LEGISLATIVE ANALYST REPORT

(OLA #:027-04)

To: Members of the Board of Supervisors

From: Adam Van de Water, Office of the Legislative Analyst

Date: October 25, 2004

RE: Banning Smoking in Outdoor City Parks and Recreational Areas

Summary and Scope of Request

Supervisor Alioto-Pier requested the Office of the Legislative Analyst (OLA) review and summarize no-smoking laws in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills looking specifically at implementation, enforcement, and effectiveness of each ban. Supervisor Alioto-Pier also requested the OLA make policy recommendations related to the proposed ban here in San Francisco.

Executive Summary

State law currently prohibits smoking or disposing of any tobacco-related products within 25 feet of a playground or tot lot sandbox area. Violations are infractions punishable by a fine of $250. In the last five years the cities of Beverly Hills, Carson, Davis, El Monte, Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Pasadena, Redondo Beach, San Fernando, and Santa Monica have all enacted additional restrictions on outdoor smoking.

The cities of Beverly Hills, Carson, El Monte, Huntington Beach, Pasadena, San Fernando, and Santa Monica go the furthest, covering all park areas in their entirety "from curb to curb" and establishing infractions of $100 to $250 per violation. The cities of Los Angeles and Davis prohibit smoking in designated areas of parks, including playgrounds, athletic fields, picnic areas, and gardens.

All cities surveyed rely on voluntary compliance and public education outreach efforts. Other than required new signage, no cities have experienced significant increased costs for enforcement or implementation and all cite cooperation with the new policies if a general lack of awareness.

The OLA was unable to find any reliable studies of the impacts of these recent smoking bans in city parks but anecdotal evidence from parks managers and nonprofit organizations suggests that they have reduced smoking and second-hand smoke in public parks and have decreased smoking-related litter.

Approval of Supervisor Alioto-Pier's proposed "curb to curb" prohibition of smoking in City parks, plazas, piers, gardens, and recreational fields would make San Francisco the first county in the state to do so.

San Francisco's Proposed Policy

State law currently prohibits smoking in most enclosed public spaces or places of employment¹ and provides a $250 fine for smoking or disposing of any tobacco-related products within 25 feet of a playground or tot lot sandbox area.

The San Francisco Health Code currently prohibits smoking in certain buildings and enclosed structures including bars, restaurants, sports stadia, child care facilities, places of governmental assembly, polling places, health and educational facilities, business and nonprofit organizations, theatres, aquariums, libraries, museums, and convention halls².

Sup. Alioto-Pier's proposed legislation would further prohibit smoking,

This would include the entire outdoor section of Golden Gate Park, all piers used for recreational use under Port control, all City-owned plazas and squares such as Union Square, and public golf courses such as Harding Park. The proposed law would not apply to private property, San Francisco Unified School District grounds, or to public areas outside the jurisdiction of the City such as the Presidio and Ocean Beach. As such, the proposed outdoor smoking policy would be the first for a California county and among the most comprehensive in the state.

The proposal calls for violations to be treated as infractions punishable by a fine of $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second violation within a year, and $500 for the third violation in a year. Only peace officers - uniformed police and sheriff - may issue citations.

Other Jurisdictions

At least eleven other California cities and one county have enacted outdoor smoking restrictions that exceed state law. These include the City of Davis, Los Angeles County, and ten cities in the Los Angeles region - Beverly Hills, Carson, El Monte, Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Pasadena, Redondo Beach, San Fernando, and Santa Monica³.

All city laws rely on public education, signage, and voluntary compliance while providing citation authority to peace officers and, in some cases, park rangers and environmental health officers. These municipalities report success with this method and have issued citations only on rare occasions of repeat offense or refusal to comply.

Cities such as Beverly Hills, Carson, El Monte, Huntington Beach, Pasadena, San Fernando, and Santa Monica have all banned smoking in city parks from "curb-to-curb." Interestingly, larger cities such as Los Angeles and Davis, have limited smoking prohibitions to designated areas within public parks such as picnic areas, gardens, playgrounds, and recreational facilities.

The OLA could not find any reliable studies of the measurable impact of these laws but anecdotal evidence from nonprofit organizations and public works, parks and health department staff suggests that they have reduced both smoking and smoking-related litter in public parks . However, due to a general lack of awareness of the new policies, parks and public works officials report that cigarette litter, while reduced, is still prevalent.

The details of each city's policy are summarized in Table I and further outlined in Appendix A below.

Table I: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions in Other California Jurisdictions

Conclusion

It is currently illegal to smoke in bars, restaurants, and most enclosed public meeting places in California. Supervisor Alioto-Pier has proposed extending this restriction to all City parks and all City plazas, piers, gardens, and recreational fields. If approved, San Francisco would be the first county in California to prohibit smoking in all parks from "curb to curb."

