HomeMy Public PortalAbout19) 10C Ord 14-994 amending definition of smoking to include e-cigCity Council
June 17, 2014
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3. On December 4, 2012, City Council adopted Ordinance No. 12-964 modifying
Chapter 2 ("Public Health Code") of Title 3 ("Public Safety") of the Temple City
Municipal Code by adding Article C ("Second-Hand Smoke Control Ordinance"), and
adopted Ordinance No. 12-965, adding Article D ("Tobacco Retailer Permit
Ordinance") to Title 5, Chapter 2 of the Temple City Municipal Code.
4. On March 10, 2014, the Ad Hoc Committee met with staff to discuss amending
Section 3-2C-2 ("Second-hand Smoke Control Ordinance") and Section 3-5D-9
("Park Activities: Behavior") in order to extend the City's second-hand smoking
regulations to include all electronic smoking devices.
ANALYSIS:
Over the last few years, the City has enacted several amendments aimed at maintaining
and enhancing the City's quality of life. An important focus has been to adapt existing
laws to adequately respond to growing concerns by City officials and the public
regarding the control of second-hand smoke and access to tobacco products by minors.
City Council passed Ordinance No. 12-964 on December 4, 2012, prohibiting smoking
of tobacco and marijuana products in a number of locations throughout the City,
including City property, enclosed public places, and outdoor dining areas. The Ordinance
banned smoking of tobacco and marijuana products within 20' feet of the aforementioned
and other locations. At the same time, the City also passed a new regulation (i.e.,
Ordinance No. 12-965) on tobacco retailers meant to assist in the prevention of the illegal
sale and distribution of tobacco and nicotine to minors.
In light of recent studies that examine the dangers of electronic smoking devices, and
resident complaints of persons using electronic smoking devices in city parks and public
spaces, as well as regulations passed by other Southern California cities, staff met with
the Ad Hoc Committee in March 2014 to consider extending the City's current smoking
regulations to include electronic smoking devices. The committee directed staff to prepare
a draft amendment and present it to the City Council. The proposed Ordinance is based
on ordinances adapted in other jurisdictions as well as a number of studies addressing
tobacco use and electronic smoking devices.
Electronic Smoking Devices
Promoted as a new and safer way of smoking (sometimes marketed as a means of
achieving smoking cessation), e-cigarettes are essentially nicotine-delivery products which
can expose the public to the same health risks caused by tobacco products. The FDA has
expressed concerns about the safety of electronic smoking devices after testing found that
some devices contain toxins and carcinogens (i.e. lead, nickel, and chromium). Recent
scientific study confirmed that electronic smoking devices that contain nicotine also emit
nicotine in the vapor that is released and may be involuntarily inhaled by bystanders.
City Council
June 17, 2014
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Prohibiting electronic smoking devices in already designated smoke-free locations is
necessary in order to protect non-users, including children and vulnerable populations,
from involuntary inhalation of these chemical vapors. City staff is also concerned that the
increased use of electronic smoking devices in smoke-free locations may increase the
social acceptability of smoking, particularly by youth, and reverse the progress that has
been made over the years to discourage smoking. It should be noted that the Los Angeles
County Department of Public Health supports amending local smoke-free policies to
include electronic smoking devices. To date, at least 40 cities and counties in California
have enacted ordinances to include electronic smoking devices in their existing smoke-
free laws.
Current Applicable Regulations
The City's Second-hand Smoking Ordinance currently prohibits smoking of tobacco and
marijuana products in the following locations within the City:
• City property-including within City vehicles;
• Enclosed public places including public and private property that is open to the
general public (e.g., restrooms and elevators);
• Service areas, including public and private areas, designated for people to wait
for a transaction, entry, exit, or service (e.g., ATM machines and ticket
windows);
• Outdoor dining areas;
• Outdoor public events;
• Outdoor seating areas;
• Public transit station or stop; and
• Enclosed common areas of multi-unit residential housing complexes -including
hallways, enclosed stairwells, elevators, and enclosed fitness rooms.
