Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout85-19 - Adding Chapter 6.25 to the Newport Beach Municipal Code Regulating Smoking in Public Areas and Work PlacesORDINANCE NO. 85 -19 • AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH ADDING CHAPTER 6.25 TO THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE REGULATING SMOKING IN PUBLIC AREAS AND WORK PLACES The City Council DOES ORDAIN as follows: SECTION 1. Chapter 6.25, entitled "Regulation of Smoking in Public Areas and Work Places" is hereby added to Title 6 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code to read as follows: CHAPTER 6.25 Regulation of Smoking in Public Areas and Work Places 6.25.005 Purpose and Intent. 6.25.010 Definitions 6.25.020 6.25.025 • 6.25.030 6.25.040 6.25.050 Regulation Regulation Regulation Posting of Structural of Smoking in Public Places of Smoking in Restaurants of Smoking in Work Place Signs Required Modifications Not Required 6.25.060 Penalties 6.25.070 Severability 6.25.005 Purpose and Intent. The City Council finds and declares as follows: A. There is ample evidence to prove that the smoking of tobacco and other substances is a danger to the health of smokers and others who, because of proximity to the smoker or inadequate ventilation, are subject to the smoke; and B. The presence of smoke in the environment also con- stitutes a material annoyance and discomfort to non - smokers and • may reduce productivity or increase disharmony among co- workers; C. The California Legislature has determined that tobacco smoke is a hazard to the health of the general public and • has empowered local public entitites to ban or regulate smoking in any manner not inconsistent with State law; and D. This ordinance furthers the public health, safety and welfare by prohibiting smoking in certain public areas and regulating smoking in the office work place so as to minimize the toxic effects of smoking by requiring an employer to adopt a policy that will accommodate, so far as possible, the preferences of non - smokers and smokers alike. 6.25.010 Definitions. The following words and phrases shall be construed in accordance with these definitions unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended. "Person" means any individual person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, organization, or legal entity • of any kind. "Enclosed" means closed in by a roof and four walls with appropriate openings for ingress and egress and is not intended to mean areas commonly described as public lobbies. "Employee" shall mean any person defined as such in 3351 of the Labor Code and any volunteer as specified in Sections 3361, 3361.5, 3363.5 or 3363.6 of the Labor Code. "Employer" shall mean any person, - partnership, corpora- tion, including municipal corporation, who employs the services of more than four persons. "Place of employment" shall mean any enclosed area under the control of a private or public employer which employees nor- mally frequent during the course of employment, including, but • not limited to, work areas, employee lounges, conference rooms, 2 and employee cafeterias. A private residence which serves as an • office workplace shall not be regulated by this ordinance. "Smoke" or "smoking" means and includes inhaling, exhal- ing, burning, or carrying any lighted smoking equipment for tobacco or any other weed or plant. 6.25.020 Regulation of Smoking in Public Places. It shall be unlawful to smoke in the following places: A. Elevators Smoking is prohibited and is unlawful within eleva- tors in buildings generally used by and open to the public, including elevators in office, hotel and multi - family buildings. B. Hospitals and Health Care Facilities 1. In public areas of health care facilities and hospitals, as defined in Section 1250 of the California Health and Safety Code, including waiting rooms, public hallways and lobbies, all smoking is prohibited, except in specially designat- ed smoking areas, which may be all or part of a public area. 2. Every publicly or privately owned health care facility, including hospitals, shall make a reasonable effort to determine the smoking or non - smoking preference of patients and thereafter assign patients to rooms occupied by persons who share the same preference. 3. In rooms and areas occupied by two or more patients, smoking shall be prohibited for hospital staff, visitors, and the general public. "STAFF AND VISITOR SMOKING PROHIBITED" signs shall be conspicuously posted in such areas. C. Public Meeting Rooms Smoking is prohibited and is unlawful in hearing rooms, conference rooms, chambers, and places of public assembly • in which public business is conducted, when the public business 3 . requires or provides participation or observation by the general public. D. Theaters and Auditoriums Smoking is prohibited and is unlawful in every publicly or privately owned theater, auditorium, or other simi- larly enclosed facility which is open to the public for the pri- mary purpose of exhibiting any motion picture, stage production, musical recital, sporting event, or any other performance event except in areas not open to the general public, and in an area which serves as a lobby. Every owner and /or manager of such theater, auditorium, or other enclosed facility used for the purposes stated herein, shall post signs conspicuously in the lobby stating that smoking is prohibited within the theater, auditorium, or facility, and in the case of motion picture theaters, such information shall be shown upon the screen for at . least five seconds before showing feature motion pictures. E. Public Restrooms Smoking is prohibited and is unlawful in all public restrooms. F. Indoor Service Lines Smoking is prohibited and is unlawful in indoor service lines in which more than one person is giving or receiv- ing services of any kind. 6.25.025 Regulation of Smoking in Restaurants Any restaurant which has an approved occupancy load of more than fifty (50) persons shall maintain a non - smoking area of not less than 25% of the enclosed serving area, excluding any portion of the facility utilized primarily for the sale of • alcoholic beverages. