CARLSBAD -- The last holdout along San Diego County's coastline has decided to join the rest of the pack and ban smoking along the beachfront and at its parks.

In a 4-0 vote, with Councilman Mark Packard absent, the Carlsbad's City Council decided Tuesday to take a step that Del Mar, Encinitas, Oceanside, San Diego and Solana Beach have already taken.

The city will prohibit smoking at the beach, city parks and trails. A second reading of the proposed ordinance amendment is expected next week, and the ban could take effect in 30 days.

"I'm glad that's finally over," said 16-year-old Michael Caraglio after the council approved the item.

A Carlsbad High junior who has appeared before the council several times before to push for the ban, Michael is the second in his family to take on this cause.

His sister Angela began the effort three years ago. When she went off to college, he took over her campaign.

In those three years, the rest of the coast has copied Solana Beach and become smoke-free.

Solana Beach enacted its ban in 2003 after a group of students told its City Council about collecting 6,400 discarded cigarette butts at the beach in an hour.

Carlsbad leaders weren't initially enthusiastic about the Caraglios' proposal.

Several said they felt the city's existing anti-littering ordinance covered cigarette waste, adding that banning smoking outright smacked of too much government interference.

On Tuesday, with Packard absent, the council passed the item without comment.

The city estimates it will need $2,000 to $6,000 for new signs for the beaches and the parks, but extra policing isn't expected.

"It's going to be like all the other ordinances on the beach," police Chief Tom Zoll said Tuesday, mentioning the city's restrictions on glass bottles and alcohol. "It's going to be a mostly self-enforced thing."

Self-enforcement works well at other area beaches, smoking ban proponents have said, mentioning that beachgoers tend to tell those around them to extinguish their cigarettes.

Candice Porter of the San Dieguito Drug-Free Alliance for Youth told Carlsbad's council Tuesday night that people's attitudes have changed dramatically in recent years. On a recent walk along Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, she didn't find a single discarded cigarette butt, she said.

For his part, Michael Caraglio is moving on to new issues. He's considering a campaign to establish more collection points for used batteries, he said.

In other action Tuesday, Carlsbad's council delayed a decision on a series of proposed changes to regulations regarding municipal purchases, including one related to paying prevailing wages for city construction jobs. Councilman Matt Hall said he wanted more information about one of the proposals.

Also at the meeting, the council approved plans to remove two vacation rental buildings on Ocean Street and replace them with a four-story building. The new structure would contain 39 upscale hotel rooms, 10 "market-rate" condominiums, two low-income units and a 2,815-square-foot restaurant.

CORRECTION: Carlsbad council vote in error

This story originally gave the wrong vote total for the Carlsbad City Council's decision regarding banning smoking at the city's beaches and parks. The vote was 4-0, with Councilman Mark Packard absent.