Ordinance No. 12-964 also bans smoking of tobacco and marijuana products within 20'
feet (unless a greater distance is provided by State or Federal law) of any of the
aforementioned locations (except while actively passing said location on the way to
another destination and provided that smoke does not enter any unenclosed area in which
smoking is prohibited), and at any children's school (including pre-school, kindergarten,
and grades 1-12).
Additionally, Ordinance No. 12-964 authorizes the City to enforce the tobacco control
regulations and empowers members of the public to file a civil action against a violator
of the tobacco control regulations if specific criteria are met (including advance notice to
the alleged violator and that the City has not otherwise commenced an action regarding
the alleged violation).
City Council
June 17, 2014
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Proposed Amendments
Proposed Ordinance No. 14-994 would, in effect, place the same regulations on e-
cigarettes and other electronic smoking devices that are already in effect for other tobacco
and marijuana products. It would do this by amending two sections of the Temple City
Municipal Code.
First, it would amend Section 3-2C-2 ("second-hand smoke control") of Article C of
Chapter 2 of Title 3 of the Temple City Municipal Code by adding a definition for "electronic
smoking device" and modify the already existing definition of "Smoking or to smoke" to
include "electronic smoking device" and "electronic cigarette". The change(s) are noted
(underlined) below:
TCMC 3-2C-2: DEFINITIONS:
ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICE: shall mean an electronic or battery-
operated device that delivers vapors for inhalation. This term shall include
every variation and type of such devices whether they are manufactured,
distributed, marketed or sold as an electronic pipe, an electronic hookah, or any
other product name or descriptor.
SMOKING OR TO SMOKE: shall mean possessing or to possess a lighted
tobacco product, lighted tobacco paraphernalia, lighted marijuana, or any
other lighted weed or plant (including but not limited to, a lighted pipe, lighted
hookah pipe, lighted cigar, lighted cigarette of any kind), an electronic
smoking device of any kind, or the lighting or emitting or exhaling the smoke
or vapor of a tobacco product, tobacco paraphernalia, marijuana product, or
any other weed or plant (including but not limited to, a pipe, a hookah pipe,
cigar, marijuana product, electronic cigarette or cigarette of any kind).
Second, it would amend Section 3-5D-9 (Park Activities: Behavior) of Article D of Chapter
5 of Title 3 of the Temple City Municipal Code by including electronic smoking devices in
the types of behaviors prohibited in City parks.
The second change included in the proposed Ordinance is an amendment to Section 3-
50-9. The change proposed here is the addition of all forms of electronic smoking devices
to the existing prohibition on other types of smoking devices. The change(s) are noted
(underlined) below:
TCMC 3-5D-9-Q: BEHAVIOR:
No person in a park or civic center shall, except as express written permission
is granted by the Parks and Recreation Commission: Smoke and/or posses a
lighted tobacco product, including but not limited to cigars, cigarettes, and any
electronic smoking device.
City Council
June 17, 2014
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CONCLUSION:
It is recommended that City Council adopt proposed Ordinance No. 14-994 to include
electronic smoking devices in the City's Second-Hand Smoke Ordinance and modify the
prohibited types of behaviors within City parks.
FISCAL IMPACT:
After proposed Ordinance No. 14-994 becomes effective on July 2, 2014, the City would
possibly generate revenue from the issuance of administrative fines. The increase in
revenue would be used to offset the costs incurred from the processing and enforcement
of the proposed Ordinance; the amount of revenue is unknown.