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any room being used solely for private functions. F1 ' 1 �J • • Section 6.25.030 Regulation of Smoking in Places of Employment. A. Each employer who operates an office or offices in the city shall,. within 120 days of the effective date of this ordinance, adopt, implement, and maintain a written Smoking Policy which shall contain, at a minimum, the following provisions and requirements: 1. Any nonsmoking employee may object to his or her employer about smoke in his or her work area at his or her place of employment. Using already available means of ventila- tion or separation or partition of office space, the employer shall attempt to reach a reasonable accommodation, insofar as possible, between the preferences of nonsmoking and smoking em- ployees. However, an employer is not required by this ordinance to make any expenditures or structural changes to accommodate the preferences of nonsmoking or smoking employees. 2. Any employee in the office workplace shall be provided the right to designate his or her immediate work area as a nonsmoking area. The policy adopted by the employer shall include a definition of the term "immediate work area" which gives preferential consideration to nonsmokers. 3. If, due to the proximity of smokers, size of the work area, poor ventilation or other factors, the no smoking designation of an employee's immediate work area does not signi- ficantly reduce the extent to which smoke affects the employee, the employer shall, if feasible, make additional accommodation by reassigning the employee to a different work area, expanding the size of the work area subject to the prohibition against smoking, or by implementing other measures reasonably designed to minimize or eliminate the effect of smoke on the non - smoking employee. B. The employer shall give a written copy of the smok- ing policy to each employee and post copies of the policy at an 5 appropriate location, or locations, in the workplace. Whenever • smoking is prohibited, conspicuous signs shall be posted so stat- ing, containing all capital lettering not less than one inch in height, on a contrasting background. C. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A.1, of this Section, every employer shall have the right to desig- nate any office workplace as a nonsmoking area. D. This section is not intended to regulate smoking in the following places and under the following conditions: place. 1. A private home which serves as an office work- 2. A private enclosed office workplace occupied exclusively by smokers, even though such an office workplace may be visited by nonsmokers, excepting places in which smoking is prohibited by the fire marshal or by other law, ordinance, or regulation. • E. An employer who, in good faith, develops and pro- mulgates a policy regarding smoking and nonsmoking in the work- place, shall be deemed to be in compliance with this section provided however, a policy which knowingly omits the elements required in Subsection A.I. or A.2, or which designates an entire workplace as a smoking area shall not be deemed a good faith policy. 6.25.040 .Posting of Signs Required Except where other signs are required, whenever in this code smoking is prohibited, conspicuous signs shall be posted so stating, containing all capital lettering not less than one inch in height, on a contrasting background. It is the duty of the owner, operator, manager, or other persons having control of such • room, building, or other place where smoking is prohibited, to post such signs or to cause such signs to be posted. 6.25.050 Structural Modifications Not Required 6 A. It shall be the responsibility of employers to • provide smoke -free areas for nonsmokers within existing facilities to the maximum extent possible, but employers are not required to incur any expense to make structural or other physical modifications to existing facilities. B. Nothing in this chapter shall require the owner, operator, _or manager of any theater, auditorium, health care facility, or any building, facility, structure, or business, to incur any expense to make structural or other physical modifica- tions to any existing area or work place. C. Nothing in this section shall relieve any person from the duty to post signs or adopt policies as required by this chapter. 6.25.060 Penalties A. It shall be unlawful to wilfully mutilate or des- troy any signs required by this Section. B. It shall be unlawful to smoke in any area posted as a non - smoking area. C. Compliance with the requirements of this ordinance relative to the adoption, implementation and maintenance of a no smoking policy is mandatory but emphasis will be placed on volun- tary employer compliance. Persons who wilfully fail to comply with the provisions of this ordinance shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsection D. D. The violation of any provision of this ordinance, or the failure to comply with any duty imposed by this ordinance, shall be an infraction punishable by a fine as provided in Section 1.04.010 of this code. A separate offense shall be deem- ed to exist for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this ordinance is committed, continued or permitted by any person and shall be punishable accordingly. 7 E. In addition to the penalties provided in this sec- tion, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed a nuisance. 6.25.070 Severability If any provision or clause of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional or to be otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect other ordinance provisions clauses or applications thereof which can be implemented without the invalid provision, clause or application, and to this end the provisions and clauses of this ordinance are declared to be severable. SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall be published once in the official newspaper of the City, and the same shall be effec- tive 30 days after the date of its adoption. This Ordinance was • introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach held on the 10th day of June 1985, and was adopted on the 24th day of June 1985, by the following vote, to wit: AYES, COUNCILMEMBERS Cox, Hart, Heather, Maurer, Plummer, Strauss NOES, COUNCILMEMBERS ATTTTEM / 4v City Clerk ORP /Smoking • COUNCILMEMBERS Agee P