Each week, Louis Dettorre will provide the PublicCEO Staff Report of the Week. Nominate yourself or a colleague by e-mailing ldettorre@publicCEO.com This e-mail address is being Protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The city of Sacramento introduced an ordinance relating to the sale of tobacco near public and private K-12 schools on April 17th.

According to the report, this city ordinance was sparked back in November of 2009 when California State Senator Alex Padilla wrote a letter to local governments asking them to consider adopting an ordinance prohibiting and/or restricting the sale of tobacco near schools.
Read the report here.

Several surveys analyzed by the Senator confirmed the fact that when a school is in close proximity to an establishment that sells tobacco the likelihood that they sell to minors increases.

SB203 introduced by Senator Padilla would have prohibited the sale of tobacco within 600 feet of a school. This bill did not pass; prompting Padilla to sponsor SB 331.

As stated in the report, this bill would have allowed the California Board of Equalization to deny new tobacco retail licenses within 600 feet of a school.

Currently, the City does not have a distance or hours of operation requirement on the sale of tobacco products near schools. As of July 31, 2011 there were 104 tobacco retailers within 1000 feet of a public school in Sacramento.

In January 2010, San Francisco Mayor Newsom sponsored an ordinance amending the San Francisco Health Code prohibiting the sale of tobacco within 1,000 feet of public or private schools.

The April 17th ordinance states that zones where a tobacco retailer is a permitted use a zoning administrator special permit is also required if the tobacco retailer is located within 1,000 feet of a public or private school (K-12) and the tobacco retailer’s business is 15,000 square feet or less in gross floor area.

Each week, Louis Dettorre will provide the PublicCEO Staff Report of the Week. Nominate yourself or a colleague by e-mailing ldettorre@publicCEO.com This e-mail address is being Protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.