Politics & Government
City Looks to Snuff Smoking in Downtown Areas
Proposed ordinance slated to come before Concord City Council in July.
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.
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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.