Beverly Hills’ Smoking Ban Would Outdo Other Cities’ : Law: The proposal, to be considered Tuesday by the City Council, limits exemptions for bars and outdoor dining areas.

Beverly Hills has unveiled its tough new anti-smoking proposal, but the measure is expected to draw fire from businesses when the City Council begins considering it Tuesday.

The proposed Beverly Hills ban, stricter than smoking restrictions enacted by other cities in the Los Angeles area, would apply to bars, restaurants, hotel lobbies, public parks and other locations. The measure is just what no-smoking advocates had hoped for--and what some business owners had feared.

“To make the ordinance stricter than those in the cities around Beverly Hills is ridiculous,” said Rudy Cole, a public affairs consultant for a number of Beverly Hills restaurants. “Smokers will eat at home more often.”

In 1987, Beverly Hills enacted an aggressive ban, but opponents--led by restaurateurs--persuaded City Council members to reverse the ordinance. Under the new proposal, which was made public last week, the city would prohibit smoking in bars and cocktail lounges, hotel lobbies and function rooms, on government property and in businesses with two to five employees.

Smoking also would be outlawed in public parks and restaurants--in both inside and outdoor dining areas.

The ordinance exempts tobacco shops, smokers’ lounges and theatrical productions--if smoking is an integral part of the story being told. Also exempted are medical sites where research on smoking is being conducted, as well as smoking areas for patients in long-term health care facilities.

Under the proposed penalties, which could apply either to the smoker or the owner of the business that allows illegal smoking, repeat violators could be fined up to $250.

Supporters of the measure say the need for a strong smoking ban is a simple matter of public health. Esther Schiller, co-director of Smokefree Air for Everyone, a California anti-smoking group, says an aggressive ban would help businesses by reducing the likelihood of lawsuits from victims of secondhand smoke.

“The ban is designed to protect businesses from liabilities,” Schiller said. “(Businesses) just don’t seem to understand.”

So far, there is no organized opposition to the proposed ban. But some hotel and restaurant operators are already expressing concern that it goes beyond other local smoking bans, which generally offer more exemptions--for bars and outdoor dining areas, for instance.

This, critics say, could put businesses in Beverly Hills at an economic disadvantage.

“If I were a smoker, I’d go to another hotel,” said Heinrich Morio, executive assistant manager of the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel. “Don’t give us something that’s more stringent than Los Angeles.”

About 25% of the hotel’s guests are foreign travelers, many of whom are heavy smokers, Morio said. Yet, the Peninsula’s bar, not its room rentals, will take the blow the hardest, Morio said.

“Certain things go hand in hand, like having a drink and smoking,” he said. “Lobbies don’t matter, but if you’re going to take away the smoking from a bar, you might as well take away the drink.”