CALABASAS/AGOURA HILLS : Restaurant Smoking Ban Is Proposed

Following the lead of their giant neighbor to the south and a growing number of cities in California, the mayors of Calabasas and Agoura Hills on Tuesday proposed a ban on smoking in restaurants in both cities.

“We felt that now is the time to jump on this,” said Agoura Hills Mayor Ed Kurtz. “When our first smoking ordinance was proposed, there was the concern among restaurant owners that people would stop eating in this city, and go to another city. So we’re trying to coordinate it so the cities are moving together on this.”

Agoura Hills law requires that at least half of any restaurant with the capacity for more than 50 customers be designated as a nonsmoking area. Calabasas, which incorporated in 1990, has no restaurant smoking ordinance.

Kurtz and Calabasas Mayor Marvin Lopata scheduled a formal announcement this morning of their proposed restaurant smoking ban, which, like similar measures in the city of Los Angeles and elsewhere, may be preempted by pending state legislation.

A bill proposed by Assemblyman Curtis Tucker Jr. (D-Inglewood) and supported by the tobacco industry would weaken some local smoking bans by allowing restaurant owners to set aside special smoking areas. A tougher measure, sponsored by Assemblyman Terry B. Friedman (D-Brentwood), would ban smoking in all restaurants and other workplaces.

Lopata said the proposal probably will mirror the ban adopted by the city of Los Angeles last month, which allows smoking in outdoor eating areas and bar portions of restaurants. That measure also may be put on hold by an initiative drive, supported by the tobacco industry, to allow voters to decide on the smoking ban in November.

Kurtz and Lopata plan to bring their proposal to Calabasas and Agoura Hills city councils within two weeks, after which public hearings would be held to discuss possible changes.

“We don’t allow people to burn tires or to burn trash in their back yards,” Lopata said. “If a person wants to smoke, it’s their right. But they should not be allowed to take my right to clean air away from me.”