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Ordinance No. 14-994
CITY OF TEMPLE CITY
ORDINANCE NO. 14-994
ATTACHMENT A
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY AMENDING
SECTION 3-2C-2 ("SECOND-HAND SMOKE CONTROL") OF ARTICLE C OF CHAPTER 2 OF
TITLE 3 AND SECTION 3-SD-9 (PARK ACTIVITIES: BEHAVIOR) OF ARTICLED OF
CHAPTER 5 OF TITLE 3 OF THE TEMPLE CITY MUNICIPAL CODE
WHEREAS, Section VII of Article XI of the California Constitution provides that a City
may make and enforce within its limits all local, police, sanitary, and other ordinances and
regulations not in conflict with general laws; and
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 38771 provides that legislative bodies
of Cities may declare what constitutes a nuisance; and
WHEREAS, the City's municipal code currently prohibits smoking in City-owned
buildings, structures, parks, recreation facilities, parking lots or structures, city vehicles, in certain
open and enclosed public spaces, in enclosed common areas of multi-unit residential housing
complexes, within twenty feet (20') of the property line of any real property on which a public or
private institution of learning for children exists, but it does not currently address electronic
smoking devices and vapor, and
WHEREAS, the use of electronic smoking devices is a recent trend that is proliferating in
the City of Temple City and is exposing the public to secondhand vapors that have not been
scientifically proven as safe; and
WHEREAS, electronic smoking devices, commonly referred to as "e-cigarettes," "e-
cigars," "e-cigarillos," "e-pipes," "e-hookahs," are electronic devices often made to look like, and
be used in the same manner as, conventional tobacco products, with the user exhaling a smoke-
like vapor similar in appearance to the exhaled smoke from cigarettes and other conventional
tobacco products; and
WHEREAS, electronic cigarettes employ the use of a cartridge, generally containing up
to 20 mg of nicotine, to deliver vaporized nicotine to users. Nicotine being a highly addictive
neurotoxin included in the Prop 65 list of Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or
Reproductive Toxicity. Some cartridges used by electronic cigarettes can be re-filled with liquid
nicotine solution, creating the potential for exposure to dangerous concentrations of nicotine; and
WHEREAS, a recent scientific study confirmed that electronic smoking devices that
contain nicotine also emit nicotine in the released vapor and involuntarily expose nonsmokers to
nicotine; and
WHEREAS, a recent study found a total of 22 elements in vapors produced by electronic
smoking devices, and three of these elements (lead, nickel, and chromium) appear on the FDA's
"Harmful and Potentially Harmful Chemicals List"; and
WHEREAS, a study published in the American Journal of Public Health found similar
results to those identified in FDA testing and concluded that the electronic smoking devices
tested demonstrated poor quality control, toxic contaminants, misrepresentation of the nicotine
delivered and insufficient evidence of the overall public health benefit; and
WHEREAS, manufacturers of electronic smoking devices have not submitted clinical
studies about the safety and efficacy of these products to the FDA; and, therefore, consumers
currently have no way of knowing what types or concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals
they are inhaling and exhaling when they use these products; and
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WHEREAS, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health supports amending
local smoke-free policies to include e-cigarettes because "studies indicate that e-cigarettes pose
potential dangers for users, as well as for non-users who passively inhale these chemical
vapors"; and
WHEREAS, prohibiting the use of electronic smoking devices in smoke-free locations will
protect traditionally smoke-free locations such as daycare centers, schools, libraries, public parks,
playgrounds and beaches and will prevent people, including children, from involuntarily inhaling
nicotine and potentially harmful chemicals scientifically proven to exist in the secondhand vapor
of electronic smoking devices; and
WHEREAS, the FDA has raised concerns that electronic cigarettes, which are often
marketed in appealing fiavors, can increase nicotine addiction among young people and may lead
youth to try conventional tobacco products; and
WHEREAS, A study published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health
suggests that electronic cigarettes "may have the capacity to 're-normalize' tobacco use in a
demographic that has had significant denormalization of tobacco use previously"; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City Council of the City of Temple City to enact this
ordinance, to provide for the public health, safety, and welfare by regulating the potentially
dangerous behavior of smoking electronic cigarettes; and
WHEREAS, this ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, and safety of the people of the Temple City. Although the full health impacts of
electronic cigarettes are still unclear, various studies suggest that electronic cigarettes pose
significant public health and safety risks similar to those associated with traditional cigarettes and
tobacco products, and therefore, should be regulated in the same manner.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN
AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3-2C-2 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as
follows:
3-2C-2: DEFINITIONS
The following definitions shall govern construction of this Article unless the
context clearly requires otherwise:
City building or structure shall mean any building or structure (as these terms
are defined by the Temple City Building Code) that the City of Temple City or
the Temple City Community Redevelopment Agency (or successor agency
thereto) owns, controls, operates, occupies, manages, or maintains.
