ByWTOC Staff|March 12, 2020 at 10:38 PM EDT - Updated March 13 at 4:59 AM
TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - Tybee Island city council approved a smoking ban on the beach on Thursday evening.
Council approved the ban 4-2 to ban smoking from 14th Street to 16th Street in the main commercial district near the pier.
The ban will be a one year trial and takes effect on May 1, 2020. If caught smoking, you could face up to a $1,000 fine.
Tybee’s mayor says the ordinance isn’t about punishing smokers.
“We want to educate people that we’re also not just saying you can’t smoke from here to here. We’re saying smoke wherever you choose elsewhere on the beach but don’t leave your cigarette butts. We used to have a wonderful logo: ‘Leave only your footprints,’ and we’d like to re-establish that and remind people, please come and visit our beach, take your trash with you. We hope people will do that,” said Mayor Shirley Sessions.
There will be additional enforcement staff monitoring the beach and looking for people littering cigarette and cigar butts.
Photo: Getty Images