The Gilroy Police Department, in cooperation with the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health, conducted a sting operation Aug. 29 to check whether local tobacco retailers would sell to minors. Of the 26 businesses checked-23 or 88 percent-refused to sell tobacco to minors, while three retailers sold to underage decoys, police said.
The owners of the three businesses where the decoys bought tobacco without identification, including CVS Pharmacy at 825 First St., Franco Imports at 157 Old Gilroy St. and Chevron at 7110 Camino Arroyo, were cited for selling tobacco to minors—a misdemeanor violation.
At the June 16 council meeting, City Senior Planner Stan Ketchum presented a proposal to create a citywide ordinance that would charge tobacco retailers an annual fee to directly fund sting operations to ensure underage youth can’t buy tobacco. It was met with resistance from a majority of the council but saw support from Councilman Peter Arellano and representatives of local nonprofit organizations.
In 2012, council stomped out a similar proposed ordinance that would have required local tobacco retailers to obtain a license through the City and pay up to $450 annually. Mayor Don Gage noted that Santa Clara County officials urged Gilroy to revisit the topic in April.
City Council is currently considering stepping up local enforcement of state law that prohibits the sale of tobacco to minors, but charging businesses an annual fee to fund sting operations to ensure compliance isn’t the way to do it, the Council ruled.
The City will be hosting a community workshop to discuss the proposal between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Sept. 17 in the community room of the Gilroy Public Library.
