Council rejects Plaza smoking ban

At its weekly Wednesday evening meeting, the City Council narrowly rejected 3-2 a Plaza smoking ban recommended by the Community Services and Environment Commission. The CSEC first discussed a possible smoking ban in September 2008, touching on the health effects of second-hand smoke and the enjoyment of the Plaza by non-smokers. The CSEC members had unanimously voted to recommend a smoking ban in city parks.
Some other nearby communities have passed similar smoking bans, including Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Healdsburg.
The most persuasive argument for councilmembers August Sebastiani, Ken Brown and Steve Barbose who voted against the ban was that they don’t want another law on the books the city can’t enforce.
By state law, smoking is already prohibited within 25 feet of any playground and within 20 feet of the opening of any public building.
“Mandating peer pressure doesn’t seem to work so far,” said Sebastiani. He said he is satisfied with the existing state regulations around playgrounds.
“That does happen out here,” said Barbose. “It doesn’t seem like it’s a very enforceable concept to me. We have bigger fish to fry.”
Councilmember Laurie Gallian sat on the Community Services and Environment Commission when the recommendation was made. She said it was prompted because they were seeing smoking in the playground area, and cigarette butts in the sand around the playground. She argued it might not be a solution, but could mitigate the problem.
“I think it comes down to a greatest good for the greatest number,” said councilmember Joanne Sanders who voted in favor. She said she had talked to a number of young people and they were all for it.
Councilmembers did say they were concerned about smoking around playing fields and wanted to see if such areas could be treated like playgrounds and put under the 25 feet prohibition. Sebastiani said he remembered as a youngster when the pitcher on Teeter Field was pitching him balls with a cigarette dangling from his lips.