Proposed smoking ban in Modesto parks gains steam

Modesto took another step toward banning smoking in all of its 75 city parks.

The City Council’s Great Safe Neighborhoods Committee on Monday unanimously forwarded the proposal to the full council for approval. The committee is made up of council members Kristi Ah You, Doug Ridenour and Tony Madrigal. Officials did not say when the proposal would come to the council.

The ban’s proponents had some unexpected but welcomed advocates – about a dozen members of Modesto High’s Protecting Health and Slamming Tobacco chapter attended the meeting. PHAST is a partnership between the Stanislaus County Office of Education and the county’s Health Services Agency and has chapters on every junior high and high school in the county.

Modesto bans the use of tobacco – including chewing tobacco – within 50 feet of children’s play areas, including park playgrounds. The proposal would extend the ban throughout city parks.

The proposal also would ban smoking in other city-owned spaces, including plazas, trails, gardens and other recreational areas. And the proposal bans smoking within 100 feet of the entrance and exit of a hospital. The smoking ban includes tobacco and marijuana.

Advocates say the ban will make parks and other public spaces cleaner and healthier for those who use them. But Councilwoman Jenny Kenoyer said the ban could target the homeless, and the city could face a backlash. “The majority of people smoking in the park are homeless,” she said. Kenoyer suggested the city designate areas where the homeless can smoke.

But Modesto High teacher and PHAST chapter adviser Scott Mitchell said based on his and PHAST members’ experience collecting cigarette butts in parks, the majority of smokers are not homeless. The PHAST members brought several clear plastic containers filled with butts to Monday’s meeting to show the impact of smoking in parks.

Ridenour asked whether the city could enforce the ban. Police Chief Galen Carroll said enforcement would be complaint-driven. And Assistant City Attorney Jose Sanchez said Modesto is looking at its enforcement options, including the use of code enforcement officers.

Those who smoke where it is prohibited face penalties of $100 to $1,000, depending on whether the city treats the violation as an administrative matter, an infraction or a misdemeanor. Sanchez said administrative citations start at $100 and top out at $500 for the third citation within 12 months, while infractions are $500 and misdemeanors are $1,000.

This story was originally published February 14, 2017 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Proposed smoking ban in Modesto parks gains steam."