Glendale to review possible changes to citywide smoking laws
For the third time, the Glendale City Council on Tuesday is slated to review a slew of options that could further restrict smoking in the city.
The council was scheduled to consider changing rules that limit smoking inside apartment buildings and at restaurants in early August, but delayed the matter.
There are two main, and seemingly contradictory, questions the council will tackle: Should smoking in individual apartment units be banned? And should strict smoking restrictions at outdoor restaurants be loosened?
Council members can limit smoking in individual apartment units in multiple ways, according to a city report. They can copy Pasadena and ban smoking in all multi-unit buildings — but give owners time to comply — or require apartment buildings to have smoke-free sections. Glendale could also ban smoking in apartment units as they turn over.
Several council members have said they prefer clumping smoking units together in one part of the building, with the rest being smoke-free. Currently, people in multi-unit housing buildings cannot smoke in common areas or on their patios.
If Glendale further restricts smoking in apartment buildings, it will continue the city’s efforts since 2008 to limit secondhand smoke. But at the same time, council members will consider rolling back some of the restrictions when it comes to smoking in outdoor dining areas.
Glendale restricts smoking to 25% of outdoor dining areas, but the council is considering doubling the allowable space since business owners — mostly those who provide hookah products — have complained that the current rules take a heavy toll on their bottom lines.
The City Council could change the rules to allow hookah smoking indoors, but that would have to be limited to businesses with fewer than five employees due to a state law, according to a city report.
The council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 613 E. Broadway.
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