Irvine : Council Delays Vote on Law to Limit Smoking

A smoking ordinance and a request for the city attorney to draft an amendment to the city charter to allow direct election of mayors have been postponed by the Irvine City Council.

The smoking ordinance, placed on the agenda at the request of Mayor David Sills and Councilmen Larry Agran and Dave Baker, was put off Tuesday until the council’s July 9 meeting. In the meantime, the council directed the city management to obtain copies of other cities’ ordinances to determine if they are adaptable to Irvine.

After a brief public hearing in which two residents registered their support for an ordinance, Sills expressed concern that such an ordinance might infringe on the rights of private business owners. Sills also speculated that the task of enforcing a smoking law could be frightening. Agran, a supporter of such an ordinance, argued that adoption of a smoking statute is a matter of “basic health considerations.”

Also put off until the next council meeting was a request for the city attorney to draft an amendment to Irvine’s charter permitting residents to elect mayors directly. Irvine, like most Orange County cities, at present allows its council to choose a new mayor each year from among its ranks.