Redondo Beach council directs staff to draft moratorium, tighter rules for smoke shops

The Redondo Beach City Council on April 8 directed staff to prepare an urgency ordinance imposing a temporary moratorium on approvals of new smoke shops while the city drafts a permanent zoning regulation.

The moratorium direction came after Planning Director Mark Weiner told the council the city’s business-license records showed “at least 15 smoke shops located in Redondo Beach” and that complaints and recent police enforcement showed “documented issues of compliance.” Weiner said the draft ordinance would require a conditional use permit (CUP) for smoke shops, limit the number allowed by district, and set distance buffers from sensitive uses.

Council members said they wanted stronger local controls to reduce minors’ access and the visible marketing that draws young people. Mayor Jim Light, Council member Waller and others pressed staff for limits on storefront signage, lighting and the sale of flavored or synthetic nicotine products; Planning Director Weiner and Assistant City Attorney Cheryl Park said the draft would incorporate enforcement tools and standards to address violations.

Weiner emphasized the draft seeks to bring existing businesses into compliance rather than immediate closures: the ordinance would treat current shops as legal nonconforming uses but require them to obtain a CUP within a limited period. He also said the draft included an amortization provision that would require existing operators to apply for a CUP within a multi‑year window and that change-of-ownership rules would prevent new tobacco retail permits at locations once the cap is reached.

Assistant City Attorney Cheryl Park told the council that courts expect a reasonable time for an owner to recoup investment when a city changes allowable uses; she said there is no single statutory number and that staff proposed five years as reasonable based on prior case law and practice.

After discussion of buffer distances, caps per district and options for stronger advertising/entry controls (including carding or two-door entry like the city’s cannabis rules), the council unanimously directed staff to return with an urgency ordinance that would halt approvals of new smoke shops while staff prepares the permanent ordinance and to return to the council on May 6, 2025.

The council also asked staff to: evaluate whether this zoning approach can expressly prohibit sale of flavored or synthetic nicotine products within smoke shops, add distance restrictions consistent with the cannabis ordinance for certain parks, and draft clearer standards for minors’ access and interior design and signage.