Secondhand Smoke Ordinance, the Buellton City

The Buellton City Council gave first approval to a law that snuffs out smoking in most public places. By a 4-1 vote, the council on May 24 voted to ban smoking within 20 feet of businesses and at bus stops and transit centers, in retail and service lines, in 75% of outdoor dining areas and other places. The ban would not apply to outdoor seating sections of bars. Smoking would be banned in lobbies, meeting and banquet rooms of motels, hotels and other lodging establishments; prohibited in polling places, whether enclosed or not; in areas that share the same air conditioning, heating or ventilation systems with other areas where smoking is banned; and at Riverview Park, Oak Park and PAWS Park, though Zaca Creek Golf Course – with the exception of the buildings – would be exempt. Although some members floated the idea of banning smoking in 100% of dining areas, the council compromised on the less stringent requirement. Restaurants that choose to prohibit smoking in all areas of their eateries may still do so. Mike Hendrick, general manager of the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott in Buellton, recommended the council adopt a 100% ban for outdoor dining areas, which the hotel has already implemented. A sweeping ban, Hendrick said, would mean “75% of the other guests can enjoy their meal. If you walk down the street and someone is smoking in the parking lot, you can smell it. For me, it’s not a very good smell.” Hendrick said the issue extends beyond the customers to employees, who are exposed to second-hand smoke. “Forcing them to work in an environment that’s not very healthy,” he said, “that’s a big labor issue we had, and thus all Marriott hotels are non-smoking nationwide.” In 2002, Buellton adopted the county’s second-hand smoke laws, which prohibits smoking near businesses and in public places. State law only restricts indoor smoking with the exception of “tot-lots” and vehicles with minors present. Last year, the city’s second-hand smoke provisions were removed from the city code during the update to the municipal code, which incorporates portions of county code as well as ordinances and rules adopted by the city council. Trina Long, health educator with Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, said the county would offer financial assistance to the city for public education, signage and enforcement. She noted the city’s contract with the Sheriff’s Department would cover enforcement of the new law. “We’ve installed a significant amount of no-smoking signs in the jurisdictions that already have such policies, we’ve also conducted media campaigns to educate the public about the various policies,” she told the council. “When a smoking complaint is received by our department, we send out a warning letter, which details the county law and penalties associated with it, and 99% of the time the issue is immediately resolved.” She also urged the board to include electronic cigarettes under the ban. Introduced in the United States five years ago, electronic cigarettes do not burn tobacco but use a built-in battery to heat up a liquid nicotine solution, creating a vapor hit that delivers the chemical directly into the lungs. “They are not approved by the FDA, but this is a new product that’s been developed that is skirting a lot of the smoking laws that we currently have, and so many municipalities are going back and revisiting these definitions to make sure that’s included,” Long noted. With little discussion, the council majority agreed to include electronic cigarettes under the proposed ban. Councilman Ed Andrisek said he endorsed a separate proposed ordinance to establish tobacco retailer licensing, but said the second-hand smoke ban was “overkill.” “I just see this as an endless process of prohibition, and given the fact that it is not illegal to buy cigarettes, I think it’s very hard to prove it should be illegal to smoke cigarettes,” he said. “Until we have a legislature and judiciary that are going to outlaw cigarettes and stop taking the money from people who are dependent on tobacco, I think we are being quite cynical in our approach to this.” Mayor Holly Sierra called the ordinance a “very good beginning” and said she’d like to see Buellton 100% smoke-free, noting that people have the right to smoke in their residences and in their vehicles when children are not present.