by John Glidden | glid24@protonmail.com | October 24, 2025
VALLEJO – The city’s Code Enforcement Appeals Board was scheduled to receive an update about Vallejo’s Tobacco Retailer License ordinance on Thursday, October 23; however, that did not happen as the meeting was cancelled due to a lack of quorum.
A video recording shows Board Chair Kevin Tennyson, along with two other board members sitting at the dais inside the city hall council chambers. The video is less than 2 minutes and ends with Tennyson announcing the meeting had been cancelled.
“Unfortunately, at this time, we do not have a quorum for the Code Enforcement Appeals Board, so we will be rescheduling this hearing for a date to be determined,” he said.
Four members are needed for the seven-person appeals board to conduct any formal business.
The appeals board had been scheduled to get an update on the city’s new Tobacco Retail License Program which requires all tobacco retailers to obtain a license from the city in order to sell tobacco products in the city.
Originally adopted by the Vallejo City Council in December 2024, the council updated the ordinance in January 2025.
The new licensing requirements, which went into effect on February 7, 2025, stipulate that retailers must not sell tobacco products through self-service displays, sell tobacco products via mobile vending, vending machines and including internet sales, sell any type of flavored tobacco products, sell electronic smoking devices and products (including but not limited to, e-cigarettes, e-cigars, e-pipes, vape pens, or e-hookahs), among other restrictions, according to a flyer outlining the new restrictions.
The new regulations are enforced by the city’s Code Enforcement Division, the same flyer states.
Retailers failing to comply with the new program are considered to be violating the city’s municipal code, and “will result in enforcement action, including but not limited to fines, penalties, possible seizure and forfeiture of tobacco products pursuant to VMC Section 5.10.150, and any further legal remedies available to the city,” according to a cease-and-desist letter from the city.
This isn’t the first time a city commission had to reschedule its meeting due to the lack of quorum. Earlier this year, the Design Review Board cancelled its meeting, after waiting more than 15 minutes. That commission had been scheduled to review the design elements for a proposed 96-room, four story hotel that would be built on 10.86 acres of land in between Sonoma Boulevard and Broadway Street in North Vallejo.
JohnGlidden.com 