Turlock adopts 45-day moratorium on new or expanded smoke shops after enforcement finds widespread violations

The Turlock City Council voted unanimously to adopt an urgency ordinance that immediately pauses the establishment, expansion or relocation of smoke-shop uses in the city while staff studies zoning and regulatory options.

City staff told the council that a recent joint operation by the Turlock Police Department and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) “documented widespread legal noncompliance of smoke shops, including large quantities of prohibited flavor tobacco and nicotine products” and the presence of THC-labeled products offered for retail sale. Staff described the conditions as posing “a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare, particularly to young people.”

The ordinance, adopted under the state’s urgency procedures, takes effect immediately and lasts 45 days. Staff said the short moratorium preserves the status quo while they evaluate zoning and non-zoning regulatory tools, prepare amendments that may require Planning Commission review, and return recommendations to the council. The staff presentation noted the moratorium does not close existing lawful businesses and does not prohibit license renewals for existing smoke shops.

Councilmembers asked whether the joint operation led to citations; staff said the state agency had levied some fines and that this was at least the second joint operation with CDTFA (staff noted a similar operation in 2023 and a subsequent 2024 operation and notices). A staff representative said enforcement to date had not produced sustained behavioral change at many of the businesses visited.

City staff told the council the moratorium is likely to be extended beyond the initial 45 days because substantive zoning changes must go through the Planning Commission and public hearings; staff indicated they expect to return with draft regulatory language and an anticipated extension request in February. The council adopted the urgency ordinance by recorded vote (four affirmative votes), meeting the council’s required supermajority for the measure.