5.38.130 Tobacco Retailing without a Valid License.
A. In addition to any other penalty authorized by law, if a court of competent jurisdiction determines, or the City Council finds based on a preponderance of evidence, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, that any person has engaged in tobacco retailing at a location without a valid tobacco retailer’s license, either directly or through the person’s agents or employees, the person shall be ineligible to apply for, or to be issued, a tobacco retailer’s license as follows:
1. After a first violation of this section at a location within any sixty-month period, no new license may issue for the person or the location (unless ownership of the business at the location has been transferred in an arm’s length transaction), until thirty (30) days have passed from the date of the violation.
2. After a second violation of this section at a location within any sixty-month period, no new license may issue for the person or the location (unless ownership of the business at the location has been transferred in an arm’s length transaction), until ninety (90) days have passed from the date of the violation.
3. After a third or subsequent violation of this section at a location within any sixty-month period, no new license may issue for the person or the location (unless ownership of the business at the location has been transferred in an arm’s length transaction), until sixty (60) months have passed from the date of the violation.
B. Tobacco products and tobacco paraphernalia offered for sale or exchange in violation of this section are subject to seizure by the Department or any peace officer and shall be forfeited after the licensee and any other owner of the tobacco products and tobacco paraphernalia seized are given reasonable notice and an opportunity to demonstrate that the tobacco products and tobacco paraphernalia were not offered for sale or exchange in violation of this section. The decision by the Department may be appealed pursuant to the procedures set forth in Larkspur Municipal Code Section 5.38.120(B). Forfeited tobacco products and tobacco paraphernalia shall be destroyed after all internal appeals have been exhausted and the time in which to seek judicial review pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6 or other applicable law has expired without the filing of a lawsuit or, if such a suit is filed, after judgment in that suit becomes final.
C. For the purposes of the civil remedies provided in this section, each of the following constitutes a separate violation of this section:
1. Each day on which a tobacco product or tobacco paraphernalia is offered for sale in violation of this section; or
2. Each individual retail tobacco product and each individual retail item of tobacco paraphernalia that is distributed, sold, or offered for sale in violation of this section. (Ord. 1037 § 2, 2019)