Simi Valley Restricts Smoking in Public Places

The Simi Valley City Council on Monday voted to prohibit smoking in most public places and require the city’s restaurant owners to reserve half of their seats for nonsmokers.

The new law, which includes fines for smoking in prohibited areas, is intended to reduce health risks for nonsmokers, council members said.

The ordinance prohibits smoking in public places such as stores, banks, shopping malls and theaters. Exempted from the controls are establishments that are smaller than 1,500 square feet, as well as bars, tobacco shops, private homes and hotels.

Smoking is prohibited in elevators, buses, restrooms, government buildings and hospitals. Owners of restaurants larger than 500 square feet will have to set aside half their seating space for nonsmoking diners.

‘Rational’ Compromise

Mayor Greg Stratton called the measure a rational step that balances protection of the public with the rights of individuals who want to smoke.

A proposal considered by the council two weeks ago would have prohibited smoking in the workplace. But the council dropped that provision after it drew protests from local businesses and the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The ordinance, however, says that employers can voluntarily prohibit smoking in the workplace and that, if an office or factory is declared a no-smoking facility, employees who smoke on the job can be fined.

Violation of the ordinance carries a $100 fine for first-time offenders and fines of up to $500 for subsequent offenses.

Although he voted for the measure, Councilman Glen W. McAdoo said it should have banned smoking in the workplace. Employees may be fearful for their jobs if they request nonsmoking areas and their employer does not want to provide them, he said.

Workplace Debate

“Employers don’t have the right to endanger their people,” McAdoo said.

But the council majority agreed that employers should be given an option.

Protecting the safety of workers is more properly the responsibility of the federal government, Stratton said. “The City of Simi doesn’t enforce occupational safety rules,” he noted.

“I’m very wary of stepping on the freedoms of people,” Councilman Vicky Howard said. “I want to wait and see how it works.”

Simi Valley’s smoking ordinance is less restrictive than a measure passed two months ago in Beverly Hills that prohibits smoking in all restaurants.

The Los Angeles City Council is considering a measure that would require restaurant owners to reserve half their seats for non-smoking diners.

Jere Robings, a member of the Smoking Action Coalition of Ventura County, which lobbied for smoking controls, said he was not disappointed in the council’s action, even though it did not prohibit smoking in the workplace.

“It’s something that we don’t have now,” Robings said of the ordinance.