CC Minutes - 01/24/05 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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ordinance that would incorporate the current administrative rule regarding outdoor smoking structures into the code. She called the incorporation of the rule a "step backwards." Kevin Franken, 2646 Gay Street, strongly supported amending the ordinance to maintain 25 feet between smoking areas and public buildings, including windows and air intakes. He related that he was very allergic to cigarette smoke and this had caused him a great deal of discomfort while attending the University of Oregon Law School. He said many times he had been forced to walk around to other exits because of congregating cigarette smokers by the doors. He noted a previous speaker had said that cigarette smoke did not know how to stay in the smoking section and shared the following quote, which he had found on the internet: "Having a smoking section in a workplace is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool." He stressed that cigarettes were the only product that, when used as directed, would kill a person. He pointed out that entertainer Johnny Carson had just died from emphysema related to cigarette smoking. Julia Martin, 1013 Tiara Street, thanked the council for passing "this important piece of public health legislation" in 2000. She wished to thank the council in particular for protecting those who were most exposed, those working in restaurants and bars. She stated that when the laws were passed there were only 16 cities, including Corvallis, with comprehensive smoke-free indoor workplace laws. She said since those laws were passed, 80 more municipalities had passed such laws. She related that, in spite of efforts by the tobacco industry, the States of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and California had passed laws making indoor workplaces smoke-free. She noted that Ireland, Norway, and New Zealand had also passed such laws and countries such as Great Britain and Italy were in the process of enacting smoke-free laws. She noted that regulations in dozens of communities made smoking in parks and on playgrounds off limits. She supported the expansion of the ordinance language and echoed the opposition of previous speakers to the incorporation of the administrative rule regarding outdoor smoking areas into the code. Susan Planner, 1788 Riverview Street, worked as a respiratory therapist. She explained that her job focused primarily on providing therapy for people with chronic breathing problems. She related that many of the people that she treated had tobacco-related diseases. She was grateful to the council for passing the ordinance in 2000, stating that it had improved work places for many citizens. She commented that she had been a volunteer for the American Lung Association and had heard people speak of how wonderful it was to be able to go to smoke-free clubs and how wonderful it was for oxygen-assisted people to go out without the worry of having a combustible gas around smoking. Ms. Pfanner felt, however, that the second portion of the proposed ordinance was a step in the wrong direction. She declared smoke-free legislation to be the trend of the future. She said she was proud to be from a City that was in the forefront of such legislation. Grant Higginson, 800 Northeast Oregon Street, Portland, stated that he was the State Public Health Officer with Department for Health and Human Services (DHHS). He said he performed a number of roles, one of which was to monitor the enforcement of Oregon's Indoor Clean Act, passed in 2001 that prevented all indoor smoking with the exception of smoking sections in bars and all bingo halls. He complimented the City of Eugene on its progressive ordinance. However, he expressed concern that the language regarding outdoor smoking areas in the proposed ordinance could violate both the spirit and the letter of the law. He thought structures could be constructed that would be completely legal in the city of Eugene but would be in conflict with State law. He wished to avoid a situation wherein businesses believed they were constructing perfectly legal outdoor smoking structures only to be sanctioned for them once they were completed. He MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 24, 2005 Page 9 Regular Session