Friday, Nov. 07, 2008

Flower Mound A No Smoking Town In 2009

Town Council Passes An Ordinance Banning Smoking In Public Places

By Adrian McCandless

Staff Writer

A Flower Mound smoking ordinance sparked debate during the Town Council meeting Monday, before passing with a 3-1 vote.

The new smoking ordinance prohibits smoking in all restaurants, bars, retail stores, indoor places of employment and public parks. It will also have a setback requirement prohibiting smoking 25 feet from any opening to a public building or place.

However, the regulations will allow hotels and motels to designate up to ten percent of rooms as smoking rooms.

Areas without restrictions include private residences, personal automobiles, public sidewalks and parking lots within public parks meeting the setback requirements.

Environmental Services Director Mathew Woods said smoking will be prohibited in private residences providing medical care of daycare services for children and adults.

The regulations also stipulate requirements for any public building or place to post non-smoking signs. The Police Department and Environmental Services will enforce the ordinance. Woods explained that the Police Department could issue fines with the maximum penalty of $500 per violation and Environmental Services staff would inspect establishments for proper signage and educate business owners of the smoking ordinance.

Comments made during and following passage of the smoking ordinance included:

"This isn’t about smoking or non-smoking for me. This is an issue for me of property rights, personal freedom and choices. We get on a real slippery slope when as government we start telling someone how they can conduct business." — council member Jean Levenick, the sole negative vote.

"Individual rights are not the problem. You can put anything into your body that you want, but you don’t have the right to pass that on to someone else." — council member Al Filidoro

"I think sometimes regulation can be good when it is protecting everyone as a whole. I think that is where I tend to be supportive of a non-smoking ordinance." — Mayor Pro Tem Trotter

"I’m not a smoker and I don’t like being around smoking. Having said that, I am 100 percent opposed to this ordinance. This issue is already self-regulated by the citizens of Flower Mound, which is as it should be." — Flower Mound resident Ted Beaman

"I am highly allergic to secondhand smoke; I cannot be around it. I am very much in favor of this." — Flower Mound resident Carol Kohankie

"It’s not like there aren’t other choices out there. There are plenty of non-smoking places out there and I totally support those businesses. Eighty percent of our cliental smokes. If this goes through, Point After North is out of business." — Point After North Bar co-owner Terry Seale

"My thought is if you stand behind a non-smoking ordinance, it needs to have teeth. If you start to weaken it, what good is your non-smoking ordinance?" — Mayor Pro Tem Trotter

The smoking ordinance will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2009, to allow business owners and town staff time to make adjustments and to purchase and install the proper signage.