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Politics & Government

City Plans to Snuff Out Smoking in 75 Percent of Apartment Units

The topic of smoke-free apartments was discussed in February and again at Tuesday night's City Council meeting.

It's going to be more difficult for locals to smoke in their apartments thanks to a City Council decision Tuesday to make its anti-smoking ordinance more strict.

The council approved a proposal to increase the required percentage of the city’s smoke-free apartment units from 50 percent to 75 percent.Mayor Tim Sbranti said, “I think we’re all in agreement with what’s before us, but for different reasons.”

The council discussed the topic in February, when city staff reported that 69 percent of the city's apartment units were designated as non-smoking units.  Staff also reported that five city properties had voluntarily become completely smoke-free: , Fairway Ranch, Groves Senior Housing, and Wicklow Square.

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The latest proposal would require compliance by January 2013, with tenants receiving notices by this December.

Councilwoman Kasie Hildenbrand said she was willing to agree to the 75 percent figure even though she supports requiring completely smoke-free apartment complexes.

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The majority of residents are non-smokers, Hildenbrand said, and some are forced to pay moving costs when they decide they cannot bear to live near or adjacent to housing that permits smoking.

“I don’t think the cost should be put on the renter to move,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Hildenbrand also said the leading concern for her is the damage of second-hand smoke.

“A person who doesn’t smoke has a right to clean air,” she said, adding that large cities such as Pasadena recently approved measures requiring higher non-smoking thresholds for housing. “I’m going to go for 75 percent because I’ll take it 2 percent at a time as long as it’s moving up.”

Councilman Eric Swalwell said he supported the proposal but was hesitant to raise the requirement past city staff’s recommendation of 75 percent.

“I’d like to give the industry time to catch up,” he said.

Councilman Don Biddle agreed, saying, ”I don’t mind taking this step-by-step approach to get to that magic number.”

Sbranti said having 69 percent of apartments non-smoking units far surpasses the current 50 percent requirement and predicted the new 75 percent standard would yield the same result.

“The [new] standard will push us even higher, maybe 80 or 85 percent,” he said. 

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