Concord bans smoking in multi-unit residences and most city-owned areas

In an effort to cut down on second-hand smoke dangers, the Concord City Council voted on Jan. 7 to ban smoking in multiunit residences and many public areas.

The rules go into effect Feb. 6 for new units and on Jan. 1, 2021, for existing units.

According to Concord planning manager Mindy Gentry, the city hasn’t comprehensively updated its smoking regulations since 1993. She cited significant legislative changes, the evolution of how products are consumed and “societal shifts in acceptable behavior due to continued concerns of the dangers of second-hand smoke.”

She noted that the U.S. Surgeon General concluded in 2005 that second-hand smoke is harmful and determined that dangerous substances are present in vaping aerosol. Gentry also pointed to studies documenting that smoke migrates to neighboring residences through cracks in shared walls, vents and windows.

Speakers in favor of restrictions

The council vote was unanimous, and public comments at the Dec. 10 meeting were overwhelmingly supportive.
“There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke,” said Concord resident Dan Peddycord, who is the director of Public Health for the county. “To this day, approximately one in three non-smokers in the United States live in a rental housing where they are subjected to second-hand smoke.”

“I feel that my well-being and the well-being of all the families in my mobile home park aren’t cherished when I often find myself shutting windows in order to keep drifting second-hand smoke from entering my room,” said Carla Gonzalez, who lives in the Trees Mobile Home Park on Monument Boulevard.

However, other residents vented on social media.

On Councilman Edi Birsan’s Facebook page, Shelley Mack said she doesn’t see why renters should be targeted when they “haven’t been proven to be any more irresponsible than homeowners with their smoke.”

Marshall Lewis said the ordinance is another example of trying to treat addiction by punishing addicts. “It never works,” he posted.

Ordinance specifics

The amendment to the Municipal Code affects any kind of smoking, e-cigarettes or vaping of tobacco and cannabis.
Affected areas include:

• Housing units containing two or more residences or having shared walls, including group homes, residential care facilities, supportive and transitional housing and assisted living.
• RVs, manufactured homes and mobiles homes in mobile home parks.
• Rental and home ownership of multiunit condos and townhomes.

The no-smoking policy pertains not only to the interior of these units but also to patios, balconies, decks, porches and common areas. A landlord can designate a smoking area in an exterior common area.

The ordinance also bans smoking in public places such as city-owned property, parks, streets, sidewalks, trails and parking lots and within 1,000 feet of a school, day-care center or youth center when children are present. Smoking will be prohibited within 25 feet of an exit, entrance or operable window of city/public buildings. Hotels and motels will be required to be 80 percent smoke-free – an increase from 30 percent.

In addition, it will be illegal to smoke while driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Cabs of trucks are exempted.

Smoking will still be allowed in single-family detached units, accessory dwelling units – attached or detached, and RVs, mobile homes or manufactured homes not in a mobile home park.

Limited enforcement ­options

Gentry said city officials will have the authority to cite violators and collect fines. “Although it is problematic to some degree, because the staff actually has to witness the violation in order to issue a citation. And the city also has limited resources to enforce this ordinance,” she told the council.

The rules specify a private right of enforcement, “which means any person can file a civil action in a court of law to enforce the city’s smoking ban,” Gentry said. “This allows the public to take action and removes the city as the solitary enforcer.”

At the December meeting, landlord Blaine Carter questioned whether residents could bring civil action against a property owner. City attorney Susanne Brown responded that landlords will not be held liable if they’ve complied with the ordinance.

“Well, that is music to my ears,” said Blaine, who noted that he supports the plan and already includes a no-smoking clause in leases.

Sixty-three other jurisdictions in Contra Costa County prohibit smoking in multiunit residences, including the county and the town of Clayton.

“I hope to be able to stand before you in not too many years and be able to proclaim that every jurisdiction in our county has passed a multiunit smoke-free ban,” Peddycord said. “That would be a great day for public health.”