Redondo Beach may at last go smoke-free

The ban won't become official until the council approves the ordinance. If the measure passes its first reading Oct. 21, it will be put to a vote Nov. 21. It would then take effect in 30 days.

The council had previously resisted pressure from health and environmental groups, which argue that smoking bans make beaches cleaner and limit the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

Some officials questioned whether police could adequately enforce a ban. They also argued that it would not address the problem of cigarette butts and other trash washing ashore from storm drain outfalls.

Councilman Steven Diels, who has repeatedly voted against a ban, arrived at Tuesday's meeting carrying a bag full of cigarette butts, which he said he had collected in 10 minutes at Hermosa Beach, where a beach smoking ban was enacted in 2006.

He later described the proposal as a "feel-good measure based on political correctness" and challenged proponents to come up with the money for additional policing to enforce it.

A long list of residents and activists joined the discussion, which followed a three-hour debate on parking waivers for street cleaning.

Smoking is prohibited along 77 miles of the 80 miles of Los Angeles County coastline, according to public health officials. Although most state beaches allow smoking, Redondo Beach is the only city in the county that does. Smoking is also prohibited along a little over half of the 30 miles of Orange County coastline.

The Redondo Beach City Council rejected a proposal for a smoking ban in 2004. Councilman Pat Aust, a former city fire chief and past president of the Beach Cities Health District board, persuaded members in May to ask the Police Department and city attorney's office to investigate how other communities have enforced smoking bans. They found that self-enforcement was the norm.

A lifeguard told city staff that most violators would extinguish their cigarettes when he confronted them, according to a council report prepared for Tuesday's meeting.

"I originally didn't want to have anything that we couldn't enforce," said Councilman Steve Aspel, who represents the area that includes the beach. "We don't have the people power to send squads of police onto the beach looking for smokers."

A cigar smoker, Aspel said he was expecting to hear from his smoking buddies about his decision to vote in favor of a ban.

"What persuaded me was my daughter complaining about smoking on the beach," he said. "It's the right thing to do."

alexandra.zavis@latimes.com