Mayor opposes ban on smoking

Newport Beach will draft an ordinance that would outlaw smoking in some public places in the city, although two members of the City Council voiced opposition to such a ban Tuesday.

“I have my own personal non-smoking ordinance,” Mayor Ed Selich said Tuesday at a City Council study session. “When it’s bothering me, I get up and get out of the way.”

Selich opposed plans to move ahead with a no-smoking ordinance, which he called “a waste of time.”

“We’ve go so many other things to pursue, I don’t really see what it’s going to accomplish,” Selich said.

The Newport Beach Environmental Quality Affairs Committee recommended in February that the City Council consider banning smoking in public places.

The exact parameters of a no-smoking ordinance have not been set, but it could include barring smoking in city parks and outdoor dining areas, city officials said Tuesday. Councilman Don Webb suggested banning smoking within 40 feet of public buildings and windows. No date has been set for when the council might vote on such an ordinance.

Councilwoman Leslie Daigle also said she did not support a public smoking ban.

“Everyone has their thing they’re annoyed by,” Daigle said. “I haven’t really heard from any citizens who are clamoring for us to do this.”

Councilman Mike Henn said he would consider supporting a no-smoking ordinance, citing the health risks of exposure to second-hand smoke and the litter that smokers generate.

“This issue of infringing of personal liberties needs to stop short of where is the exposure to involuntary health hazards,” Henn said. “I think the litter issue also is significant. It’s an environmental issue as well.”

Newport Beach already has a few laws on the books that prohibit smoking in some public places, including elevators, public areas of hospitals, inside restaurants, public restrooms, and theaters and auditoriums.

The City Council passed an ordinance to prohibit smoking on Newport’s beaches and piers in 2004 after high school students pushed for the ban.

The Newport Beach Police Department does not actively enforce the city’s existing smoking restrictions. Police have issued 105 smoking citations in the last three years, Selich said at the meeting.

“We know our police department is not going to be focused on walking down the sand and nabbing everyone who is smoking, but at least maybe people will move or dispose of cigarettes a little better,” Councilwoman Nancy Gardner said.

Reporter BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].