Policing Smoking Laws No Walk In The Park

Corte Madera received a black eye earlier this year in a report from the American Lung Association, but now a group of citizens is fighting back. They're not fighting the findings of the report. They want to give Corte Madera a kick in the butt.

The Corte Madera Town Council on Tuesday will hear a proposed ordinance that would crack down on smoking within and near town parks. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

The Corte Madera Municipal Code says smoking is prohibited "within any playground or tot lot in the town of Corte Madera."

No person shall dispose of cigarette butts, cigar butts, or any other tobacco related products or waste in any playground or tot lot located in the town of Corte Madera. For the purpose of this section, the term "playground" shall mean any park or recreational area specifically designed to be used by children that has play equipment installed, or any similar facility located on city, county or state property or on public or private school grounds. For the purposes of this section the term "tot lot" shall mean a designated play area within a public park for the use of children under five years of age. For the purposes of this section the term "area" shall mean the fenced area surrounding the playground or tot lot. Where the area of a tot lot or playground is not contained within a fenced or enclosed area, the boundary of such playground or tot lot shall be defined by the edge of the resilient surface of safety material, such as wood, sand, concrete or any other material surrounding the playground or tot lot area.

The American Cancer Society report gave Corte Madera a failing grade for its perceived lack of enforcement of anti-smoking ordinances.

 Smoking is further prohibited in the following area:

• Elevators, museums, galleries, public transportation facilities open to the public, and service lines of establishments doing business with the general public;

• Waiting rooms, or public hallways of every private or public health care facility, including but not limited to hospitals.

• In the area of the pharmacy counter of any store where people are waiting for or receiving medical prescriptions or like medication;

• Within waiting rooms, meeting rooms, public assembly rooms, libraries and restrooms located in all buildings owned or operated by the town, except in lobbies and in zones designated for smoking by the town manager. Such smoking zones shall not exceed twenty percent of the seating capacity of each room or area;

• Within any building not open to the sky which is primarily used for or designed for the purpose of exhibiting any motion picture, stage drama, lecture, musical recital or other similar performance whenever open to the public (except when smoking is a part of a stage production); within all restrooms, except that smoking will be allowed in an area commonly referred to as a lobby if such lobby is physically separated from the spectator area;

• Retail food production and marketing establishments, including grocery stores and supermarkets open to the public. Such establishments shall be posted with signs prohibiting smoking in every public portion thereof. "No smoking" signs shall be specifically placed so that they are clearly visible to persons upon entering the store, clearly visible to persons in checkout lines, and clearly visible to persons at meat and produce counters. This requirement does not apply to restaurants;

• All restrooms open for public use;

• Smoking shall be prohibited within every publicly or privately owned restaurant, coffee shop, cafeteria, short-order cafe, luncheonette, sandwich stand, soda fountain or other eating establishment serving food to the general public whose occupied capacity is twenty or more persons; provided, however, that this prohibition against smoking shall not apply within any such establishment maintaining a contiguous "no smoking" area of a reasonable size designated by the owner or operator and for which notice is supplied by posted signing at the entrance of the premises.