Approval of the proposed ordinance is a policy matter for the Board.

Appendix A: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions in Other CA Jurisdictions

State of CA

On August 6, 2001, Governor Davis signed AB188 prohibiting the smoking or disposal of any "cigarette, cigar, or other tobacco-related product" within a playground or tot lot sandbox area and establishing a $100 fine for any violation⁴. The law became effective January 1, 2002 and applies statewide to all playground and tot lots "located on public or private school grounds, or on city, county or state park grounds."

On September 15, 2002 the State raised the fine to $250 and expanded the scope of the bill to include any area within 25 feet of a playground or tot lot sandbox area.

Los Angeles

On August 2, 2002, the City of Los Angeles added Section 41.50 to the Los Angeles Municipal Code prohibiting smoking,

The policy is primarily self-enforcing though park rangers have the authority to issue infractions. According to Acting Chief of the Park Ranger Division Albert Torres, the policy is "working very well" and "gives rangers and police officers probable cause to approach violators."

Pasadena

On February 5, 2004, the Pasadena City Council approved the City's Tobacco Use Prevention Ordinance⁵ making it,

The Public Health Department has responsibility for enforcement of the measure, which is an entirely complaint-driven process. Environmental Health Officers may issue citations for infractions which carry fines of $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense within one year, and $500 for each additional offense within one year. However, according to Tobacco Control Section Coordinator Statice Wilmore, the Public Health Department has only had 2 call-in violations since the ordinance was passed. In both cases, the violator had left the scene and no citation was issued.

The City conducted an initial public education campaign, including a press release to newspapers, production of an education flyer, and outreach to all 21 city-owned parks. As a result, according to Ms. Wilmore, people no longer smoke in parks (choosing instead adjoining areas or sidewalks where it is still permitted) and the Department of Public Works has noticed a decrease in the number of cigarette butts.

Santa Monica

In April 2003, the Santa Monica City Council added section 4.44.040 to the Municipal Code prohibiting smoking or disposing "any cigarette, cigar or tobacco, or any part of a cigarette or cigar, within the boundaries of any public park." Any violation was deemed an infraction punishable by a fine of $250.

Santa Monica's ordinance applies to the entire boundaries of public city parks and has come to be referred to as a "curb-to-curb" prohibition. According to a February staff report from the Community and Cultural Services Department (CCSD), the cities of Beverly Hills, Carson, San Fernando, Huntington Beach and El Monte had also extended the smoke free policy to include entire parks (curb-to-curb).

According to Elaine Polachek in the Santa Monica Open Space Management Division of the CCSD, enforcement of the measure has relied on voluntary compliance as a result of increased signage, a public education outreach campaign, and reminders from park rangers. The City has not increased enforcement, does not issue tickets for violations (except in the rare case of a refusal to comply), and has not measured the impacts on smoking or littering in the parks since the ordinance passed last year.

Davis

The City of Davis does not have an explicit smoking ban in public parks but does have an extensive smoking control policy. Chapter 34.02.010 of the Davis Municipal Code prevents smoking in most enclosed public spaces as well as designated locations outdoors including:

Violations of the smoking control policy are infractions punishable by a fine of $50. Second and third violations within one year are also infractions punishable by fines of $200 and $500 respectively.

Beverly Hills

In the summer of 1999, the Beverly Hills City Council enacted a three-month trial smoking ban in public parks. After positive reports from staff, in August 1999 the City Council gave approval to the Director of Recreation and Parks to create a policy banning smoking curb-to-curb and permanent signs were erected.

Like Santa Monica, the ban relies on voluntary compliance, though park rangers do have limited citation authority. If a warning is ineffective, rangers can collect "field interview cards" to register violators' names and addresses with the police department, and, in rare cases of chronic abuse, can issue citations. In the five years since the policy was initiated, the City has only issued one (1) such citation.

According to Patricia Agnitch of the Beverly Hills Recreation and Parks Department, while there have been no studies of the impact of the policy on the parks, "it has certainly led to cleaner parks and a healthier environment." Supervising Park Ranger Steven Clark agrees though he notes that cigarette butts are still prevalent in some picnic areas, most likely due to lack of awareness of the no smoking policy. This is likely due to minimal signage and enforcement together with a large number of tourists accustomed to smoking outdoors.

¹ California's Law for a Smoke Free Workplace (Labor Code 6404.5)

² See Article 19F for definitions and exceptions.

³ Los Angeles County and the cities of Malibu and Redondo Beach specifically address public beaches and are not discussed in more detail below as public beaches in San Francisco are the jurisdiction of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

⁴ Adding Section 104495 to the CA Health and Safety Code.

⁵ Section 8.78.051