Four Manhattan Beach Retailers Allowed To Sell Tobacco Products

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — At its next regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 5, the Manhattan Beach City Council is poised to allow four retailers to sell tobacco products as an exemption to the city's ban which became law today, Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. Council had voted for the tobacco ban in late February and allowed retailers to plead "hardship" to be allowed to sell cigarettes and electronic smoking devices such as vapes, for a temporary extended period of time in 2021.

At a previous meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 1, City Council heard input from the four retailers and the public, according to the staff report. In the staff report attached to the agenda for Tuesday's meeting, it is noted "None of the applicants provided substantial evidence that denial of the requests would result in the applicant being deprived of all economically viable use of the properties containing the retail sales of tobacco, nor did they meet their burden of proof in establishing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the application of Ordinance No. 20-0007 to the retailer’s business is unreasonable. However, the City Council remained very sympathetic to each of the applicants and voted to extend the compliance date for three of the applicants until June 30, 2021, and one until December 31, 2021.

The three businesses set to be allowed to sell tobacco products until June 30, 2021 are Current Events, United Pacific and Aviation Liquor. MB Smoke is the business set to be allowed allowing to sell tobacco products on a temporary basis until Dec. 31, 2021.

Current Events is located in Downtown Manhattan Beach at 1140 Highland Avenue and Aviation Liquor is at 975 Aviation Boulevard. MB Smoke is at 1005 North Aviation Boulevard.

To allow the extensions, city council will need to approve four resolutions Tuesday night.