New Times / News

No smoking anywhere in SLO?

BY ROBERT A. McDONALD

The San Luis Obispo City Council is scheduled to consider a smoking ban in public spaces at its Dec. 1 meeting.

The Parks and Recreation Committee advised the city council at its Nov. 4 meeting to ban smoking and tobacco use of any kind in any outdoor recreational area of the city. The areas include parks, plazas, open space, trails, skate parks, sports facilities, dog parks, aquatic centers, and golf courses.

The council will also consider a smoking ban for all outdoor areas in downtown.

The committee agenda states, “Council members and city staff members have received numerous complaints pertaining to smoking and secondhand smoke exposure mainly in downtown San Luis Obispo. The complaints received refer to smoking on benches or outside of businesses with smoke drifting into workspaces.”

The city council told its staff in December 2008 to look into smoking restrictions in public spaces.

“I’m supportive of the concept,” said Councilmember Andrew Carter. “The specifics will have to be worked out. The devil’s in the details, obviously.”

Ermina Karim, director of governmental affairs for the SLO Chamber of Commerce, said her organization doesn’t yet have a position on the ban. The chamber is running a survey on its website to gauge public opinion. In 1990, the city was the first municipality in the U.S. to ban indoor smoking in all public indoor spaces.