City park shall mean a mini-park, neighborhood park, community park, regional
park, bikeway, trail, greenbelt, developed or undeveloped parkland, open space
land, open space parcel, or open space area that the City or the Temple City
Community Redevelopment Agency (or successor agency thereto) owns,
controls, operates, occupies, manages, or maintains. It shall also include all
buildings, structures, facilities, fields, or equipment within said City park.
City parking lot or strucutre shall mean a parking lot or structure that the City
or the Temple City Community Redevelopment Agency (or successor agency
thereto) owns, controls, operates, occupies, manages, or maintains.
City recreational facility shall mean an indoor or outdoor area, location, place,
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site, lot, building, structure, facility, or complex that is open to the general public
for one (1) or more recreational or sport activities or purposes, regardless of a
fee for admission or use, that the City or the Temple City Community
Redevelopment Agency (or successor agency thereto) owns, controls, operates,
occupies, manages, or maintains. It shall also include all buildings, structures,
facilities, fields, or equipment within said City facility.
City vehicle shall mean any vehicle that is owned, leased or rented by the City,
as well as any vehicle that a City employee drives, operates, or has control over
in connection with said person's employment with the City.
Electronic Smoking Device shall mean an electronic or battery-operated device
that delivers vapors for inhalation. This term shall include every variation and type
of such devices whether they are manufactured, distributed, marketed or sold as
an electronic pipe, an electronic hookah, or any other product name or descriptor.
Enclosed area shall mean:
A. Any covered or partially covered area having more than fifty (50)
percent of its perimeter walled or otherwise closed to the outside (for example, a
covered porch with more than two walls) irrespective of whether said walls or
other vertical boundaries include vents or other openings; or
B. Any space open to the sky (hereinafter, "uncovered") having
more than seventy-five (75) percent of its perimeter walled or otherwise closed
to the outside (for example, a courtyard), irrespective of whether said walls or
other vertical boundaries include vents or other openings.
1. An uncovered space of three thousand (3,000) square feet or
more (for example, a field in an open-air arena) is not an
"enclosed area" as defined in this Article.
Enclosed common area shall mean any "enclosed area" of a Multi-Unit
Residential Housing Complex accessible to and usable by residents of more
than one unit, including, but not limited to, hallways, enclosed stairwells, lobby
areas, elevators, laundry rooms, enclosed common cooking areas, playrooms,
enclosed fitness rooms, enclosed swimming pools, and enclosed parking areas.
Landlord shall mean any person other than a sublessor who owns real property
leased as residential property, who lets residential property, or who manages
such property.
Marijuana shall have the same definition as set forth in the "California Uniform
Controlled Substances Act" (contained within California Health & Safety Code
Sections 11000 et seq.).
Multi-Unit Residential Housing Complex shall mean a premises that contains
two or more units rented or available to be rented and not occupied by a
landlord of the premises. Multi-unit residence does not include a condominium
as that term is defined in the City's Zoning Code.
Nonprofit entity shall mean any entity that meets the requirements of California
Corporations Code Section 5003 as well as any corporation, unincorporated
association or other entity created for charitable, religious, philanthropic,
educational, political, social or similar purposes, the net proceeds of which are
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committed to the promotion of the objectives of the entity and not to private gain.
A public agency is not a nonprofit entity within the meaning of this section.
Outdoor dining area shall mean:
A. An unenclosed area that is open to the general public, or closed
to the public for a private function, where food and/or beverages are offered,
served, or consumed, regardless of whether compensation is offered or given in
exchange;
1. Outdoor dining area shall include, but shall not
be limited to:
a) A restaurant, or a bar, or both;
b) A standing area;
c) A seating area;
d) A patio area.
2. Outdoor dining area does not include any
unenclosed dining area at a private residence.
Outdoor public event shall mean an activity, ceremony, event, fair, function,
gathering, meeting, pageant, or program -whether athletic, civic, cultural,
charitable, community, entertainment, intellectual, recreational, or social-that:
A. Is open to the general public;
B. Takes place outside of an enclosed building or structure; and,
C. A person, employer, business, nonprofit entity, or the City sponsors, hosts,
organizes, or operates.
