SMOKED OUT: LAWS INCREASINGLY TARGET RIGHT TO LIGHT UP IN THE OPEN AIR

Smokers who feel they're being courteous by stepping outside to light up
are increasingly finding that going outdoors is simply not enough.

A growing number of California communities are extending smoking
restrictions into the outside world by banning puffing in parks, at bus
stops and on public sidewalks.

The city of Davis bans smoking in public gardens, outdoor courtyards, near
children's play areas and close to building entrances.

Palo Alto prohibits smoking in ticket and service lines, near play areas
and within 20 feet of building entrances. Arcata has limited smoking in its
central plaza, and Clayton frowns on lighting up in parks.

The latest attempt to clear the open air is in Santa Cruz, where city
officials are mulling changes to the city's smoking ordinance that would
make outdoor lines -- including those in front of movie theaters --
off-limits to those indulging in the odoriferous habit.

``We have gotten quite a few complaints from people who've had to stand in
line (near smokers), asking us to address the problem,'' said Councilman
Scott Kennedy, a co-sponsor of the proposed amendment. ``We're not trying
to initiate a huge controversy. We're just trying to tidy up an oversight
from the first round.''

The proposed Santa Cruz amendment, slated to be discussed by the City
Council tomorrow night, would also ban smoking in queues for theaters and
concerts, bus stops and taxi stands. It also makes it the responsibility of
smokers to ensure that their secondhand smoke does not drift into any
building where smoking is prohibited, including the outdoor seating areas
of restaurants.

Michael Hambrick, senior vice president of the National Smokers Alliance,
said the restrictions are ``just another move by the lifestyle police.''

``Where are they going to stop?'' Hambrick said. ``In your home? In your
castle?''

But anti-smoking activist Elva Yanez scoffs at the idea that outdoor
smoking restrictions are part of a widespread plot. Instead, they reflect
grassroots public concern about the effects of secondhand smoke, she said.

``These are not off-the-wall policies,'' Yanez said. ``It's not about
prohibition. It's about protecting people from unwanted secondhand smoke.''

Pressure to amend the smoking law has become an issue in downtown Santa
Cruz in part because -- thanks to rebuilding after the 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake -- the area is routinely thronged with shoppers, diners and
theatergoers.

A sparkling nine-screen theater complex built in the heart of the Pacific
Avenue shopping district has drawn crowds since the day it opened in 1995,
with lines routinely stretching halfway around the block. Moviegoers,
especially those waiting with small children, frequently complain that
there ought to be a law against smoking in the midst of a captive audience
- -- even if it is outdoors, Kennedy said.

Smokers are not enthusiastic about the proposal.

``It doesn't seem all that fair, because it is a public sidewalk,'' said
Jeremiah Steinberg, a restaurant worker who steps outside to smoke on his
breaks.

Marnie Grubb, another local worker, said the ordinance isn't a bad idea by
itself, but will add to the growing set of rules restricting behavior in
downtown Santa Cruz. In addition to banning dogs, bongo drums, skateboards
and roller skates downtown, local laws forbid sitting on specific areas of
the downtown sidewalks or aggressive panhandling.

``It's getting to be too much,'' Grubb said. ``There's a rule for everything.''

In Palo Alto, where outdoor smoking restrictions have been in force for
several years, city officials found that a little compromise went a long
way toward easing smokers' grumbling.

Possibly the most controversial portion of the new law was the requirement
that smokers stay 20 feet away from entrances and exits of public
buildings. After smoking was forbidden indoors, groups of banished smokers
would gather just outside of office buildings, forcing customers and other
workers to walk through clouds of smoke to enter or exit.

According to Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, a former Palo Alto
mayor, bar and restaurant owners and some large employers had problems with
the policy.

``The large companies said half their employees would end up gathering out
in the parking lot, even in inclement weather,'' Simitian said. ``(And)
downtown restaurant owners didn't want their patrons to have to walk
halfway down the block to smoke.''

City officials compromised by allowing big employers to designate one
smoke-free entrance, and ended smoking restrictions near downtown doorways
at 10 p.m.

``These were relatively modest accommodations that did a great deal to
create public acceptance for the law,'' Simitian said. ``And we never had
any problems with it after we dealt with those two issues.''

Santa Cruz, in accordance with state law, already bans smoking in
workplaces, restaurants, bars and almost all buildings open to the public.
The city ordinance also allows smoking to be banned at beaches and public
parks. At present, smoking is not banned on city beaches, and is banned in
parks only at the height of wildfire season.

While the rules are not unique to Santa Cruz, smoking restrictions always
generate controversy, according to City Attorney John Barisone.

``I'm a little surprised at the attention this has received,'' Barisone
said. ``But since the state banned smoking in bars in January, it seems
that everyone's nerves have been a little on edge.''

)1998 San Francisco Chronicle

Checked-by: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)