ORDINANCE NO._______________
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO,
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 4, CHAPTER 4.46 SECTIONS 4.96.030, 4.96.040 and 4.96.150 OF THE SAN MATEO COUNTY ORDINANCE CODE REGULATING SMOKING IN CERTAIN AREAS
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WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors of San Mateo County hereby finds and declares as follows: tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke cause death and disease and impose great social and economic costs, as evidenced by the following:
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(1) More than 440,000 people die in the United States from tobacco-related diseases every year, making it the nation’s leading cause of preventable death.
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(2) The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2030, tobacco will account for 10 million deaths per year, making it the greatest cause of death worldwide.
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(3) The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found secondhand smoke to be a risk to public health and has classified secondhand smoke as a group A carcinogen, the most dangerous class of carcinogen.
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(4) Secondhand smoke is responsible for an estimated 38,000 deaths among non-smokers each year in the United States, which includes 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000 deaths due to heart disease.
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(5) Secondhand smoke exposure adversely affects fetal growth with elevated risk of low birth weight and increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in infants of mothers who smoke.
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(6) Secondhand smoke exposure causes as many as 300,000 children in the United States under the age of 18 months to suffer lower respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis, exacerbates childhood asthma, and increases the risk of acute, chronic, middle-ear infections in children.
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(7) The total cost of smoking in California was estimated as $475 per resident or $3,331 per smoker per year, for a total of nearly $15.8 billion in smoking-related costs in 1999 alone.
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WHEREAS, this Board further finds that most Californians do not smoke and a majority favor limitations on smoking in multi-unit residences, as evidenced by the following:
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(1) 84% of Californians are non-smokers.
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(2) 70% of Californians surveyed approve of apartment complexes requiring at least half of rental units be non-smoking.
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(3) 67% of Californians surveyed favor limiting smoking in outdoor common areas of apartment buildings.
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WHEREFORE, the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, ORDAINS as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 4.96.030 of Chapter 4.96, Title 4 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code is amended to read as follows:
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For the purpose of this ordinance, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning, the words, terms, and phrases set forth in this section shall have the meanings given to them in this section.
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(a) “Enclosed” shall mean closed in by a roof and four (4) walls with appropriate openings for ingress and egress.
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(b) “Public place” shall mean any enclosed area to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted. A private residence is not a public place.
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(c) “Smoking” shall mean inhaling, exhaling, burning or carrying any lighted cigar, pipe, cigarette, weed, plant or other combustible substance in any manner or in any form.
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(d) “Landlord” means any person who owns real property leased as residential property, any person who lets residential property, or any person who manages such property, except that Landlord does not include sublessors.
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(e) “Multi-unit residence” a building that contains four (4 ) or more units and four (4) or more of the units are unoccupied by the landlord of building.
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(f) “Multi-unit residence common area” means any indoor or outdoor area of a multi-unit residence accessible to and usable by residents of different units, including but not limited to halls, lobbies, laundry rooms, common cooking areas, outdoor eating areas, play areas, and swimming pools.
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(g) “Unit” means: (1) a dwelling space consisting of essentially complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, including, for example, permanent provisions for living and sleeping,(2) senior citizen housing and single room occupancy hotels, as defined in California Health and Safety Code section 50519(b)(1), even where lacking private cooking facilities or private plumbing facilities. “Unit” does not include lodging in a hotel or motel that meets the requirements set forth in California Civil Code section 1940(b)(2).
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(h) “Self service display” shall mean an open display of tobacco products that the public has access to without the intervention or assistance of an employee.
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(i) “Tobacco product” shall mean any tobacco cigarette, cigar, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco, snuff or any other form of tobacco which may be utilized for smoking, chewing, inhalation or the means of ingestion.
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(j) “Vendor assisted” shall mean that only a store employee has access to the tobacco product and assists the customer by supplying the product.”
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SECTION 2. Subdivision (c) of Section 4.96. 040 of Chapter 4.96, Title 4 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code is hereby added and shall read as follows:
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(c) All multi-unit residence common areas except that a landlord may designate a portion of the common outdoor area as a smoking areas. A designated smoking area: (1) must not overlap with any area in which smoking is otherwise prohibited by this chapter or other provisions of this Code, state law, or federal law; (2) must be located at least 25 feet (25) in any direction from non-smoking areas (3) must not include areas primarily used by children;(4) must be no more than 25% of the total outdoor area; (5) must have a clearly marked perimeter; and(6) must be identified by conspicuous signs.
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SECTION 3. Section 4.96.150 of Chapter 4.96, Title 4 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code is amended to read as follows:
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Any person may initiate enforcement of this ordinance by notifying the County Public Health Director or his/her designee of any violation.
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SECTION 4. This Ordinance shall be effective thirty (30) days from the passage date thereof.
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