20 October 13, 2026
Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Long Beach
California
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation to receive and file a presentation on proposed ordinance amendments for tobacco retailers and smoking lounges; and,
Request the City Attorney to prepare amendments to the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) Title 5, Title 21, and Title 22, to create a new regulatory framework for tobacco retailers and smoking lounges. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On April 7, 2026, the City Council requested the City Manager to work with relevant departments to begin the process of amending Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) Chapter
5.81 and Chapter 8.88 to include required distances or “buffer zones” between tobacco retailers and smoking lounges and youth-oriented areas (i.e., schools, daycare centers, playgrounds, libraries, parks, recreation facilities, youth programming events that occur at parks, etc.) and elder care facilities (i.e., nursing homes, convalescent homes, etc.), and report back to council within 120 days.
On August 25, 2026, a comprehensive memorandum was released to the City Council (see attachment). This memorandum included an overview of the existing regulations, examples of regulations in other cities, proposed ordinance changes, and other policy considerations.
Furthermore, the memorandum indicated that staff would return to the City Council with a presentation to receive feedback on the policy considerations. Specifically, staff are requesting feedback on the baseline changes and elevated regulatory approach for the sensitive use buffers and legal nonconforming business requirements proposed for tobacco retailers and smoking lounges. A summary of proposed changes for City Council input is included below.
Category Baseline Changes Elevated Regulatory Approach
Definitions
Create new definitions to distinguish
between a smoke shop, smoking lounge,
and other tobacco retail permittees.
N/A
Zoning
Requirements
Require a Conditional Use Permit (CUP)
for new tobacco retailers and smoking
lounges.
N/A
Operating
Conditions
Create operating conditions for tobacco
retailers and smoking lounges in
alignment with best practices in other
cities.
N/A
City Manager
411 West Ocean Boulevard, 10th Floor, Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 570-6711
Honorable Mayor and City Council
October 13, 2026
This matter was reviewed by Eliezer Ben-Shmuel on September 28, 2026, and by Revenue Management Officer Valerie Valentine on September 23, 2026.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on October 13, 2026, to ensure timely preparation of the ordinance amendments.
Category Baseline Changes Elevated Regulatory Approach
Enforcement &
Penalties
Establish a single consolidated
enforcement structure and strengthen
penalties through tiered fines,
repeat-violation provisions, and stricter
permit-revocation consequences.
N/A
Sensitive Use
Buffers
Require sensitive use buffers to be applied
only to smoke shops and smoking
lounges. This approach would limit youth
access to tobacco, as well as illegal
products and substances, on a smaller
scale based on the number of permits
issued to smoke shops and smoking
lounges.
Require sensitive use buffers to be
applied to smoking lounges and all
tobacco retailers like convenience
stores and grocery stores. Based on
the number of permits currently
issued to convenience stores and
grocery stores and ongoing
compliance issues identified by staff,
this approach would best address
the concern of limiting youth access
to tobacco at all types of retailers, as
well as illegal products and
substances.
Legal
Nonconforming
Businesses
Implement a single approach: A shortterm period for all existing tobacco retailers and smoking lounges to come
into compliance with the new operating
conditions. The duration of this period
shall be determined by the City Council.
This approach would improve compliance
with existing tobacco retailers while
allowing them to remain at their existing
location.
Implement a two-pronged
approach: A short-term period for all
existing tobacco retailers and
smoking lounges to come into
compliance with the new operating
conditions. A longer-term
amortization period for legal
nonconforming businesses to
relocate to an allowable area that
conforms to the sensitive use buffers
and zoning requirements or cease
operations. The duration of each
period shall be determined by the
City Council. This approach would
gradually phase out the
overconcentration of tobacco
retailers and locations near sensitive
uses in Long Beach.
Honorable Mayor and City Council
October 13, 2026
FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation to present proposed ordinance changes has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties and is consistent with City Council priorities. Depending on the scope of the regulations adopted by City Council, there may be fiscal impacts associated with any changes to enforcement and fines. There is no fiscal and local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas B. Modica
City Manager