.
(d) Posting of signs in unenclosed dining areas. A person, business, or other entity that has legal or de facto control of an unenclosed dining area shall post a "No Smoking" sign at each point of ingress to the unenclosed dining area.
(Ord. No. 83-18, § 1, 5-11-83; Ord. No. 15-OR0137-1, § 4, 4-1-2015)
Sec. 10A.7. - Reserved.¶
Editor's note— Ord. No. 15-OR0137-1, § 5, adopted April 1, 2015, repealed § 10A.7, which pertained to exemptions from nonsmoking prohibitions and derived from Ord. No. 83-18, § 1, adopted May 11, 1983 and Ord. No. 90-17, § 2, adopted May 9, 1990.
Sec. 10A.8. - Enforcement and appeal.¶
(a) The city manager shall be responsible for compliance with this chapter when the facilities which are involved are owned, operated or leased by the city.
(b) The owner, operator or manager of any facility, business or agency within the purview of this chapter shall comply herewith. Such owner, operator or manager shall post or cause to be posted all "No Smoking" signs required by this chapter. Such owner, operator or manager shall not allow service to any person who violates this chapter by smoking in a posted "No Smoking" area.
(c) It shall be the responsibility of employers to disseminate information concerning the provisions of this chapter to employees.
(Ord. No. 83-18, § 1, 5-11-83)
Sec. 10A.9. - Severability.¶
If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The city council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and adopted this chapter and each section, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
(Ord. No. 83-18, § 1, 5-11-83)
Get a plain-English answer with a citation back to this text.
Ask AI about this code