Rohnert Park Municipal Code Art. VII Offenses by or Against Minors

"Business" means any sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, corporation or other business entity formed for profit-making purposes, including retail establishments where goods or services are sold as well as professional corporations and other entities where legal, medical, dental, engineering, architectural or other professional services are delivered.

"City" means the city of Rohnert Park.

"Minor" means any individual who is less than eighteen years old.

"Person" means any individual, partnership, cooperative association, private corporation, personal representative, receiver, trustee, assignee, or any other legal entity.

"Self-service displays" means open display of tobacco products that the public has access to without the intervention of an employee.

"Tobacco products" means any tobacco cigarette, cigar, e-cigarette, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco and snuff), vaporizer and other vaping products, or any other form of tobacco which may be utilized for smoking, chewing, inhalation or other manner of ingestion.

"Tobacco vending machine" means any self-service electronic or mechanical device or appliance the operation of which depends upon the insertion of money, whether in coin or paper currency, or tokens representative of value, which dispenses or releases a tobacco product.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)

(Ord. No. 988, § 3, 7-22-2025)

Any person, business, tobacco retailer or other establishment subject to this chapter shall post plainly visible signs on their premises stating the sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of eighteen is prohibited by law. The exact working of these signs shall be determined by the persons, businesses, tobacco retailers or other establishments subject to this chapter.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)

No person, business, tobacco retailer, or owner, manager or operator of any establishment shall sell, offer to sell or permit to be sold any tobacco product to an individual without requesting and examining identification establishing the purchaser's age as eighteen years or greater unless the seller has some reasonable basis for determining if the purchaser is eighteen years old or greater.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)

Any person, business, tobacco retailer or any other establishment subject to this chapter shall comply with the following requirement: Self-service displays of single cigarettes, single packs of cigarettes and single containers of smokeless tobacco must be under adequate surveillance in a reasonably secure environment.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)

Except as provided herein, no person, business, or tobacco retailer shall locate, install, keep, maintain or use, or permit the location, installation, keeping, maintenance or use on his, her or its premises any vending machine for the purpose of selling or distributing any tobacco product. Any tobacco vending machine in use on the effective date of this article shall be removed within thirty days after the effective date of this chapter. Tobacco vending machines located in places in which persons under the age of eighteen are prohibited by law from entering are exempt from this provision so long as said machines are not located at the entrance thereto.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)

This section reserved for future consideration as provided in Section 1 of Ordinance 555.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)

This section reserved for future consideration as provided in Section 1 of Ordinance 555.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)

No person, business or employer shall discharge, refuse to hire or in any manner retaliate against any employee or applicant for employment because such employee or applicant agrees to abide by the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)

In order to increase voluntary compliance with this ordinance, the city and/or its designee shall conduct informational activities to notify and educate tobacco retailers and the public of this chapter, which may include, but not necessarily restricted to, any of the following activities:

A. Publication of this chapter in local newspapers;

B. Publication and distribution of materials explaining the chapter to tobacco retailers, their employees and member of the public;

C. Sources of appropriate signage;

D. Publication and distribution of materials on merchant education and employee training resources to prevent tobacco sales to minors which are locally available; and

E. Publication and distribution of materials on youth tobacco use prevention, education and cessation services and programs locally available.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)

The provisions of this chapter shall be effective ninety days from the date of its adoption.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is, for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision(s) shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the chapter.

(Ord. 555 § 3, 1992)