Costa Mesa is poised to become what’s believed to be the second city in the nation to regulate self-checkout stands, which leaders say will help protect jobs and combat theft.
A council majority has supported the proposed law that would require stores to have one staff member for every three self-service stations, in addition to implementing a 15-item cap and barring the purchase of any item kept in a locked case.
Violations of the rules could prompt fines of $100 for each incident, capped at $1,000 per day.
The City Council approved a first reading of the ordinance in a 3-2 vote Tuesday, Jan. 20. Councilmembers Loren Gameros and Andrea Marr, along with Mayor Pro Tem Manuel Chavez, supported the new rules. Councilmember Jeff Pettis and Mayor John Stephens opposed, while Councilmembers Arlis Reynolds and Mike Buley were absent.
“For me, this is really about job security and job protection,” Chavez said. “I want the folks in my district to have the certainty that their job isn’t going to be taken away by AI or any development in technology.”
Pettis called the proposed ordinance “onerous” and said there’s a lack of data showing whether the changes would benefit the local economy.
“I thought we were about economic development in this city,” he said. “I’d at least like to have staff come back and tell me how this is going to impact sales tax in a city that’s already suffering.”
Stephens, meanwhile, said he’s not comfortable with Costa Mesa being only the second city in the state to regulate self-checkout. He said he finds the bill discriminatory because it applies only to grocery and drug stores while exempting big box retailers.
Costa Mesa’s ordinance, which closely follows Long Beach’s model, would affect nearly two dozen retail establishments with more than 15,000 square feet of space.
Discussion over the self-checkout ordinance lasted more than two hours, as more than two dozen residents, grocery store owners and employees addressed the City Council.
Grocery store workers represented by the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union spoke in support of the law, which they said would address the pressure of being overworked and bearing the brunt of customer frustration. A cashier at Vons said she’s tasked with managing nine self-checkout stands and three locked cases, in addition to answering the phone—which she said amounted to “13 things at once” for one person to handle.
“Increased use of self-checkout results in fewer workers doing more work, it results in customers having fewer people to turn to when they need assistance and it results in workers receiving the brunt of customer frustration just like they did during the pandemic,” Carlos Camacho, the chief of staff for the Orange County Labor Federation, said at Tuesday’s meeting.
A host of grocery store managers and trade group representatives opposed the proposed ordinance, arguing that the self-checkout regulations were an overreach of local government authority. Some said the new rules would not meaningfully curb retail theft, as associates are often trained not to engage with shoplifters.
Retail theft in 2025 dropped at grocery stores, but rose slightly—from 10 to 17 incidents—at drug stores, according to a September report from the Costa Mesa Police Department.
“If you add extra people at the check stands and they have a hands-off policy, all you’re doing is adding a friend to watch somebody who’s going to walk out and shoplift,” one grocery store manager said. “Nobody expects a checker to stop a shoplifter.”
Others said the new regulations could create longer lines and a more cumbersome retail experience, driving exasperated customers to shop in other cities.
“Self checkout is not a replacement but an additional service that helps us reduce lines and meet needs of customers who prefer a quick, efficient shopping trip,” a Ralph’s district manager said.
It will require a second successful council vote, which is expected to be taken Feb. 3, for the regulations to become law.