Lakewood : Mayor Will Form Committee to Study Smoking Ordinance

At the request of the Lakewood City Council, Mayor Marc Titel will organize a citizens committee to study a proposed citywide smoking ordinance. At Tuesday night’s council meeting, Titel is expected to recommend guidelines and objectives for the group and set a timetable for developing the measure.

The measure would prohibit smoking in all city-owned and maintained buildings and would regulate it in most non-residential buildings, according to a report by City Atty. John Todd. Under the proposal, building managers would have to post signs designating areas where smoking is prohibited and permitted.

The council has been considering a smoking measure since January when a few employees from Rockwell International in Lakewood requested that the city adopt a policy, Titel said. He said the citizens committee, which will consist of 6 to 12 members from the business, religious and medical communities, will study the impact of the proposed ordinance.

“This is an issue where we are going to have to proceed cautiously,” the mayor said. “There are people on both sides who feel strongly about it.”