Pismo Beach, CA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 8.14 of the Pismo Beach Municipal Code, Smoking in Public Places, sets the outdoor rules. Section 8.14.020 applies on top of any California or federal smoking ban, and it forbids both smoking and the designation of smoking areas in the listed places.

The listed places are open-air dining areas, recreational areas, service areas, public places being used for a public event, unenclosed places of employment, and sidewalks on three named streets. Dining areas, recreational areas and service areas each carry a twenty-five (25) foot buffer. An open air dining area is any unenclosed area on private or public property where food or drink is consumed or served, including restaurants, hotel restaurants, cafés and coffee shops. A recreational area is any publicly owned or operated area open to the public, and the definition names parks, piers, boardwalks, beaches, picnic areas, playgrounds, sports fields, walking paths, gardens, hiking trails and bike paths. Service areas include lines for ATMs, tickets, car washes, bus stops, taxi stands and valet pick-up.

The sidewalk ban covers any street in the Downtown Core Planning Area, Shell Beach Road and Five Cities Drive. Entrances are handled separately: fifty (50) feet from an entrance, exit, operable window or air intake of a health care facility, licensed child or adult care facility or senior center, and twenty-five (25) feet for any other enclosed public place.

"Smoking" is defined broadly. It covers lighted cigars, cigarettes and pipes, any lighted or heated tobacco, cannabis or other plant product intended for inhalation, and electronic devices that produce an aerosol or vapor. Under § 8.14.020(B), nobody can dispose of smoking waste or keep a receptacle for it within twenty-five (25) feet of a prohibited area. Barbecue smoke, incense and smoking that is part of a stage production are excluded.

Section 8.14.030 requires owners and operators to post "No Smoking" signs not less than eight (8) inches by ten (10) inches, or the international no smoking symbol, where the chapter regulates smoking.