City Looks to Snuff Smoking in Downtown Areas

The city is about to ignite a policy debate on the banning of smoking in the Downtown Business District.

One of the initiatives listed in City Manager Dan Keen’s report for a City Council strategy session Friday was the proposed ordinance, scheduled to come to the council in July.

Concord has researched other cities’ ordinances banning smoking in a public right of way. There is support from the police department, Keen wrote in his report, and such bans are typically self-enforcing — a tap on your shoulder from a fellow citizen reminding about the ban.

In September 2009 the council had requested staff to explore the logistics and legalities of such a smoking ban.  Downtown property owners had expressed concern about secondhand smoke’s impact on outside dining areas and on cleanliness, Keen said.