Item 4: Public Hearing on Public Smoking Facilities

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A brief summary of several policy issues follows. Location The proposed ordinance would allow outdoor smoking areas at food- and beverage-service businesses. Degree of openness, walls, coverings, screens and enclosures The proposed ordinance would require that outdoor smoking areas with a roof or overhead cover have at least 50 percent of walls or sides open to the outside air, and would not allow coverings and screens on those areas. Outdoor smoking areas without a roof or overhead cover could have all sides enclosed. If the council desires a different degree of openness, a motion describing that standard would be helpful. Legal, nonconforming status The proposed ordinance would give managers and owners of existing outdoor smoking areas that comply with current standards up to a year from the effective date of new requirements to come into full compliance with standards. This period should provide owners and managers adequate time to prepare plans, obtain necessary permits and undertake the construction needed to meet the new standards. Specific motions would be helpful, if the council desires any of the following: ? to provide legal, nonconforming status to existing outdoor smoking areas that would relieve them of the requirement to achieve new openness standards ? to provide a shorter or longer time frame for existing outdoor smoking areas to achieve compliance ? to find a way to provide financial assistance for plan check and permit fees for those establishments which obtained building permits and would require new permits to achieve compliance Ventilation The proposed ordinance would not allow for mechanical systems as a way around openness standards. Because labor/management relations vary greatly from business to business, the ordinance currently would not provide an option to exempt an establishment from certain standards if an employer and employees reach agreement that employees can choose to work inside a smoking area or choose not to work in such an area. If the council desires a provision that would allow for employers and employees to establish such agreements, a specific motion would be helpful. Administrative rule option In the September 12 work session, several members of the council supported using the administrative rule for specific standards implementing City Council policy – especially those which may be subject to change in response to potential efforts to evade the intent of standards or as more public health information becomes available. Such a rule could be drafted to implement the policy intent in the City Code and in response to City Council direction on September 28. If the council desires to use an administrative rule approach for standards relating to outdoor smoking areas, a related motion would be helpful. A public comment period before rule adoption would be required and notice would be provided to interested parties from community sectors including bar and tavern owners, public health advocates and others. In addition, any code changes needed to strengthen L:\CMO\2005 Council Agendas\M050926\S0509264.doc