On Tuesday, the Brentwood City Council is looking to finalize new regulations related to tobacco sales in Brentwood and establishing a Tobacco Retail Licensing program. The city would cap licenses at a total of 41.
If approved, the council will also look at establishing a Tobacco Retail Licensing program and adopt a resolution amending the Cost Allocation Plan and Schedule of City Fees to implement a new Tobacco Retail License Fees.
The item dates back to September 24, 2024 when the council directed staff to draft a tobacco regulations while creating a process for issuing licenses—which will be a first come, first serve application process.
Staff will process applications in the order they are received within that 30 days. If the numeric cap on licenses (discussed in more detail below) is not reached within that 30 days, then businesses not currently operating in the City will have a 30 day, first-come, first serve application period.
According to the staff report, existing tobacco retailers that do not meet the 500’ separation requirements from an existing tobacco retailer or from a “Youth Oriented Establishment” will be issued a one time, 12 month “Wind-Down Permit”, that would allow the non-compliant retailers the opportunity to sell the rest of their tobacco stock that is out of compliance with the new regulations and/or wind down tobacco retailing operations.
Numeric Cap on Tobacco Retailers and Separation Requirements
Based on Council direction, the attached ordinance contains a numeric cap on the number of tobacco retailer licenses that can be issued. The proposed cap is 41 licenses, which is based on the current number of State-licensed tobacco retailers in the City (as of February 2025). There is no cap on the number of Wind-Down Permits that can be issued because these will expire after one year and are not eligible for renewal
The ordinance also includes separation requirements of 500’ from other tobacco retailers and from Youth Oriented Establishments (YOE’s). The ordinance defines a YOE as a parcel in the City occupied by:
- a private or public elementary, middle, junior high, or high school;
- a library open to the public;
- a youth center, defined as a facility where children, ages up to 17, come together for programs and activities;
- any business establishment likely to be frequented by minors, such as, but not limited to, video game arcades, skating rinks, bowling alleys, etc.
According to the city, a large number of existing tobacco retailers within 500’ of each other or of a YOE; particularly in the northeast and western portions of the City. As a result of these separation requirements, the total number of tobacco retailers receiving a license will likely be below the cap of 41 TRL, and will likely continue to be lower in the future.
Fees: Staff calculated the reasonable costs associated with processing the TRL and conducting the three annual inspections required by the Ordinance as $2,201. The average fee for an initial license is $367, with the lowest fee being $29 per year (Antioch) and the highest being $1,602.44 per year (Richmond).
Without a Wind-Down Permit, a Tobacco Retailer that is not licensed by the City may not operate as a Tobacco Retailer under any circumstances.
The Wind-Down permits will require the same level of processing and compliance checks. Therefore, staff is recommending the same fee of $2,201 be applied to these permits, as well.
A Tobacco Retailer that is legally operating at the time of adoption of this Ordinance, may also be issued a no-fee ($0) non-renewable twelve (12) month Tobacco Retailer’s Wind-Down Permit, for the specific purpose of selling off tobacco products stock that is not in compliance with the regulations of this Code (for example, minimum package size, electronic smoking devices, flavored smoking products). A fine of one thousand dollars ($1000) would be imposed upon a tobacco retailer upon a finding of a violation of the ordinance.
Fiscal Impact: Community Development estimates that up to 41 Tobacco Retail License and/or Wind-Down Permits will be issued during the first year, which would provide one-time revenue of $90,241. Location restrictions are anticipated to reduce the number of existing tobacco retailers able to continue to operate beyond the first year to approximately 10-12 tobacco retailers. After the first year, this will result in an estimated annual ongoing license revenue of $22,010 to $26,412
If You Go
Brentwood City Council Meeting
City Council Chambers
150 City Park Way
Brentwood, CA 94513
Staff Report – click here
Previous
- Sept. 25, 2024 – Brentwood Inches Closer to Stricter Tobacco Ordinance
- May 6, 2024 – Brentwood Goes to War Against Tobacco With New Regulations
- July 11, 2023 – Concord City Council Updates Tobacco Retailer Ordinance
