Beverly Hills Restaurant Group Drops Smoking Suit

Beverly Hills restaurateurs dropped their lawsuit challenging the city’s anti-smoking law Friday and met with City Council members to discuss their complaints that diners have been scared off by the ordinance, one of the strictest in the country.

“No deals were made,” said Councilman Robert K. Tanenbaum, who took part in the talks at the Beverly Hills City Hall.

“We said in good faith that we’d sit down and have discussions about the ordinance, about how we could go forward and see what’s in the best interests of the restaurant owners and the city,” he said.

“It’s a question of good-faith negotiations on how really best to resolve the problems they’re having, accepting their argument of an adverse financial impact,” he said.

Losses Cited

Some restaurant owners have cited losses of up to 30% since the introduction of the anti-smoking ordinance more than two months ago.

“We agreed to dismiss the lawsuit, and the city agreed to sit down and work out some compromise,” said Rudy Cole, executive director of the Beverly Hills Restaurant Assn. “I think we’ll get a good compromise.”

The law, which went into effect April 3, prohibits smoking in indoor restaurants but exempts bars, lounges, private banquet rooms and restaurants in hotels. Restaurant owners are required to post no-smoking signs in dining areas, and owners and patrons alike face a $500 fine for violating the ordinance.

Cole declined to say what modifications the association had in mind, but Tanenbaum said it was clear that the restaurant owners would not be happy unless the total ban on smoking in dining areas is cut back.

“It’s open for discussion,” he said. “From my point of view, I’m confronted with a bit of a dilemma in that on the one hand, we’re promoting the general welfare (by banning smoking) and we’re backed up by scientific evidence.

“On the other hand, it’s a cruel irony that hard-working merchants are suffering economically. They’re an important part of the general welfare, and we’ve got to resolve that kind of conflict.”

He said further meetings will be held next week.

While some restaurant owners have charged that the anti-smoking law has driven patrons to restaurants in neighboring cities, Council Member Max Salter said he was not persuaded.

“I’ve been in the retail business all my life, and I know there are a million reasons why business can go off,” he said.

Salter noted that a newly opened diner-style restaurant in Beverly Hills on La Cienega Boulevard was crowded day and night despite the smoking ban.

Although Cole said he is confident about reaching a compromise, Tanenbaum and Salter both said that the city had not committed itself to changing the ordinance.

The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, which means that the restaurant owners can renew it again in the future. But Cole said, “I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.”

It was dropped a month after the state Supreme Court rejected a claim by the restaurant owners that the ban is unconstitutional because it unfairly exempts restaurants located in hotels.

The high court upheld an earlier refusal by a Los Angeles Superior Court to block the ordinance from going into effect.

“The ordinance has received wide publicity and is being voluntarily complied with by the vast majority of restaurant owners and patrons in Beverly Hills,” said Fred Cunningham, director of public affairs for the city,.

According to Cunningham, 30 complaints about smoking in restaurants have been filed since April 3.

In eight cases, he said, the complaints were timely enough for police to go to restaurants to check reports of smoking in a dining area, but only one citation has been issued.

He said a few restaurant owners have tried to stretch the rules by expanding their bar areas in order to allow more space for smokers.

“In these cases we’re working with them now (to determine) what is a cocktail bar or lounge area and what is a restaurant area,” he said.

“If it’s a bar area, then it’s a bar area, and he can’t serve menu food. If it’s designated as a dining area, then there’s no smoking.”