If you live in an apartment building or a condominium in Lafayette, and you are a smoker, things could get dicey for you in the near future.
The Lafayette City Council will consider at its meeting Tuesday making its smoking ordinance tougher by, among other things, making it more restrictive to smoke in multi-family dwellings such as apartments and condos.
The issue first came up last year when a resident in an apartment complex complained that smoking from a nearby unit was invading the neighboring units. Since then, the council has been presented with a variety of options, including:
- a ban on smoking in outdoor sections of restaurants;
- 20 feet from doors, windows and vents of businesses, apartments and condominiums;
- a ban on smoking at all outdoor events, including farmers markets;
- common areas of apartments and condominiums, including balconies;
- a complete ban on smoking inside all new apartments and condominiums (not applicable to existing buildings).
The above options have strong support on the council. Other options for which the council has had trouble agreeing are:
- A ban throughout the entire downtown area;
- a ban on smoking on public sidewalks;
- stronger penalties for smoking violations.
The meeting begins tonight (Tuesday, May 28) at 6 p.m. at the Lafayette Library & Learning Center, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd.
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