LAGUNA HILLS : Group to Challenge Anti-Smoking Ban

A group of business people angered by a city ban on smoking in public buildings is starting a petition drive in an attempt to repeal the no-smoking ordinance.

“This has nothing to do with smoking,” said Kelly Kuntz, a leader of the as-yet-unnamed group. “It has to do with city councils infringing on individual freedoms. . . . We’re not going to take this Big Brother crap anymore.”

The group consists of “less than a dozen” people, most of whom are associated with restaurants and businesses affected by the ban, said Kuntz, a Lake Forest resident who works for a mortgage company.

“I have a lot of friends who own restaurants and businesses,” Kuntz said, explaining his involvement. “For me, it’s a matter of principle.”

The ordinance, approved by the City Council last month and scheduled to go into effect Sept. 23, prohibits smoking in virtually “all enclosed areas available to and customarily used by the general public” and bans cigarette vending machines.

A complete ban on smoking in restaurants, however, would be phased in over a year. Restaurants able to show economic hardship as a result of the ban after that time would be allowed to petition the city for a variance.

Smoking would still be allowed in bars that are separately ventilated or closed off from other public areas.

For the petition to be successful, the group must submit signatures from 10% of the residents who are registered voters, or 1,215 names, on or before Sept. 23, said City Clerk Mary Carlson. If the petition appears on preliminary review to have enough valid signatures, the ordinance will not take effect, Carlson said.

Then, after closer inspection, if the petition has the required number of valid signatures, the council will have the option of rescinding the ordinance, scheduling a special election for a referendum or placing it on the ballot in the next regular election, in November, 1994, Carlson said.

City Councilman R. Craig Scott, the main proponent of the smoking ban, defended the ordinance as a means of safeguarding public health.

“I recognize that the referendum process is part of our system,” Scott said, “but what I think is unfortunate in the whole process is that we could go months and months and still have smoke in restaurants, in businesses and other public buildings, posing a serious risk to people.”

Kuntz said the group has received legal assistance in writing the petition from the California Business and Restaurant Alliance, a group that has received tobacco-industry money to fight anti-smoking measures.

“I have no objection to that,” Kuntz said. “If the tobacco industry were to jump forward and offer its support, I’d be hard-pressed to say no. I don’t claim to take such an altruistic position.”

The group has scheduled a press conference this morning to kick off the petition campaign.