San Clemente, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SCMC § 17.28.294
- Permit required
- Conditional Use Permit
- Earliest opening
- 7:00 a.m.
- Latest closing
- 10:00 p.m.
- Buffer from residential/schools/parks
- 500 feet
- Buffer from other shops
- 500 feet
Summary
San Clemente requires smoke and tobacco shops to get a Conditional Use Permit setting their hours, and keeps them at least 500 feet from residential property, schools, parks and each other. Minors cannot enter unaccompanied or work sales.
2.Hours of Operation. ... Hours of operation shall be determined though the Conditional Use Permit process, with 7:00 a.m. being the earliest a smoke or tobacco shop is allowed to open and 10:00 p.m. the latest a smoke or tobacco shop is allowed to close.3.Adjacent Uses. No smoke or tobacco shop shall be located within 500 feet of a residentially zoned property, school, hospital, playground, or public park, or any place where children are expected to be present. ... 4.Concentration of Uses. No smoke or tobacco shop shall be located within 500 feet of another smoke or tobacco shop.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Traffic: Supplement 30 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 66 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
40. m. Locational buffers are strict: a shop cannot sit within 500 feet of a residentially zoned property, school, hospital, playground, public park, or any place children are expected to be present, and in a Neighborhood Commercial Zone specifically, it also cannot be within 500 feet of existing residential development. Shops must also stay 500 feet from any other smoke or tobacco shop, all measured property line to property line. Operationally, storefront windows must stay unobscured with adequate interior lighting so shop activity is visible from outside during business hours, and no smoking is permitted on the premises at any time.
As part of the CUP application, the operator must submit a security plan addressing vandalism, break-ins, and other crime risks, subject to Planning Commission review and approval. Age-control measures include a flat ban on minors entering or remaining unaccompanied by a parent or guardian, a ban on minors soliciting or conducting sales, and a signage mandate posting that minors may not enter unaccompanied, with at least one sign at each public entrance.
Violations & Fines
Failing to display the required minors-not-admitted signage is expressly made unlawful under Section 17.28.294(D)(10). Operating outside CUP-approved hours, within a prohibited buffer distance, or without the required security plan violates the conditions of the Conditional Use Permit and exposes the operator to permit modification or revocation. Because the code's general penalty at Section 1.16.010 applies unless a section specifies otherwise, an unpermitted violation is chargeable as a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or six months in county jail, or prosecuted as an infraction with escalating fines of $100, $200, and $500 for repeat offenses within a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close can a smoke shop be to a school in San Clemente?
What hours can a San Clemente tobacco shop operate?
Can two smoke shops open near each other in San Clemente?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Clemente
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