Outdoor seating area shall mean bleachers, benches, or seats located outside
of an enclosed building or structure -regardless of whether permanently or
temporarily affixed -that is provided for an audience, viewers, spectators, or
participants of an event that is adjacent to, in front of, facing, or opposite said
event.
Private Enforcer is defined in Section 3232.B of this code.
Public Place shall mean any area, location, place, site, property, lot, building,
structure, facility, or complex -public or private -open to the general public
regardless of any fee or age requirement, including, but not limited to, streets,
sidewalks, plazas, bars, restaurants, clubs, stores, stadiums, polling places,
parks, playgrounds, restrooms, elevators, taxis, and buses.
Public transit station or stop shall mean an enclosed or unenclosed platform,
sidewalk, shelter, bench, or area where people wait for public transportation,
such as a train, shuttle, or taxicab. It shall also include, but shall not be limited
to, any ancillary area such as restrooms, kiosk area, storage locker area, and
pedestrian path or walkway.
Reasonable distance shall mean a distance of twenty feet (20').
Recreational area shall mean any public or private area open to the public for
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recreational purposes whether or not any fee for admission is charged, including
without limitation, parks, gardens, sporting facilities, stadiums, and playgrounds.
Service area shall mean any area-public or private-designated for one (1) or
more persons to wait for a transaction, entry, exit, or service of any kind,
regardless of whether such service involves the exchange of money. Service
area includes, but shall not be limited to, any area designated for lines or waiting
for ATM machines; banks; information kiosks; restaurants and other food
service venues; vending machines; tickets or admission to a theater or event;
waiting areas at car washes and vehicle service establishments; and valet pick-
up areas.
Smoking or to smoke shall mean possessing or to possess a lighted tobacco
product, lighted tobacco paraphernalia, lighted marijuana, or any other lighted
weed or plant (including but not limited to, a lighted pipe, lighted hookah pipe,
lighted cigar, lighted cigarette of any kind), an electronic smoking device of any
kind, or the lighting or emitting or exhaling the smoke or vapor of a tobacco
product, tobacco paraphernalia, marijuana product, or any other weed or plant
(including but not limited to, a pipe, a hookah pipe, cigar, marijuana product,
electronic cigarette or cigarette of any kind).
Tobacco product shall mean any substance containing tobacco leaf, including
but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco,
dipping tobacco, bidis, or any other preparation of tobacco.
Unenclosed area shall mean any area which is not an enclosed area.
Unit shall mean: (1) a dwelling space consisting of essentially complete
independent living facilities for one or more persons, including, for example,
permanent provisions for living and sleeping, and any associated private
outdoor spaces such as balconies and patios; and (2) senior citizen housing and
single room occupancy hotels, as defined in California Health and Safety Code
Section 50519(b)(1), even where lacking private cooking or plumbing facilities.
"Unit" does not include lodging in a hotel or motel that meets the requirements
set forth in California Civil Code Section 1940(b)(2).
SECTION 2. Section 3-50-9 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as
follows:
3-SD-9: BEHAVIOR
No person in a park or civic center shall, except as express written permission is
granted by the Parks and Recreation Commission:
Q. Smoke and/or posses a lighted tobacco product, including but not limited to
cigars, cigarettes, and any electronic smoking device.
SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after its adoption. The City Clerk, or
her duly appointed deputy, shall attest to the adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause this
Ordinance to be posted as required by law.
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PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 1st day of July, 2014.
Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
City Clerk City Attorney
I, Peggy Kuo, City Clerk of the City of Tern pie City, hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No.
14-994 was introduced at the regular meeting of the Ci!f' Council of the City of Temple City held on
the 17'h day of June 2014, its second reading on July 1', 2014, and was duly passed, approved and
adopted by said Council at the regular meeting held on July 1'1, 2014 by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
City Clerk
Councilmember-
Councilmember-
Councilmember-
Councilmember-
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