Santa Maria, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- License cap
- 1 per 1,500 residents citywide
- Youth-area buffer
- 300 feet, no new license
- Retailer-to-retailer buffer
- 500 feet, no new license
- First violation fine
- $1,000, §6-13.13(a)(1)
- Adopted
- Ordinance 2019-11, eff. 1/2/2020
Summary
Santa Maria requires every tobacco retailer to hold a City Tobacco Retailer's license under Section 6-13.02, capped citywide at one license per 1,500 residents. New retailers can't locate within 300 feet of a youth-populated area or 500 feet of another licensed retailer, and self-service displays are banned outright.
It shall be unlawful for any Person to act as a Tobacco Retailer in the City without first obtaining and maintaining a valid Tobacco Retailer's license pursuant to this Chapter for each location at which that activity is to occur. Tobacco Retailing without a valid Tobacco Retailer's license is a Public Nuisance. ... no license may issue to authorize Tobacco Retailing...within 300 feet of a Youth Populated Area..., or within 500 feet of another Tobacco Retailer location already licensed under this Chapter... The total number of Tobacco Retailer licenses within the City shall be limited to one for each 1,500, or fraction thereof, inhabitants of the City. ... Upon the Department's finding of a first violation of this Chapter at a location within any five year period, the Tobacco Retailer licensee shall pay a fine of $1,000.00. Upon...a second violation...the Tobacco Retailer license shall be suspended for 15 days. Upon...a third violation...suspended for 30 days.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4818069; v9 updated 2026-04-07).
Full Breakdown
02 makes it unlawful to act as a Tobacco Retailer in the City without a valid Tobacco Retailer's license for each location, and it declares unlicensed tobacco retailing a Public Nuisance. Licensees must display the license prominently, check ID for any buyer who appears under 25, and may not let anyone under 18 conduct tobacco retailing. Self-service displays and vending machines are banned. S. Census or State Department of Finance count, and bars new licenses in a Pharmacy, within 300 feet of a Youth Populated Area, or within 500 feet of another licensed Tobacco Retailer, all measured property-line to property-line or entrance-to-property-line.
An existing State-licensed retailer at the ordinance's 2020 adoption date can keep renewing regardless of these caps as long as the license does not lapse and the business does not close for more than 13 consecutive days. 10 sets the license fee by City Council resolution, calibrated to recover administration and enforcement costs including inspections and compliance checks, and fees are nonrefundable. Ordinance 2019-11, effective January 2, 2020, created the licensing chapter.
Violations & Fines
Section 6-13.13 requires the Police Department to suspend or revoke a license after a finding of violation: a $1,000 fine for a first violation within five years, a 15-day suspension for a second, a 30-day suspension for a third, and revocation for a fourth or more. Section 6-13.14 bars a retailer caught operating without a license from reapplying for 30 days after a first violation, 90 days after a second, and one year after a third.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Santa Maria limit how many tobacco stores can open?
How close can a new tobacco shop be to a school?
What happens on a second licensing violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Maria
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