Smoking in outdoor dining areas could be banned in San Juan Bautista by May, as the City Council approved the first reading of a revised municipal code at its April 16 meeting.
City attorney Deborah Mall said she pulled the city code on smoking and made small changes to include outdoor dining. The update would go into effect upon approval of the second reading at a future council meeting.
The push for smoke-free outdoor dining areas in the city is led by San Benito County Public Health Services, which first presented to the council on March 19. In that presentation, health officials discussed the dangers of secondhand smoke, which causes over 42,000 deaths in non-smoking adults and 400 in infants each year, according to their data. Health associate Laura Calderon said there are 151 jurisdictions in California that restrict smoking in outdoor dining areas, including Santa Cruz County and the city of Monterey. Calderon also said that residents and business owners support a smoke-free policy. In a poll of 100 people, 96 said they supported the effort.
If the ban is approved, public health services will provide 50 placards stating the new ordinance.
At the April 16 meeting, Councilman John Freeman asked if vaping was included. Mayor Cesar Flores asked for it to be added to the language so people don’t try to get around it. City resident Rachel Ponce said the ordinance also needed to address building setbacks, so that people are not smoking just on the other side of the fence of a restaurant.
San Benito County Public Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said at the March 19 meeting that banning smoking in outdoor dining areas is not only beneficial to patrons, but to employees who are in the vicinity of secondhand smoke. Newel said the only reason to not support the ban was because of concern about negative economic impact, but she said that would not be an issue. She then quoted part of a National Cancer Institute article.
“The evidence clearly demonstrates that smoke-free policies do not cause adverse economic outcomes for businesses including restaurants and bars. In fact, smoke-free policies often have a positive impact on businesses,” Newel read.
Jardines de San Juan General Manager Marcus Edwards replied that he believes a smoke-free ordinance can help businesses deal with patrons smoking just outside the restaurant who say they don’t see a sign when asked to go across the street to smoke.
He said,“It would be nice to have some signage around.”