By Jon Chown
The Capitola City Council recently approved a future ban on the sale of filtered cigarettes, setting in motion a county ban that will begin Jan. 1, 2027
Without any further discussion at its Sept. 11 meeting, the Capitola City Council gave final approval to an ordinance prohibiting the sale of filtered tobacco cigarettes beginning in July 2027. The ordinance was passed as part of the consent agenda.
It was the second reading of the ordinance, making its approval final. The council first approved it on Aug. 28, voting unanimously with a revision that enforcement would be delayed for two years.
The approval enables a countywide ban in unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County to begin in January 2027. In October 2024, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors passed a ban on filtered tobacco products in unincorporated areas, with a provision that it would not be enforced until at least two incorporated cities in the county approved a similar ordinance — or until Jan. 1, 2027, whichever came later. The city of Santa Cruz passed an ordinance banning sales on June 24 that will also begin on Jan 1. 2027.
“Cigarette butts are toxic, they’re useless and they’re everywhere. As the guardians of Monterey Bay, we’re standing up and telling Big Tobacco, this ends now. We invite communities worldwide to join us,” First District Supervisor Manu Koenig said in a press release from the county.
Many community members, both in support of and opposed to the ordinance, attended the Sept. 11 Capitola City Council meeting to speak. While supporters held signs advocating for the ban, convenience store owners wore light blue shirts with bold black lettering reading “Support Local Business.”
Speaking to the council, Bryan Lamb, representing the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance, said he had collected a bag of trash at the beach earlier that day to bring to the meeting. Inside, he found a single cigarette filter.
“I agree filters should never be on our beaches, but this single filter was a small part of the problem,” he said.
“These are small, family-owned stores that have been here for decades. … If this passes, customers will simply look elsewhere,” he added.
Many local convenience store owners echoed his sentiments, telling the council that business was already difficult and that the ordinance could threaten their survival. Local jobs were at stake, they said, along with their livelihoods.
Tyler Fox, owner of Santa Cruz Green Builders, reminded the council that not all business owners were against the ban.
“I am also a business owner, and I’ve worked with a lot of business owners in the community … and I see them sweeping cigarette butts off the sidewalks. Small children pick them up, dogs — this is really an issue about the health of our community,” he said.
Following Fox, and holding a sign that read “Save Our Shores From Toxic Butts,” Tessa Sanders took the podium to share her thoughts.
“I’m a teenager. I should be spending my summer home from college at the beach, not at a council meeting — but here I am, because youths like me have to clean up after an industry that profits from pollution,” she began.
As she continued, many convenience store owners walked out, seemingly in defeat, as her argument gained emotional weight.
“If you back down now, you’re telling youth that we don’t matter and our future is worth less than tobacco products,” she said.