CHICO — The hot topic at Tuesday’s City Council meeting was the Internal Affairs Committee recommendation to ban flavored tobacco sales in the city. The city ultimately voted to move ahead with the ban, following heated public comment on both sides of the issue.

Vice Mayor Alex Brown gave a report from the Internal Affairs Committee regarding flavored tobacco sales. The committee is recommending that the council create a tobacco retail licensing program and ban the sale of flavored tobacco in all forms, including menthol flavor.

“We explored the local context to this issue and the data indicating that there’s a scary number of tobacco retailers selling product directly to young people,” Brown said.

Councilors said their main concern was the sale of tobacco products to children; Mayor Randall Stone likened today’s bubblegum flavored tobacco to the Joe Camel mascot for Camel cigarettes when he was a child.

“The list of cities and counties that have already adopted this ordinance or something similar is very impressive,” Councilor Karl Ory said. “The fact, too, that both the public health director and the chief of police recommended it.”

Twenty-five public speakers rose to speak on the subject; the majority were in favor of banning flavored tobacco, but there were also a significant number that spoke against the proposed ordinance.

Megan Kavenaugh, owner of A&M Vapes in Chico, said she does not sell to children and doesn’t even allow children in her shop.

“We ID as soon as they walk in the door, just as soon as they walk in the door,” Kavenaugh said. “I just feel like it’s unfair to small business owners. This is for adult-use only. I don’t want children having it. I don’t sell Juuls, I don’t sell puff bars … I sell something to help people stop smoking.”

Her shop, coincidentally, is very near to Mayor Stone’s own house, which he noted publicly, and said he knew she did not allow children in the store.

Vape retailers Jacob and Shannon Howard told the council that passing the ban will put them out of business.

“You are going to kill the industry, you are going to put people out of work,” said Jacob Howard.

“It’s already the law,” said Shannon Howard. “(Minors are) still going to get their hands on it and my business has to shut down.”

A slew of public health and education officials from Butte County, Chico State and within the city also came to speak — in favor of the ban — as well as many parents concerned for their children’s health and future.

“We know that there will still be access to products even if there are no sales from stores, we know that flavored tobacco products are one of the main reasons they start using tobacco,” said Ellen Michels, representing Butte County Public Health Department Tobacco Education Program. “So from a public health perspective, it makes sense to completely ban flavored products.”

In other communities with these policies, stores that sell a variety of products are able to make up losses by increased sales of other products, Michels said.

“Do you want to protect the businesses that sell those types of products or do you want to protect the youth of the community?” she asked.

Addiction, of any substance, typically happens before the age of 19, said Megan Armstrong, an education specialist with Butte County Public Health.

“The longer and longer we can push them off from starting, the more success we’ll have,” she said.

Stone acknowledged the economic impact to local retailers in passing the ban, but said, “the rubber meets the road” when those retailers sell a product that causes harm.

Sean Morgan suggested giving the vape retailers “the first crack” at commercial cannabis licenses.

“The only reason I won’t support it is not because I want flavored tobacco in the hands of our children,” he said. “But we’d be hypocrites.”

After a short discussion amongst themselves, the council voted 5-2. Councilor Scott Huber moved to pass the ban, with Councilor Ann Schwab seconding; councilors Kasey Reynolds and Morgan voted against.

Other agenda items

Earlier in the evening, City Housing Manager Marie Demers gave a short presentation and asked the council to consider a loan of $456,975 from the Affordable Housing Fund to the Community Park Fund for a nearly 5-acre parcel on Notre Dame Boulevard. The loan would be one of several funding sources for a 101-unit housing project intended to serve seniors and low-income households on that parcel.

“Projects such as this .. require long-term subsidies,” Demers said. “A lease of city-owned land will reduce the cost of the project.”

Schwab said she supported the project “very much,” and she moved to authorize the transfer of the money, with Brown’s second.

“This is a fantastic project that’s taken a long, long time to bring to fruition,” Stone said. “It is precisely what we need.”

Approval of the loan, and the items’ three associated resolutions, passed 7-0.

The council also interviewed candidates interested in serving on the newly-created Climate Action Commission, which will more formally take the place of the former Sustainability Task Force. Twelve applications were received for seven seats on the board.

At least three commissioners will need to have prior experience with social or community services, community engagement, business leadership or ownership, greenhouse gas emissions, accounting, energy, transportation or economics.

Candidates include Cheri Chastain and Dave Donnan, who both previously served on the Sustainability Task Force; Patrick Cole, a local engineer and architect; Michael Nelson, a business and property owner in Chico; Tawny Vemau, a longtime resident of Chico; and Chico State professor of geography and planning, Mark Stemen, who also previously served on the task force.

“Volunteers really do grind gears and make this all work,” said Stone. “We couldn’t do this without you.”

The council will make a decision on appointments in two weeks after further review of submitted materials.

Two public hearings were heard Tuesday; both regarded the final approval of a new maintenance assessment district for annual, ongoing costs associated with housing subdivisions at Trinity Park and at 1101 Bruce Road. Neither garnered any public comment and both items passed 7-0.

The next City Council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10, in the council chambers at 421 Main St. in Chico.