Hawthorne Municipal Code Ch. 8.48 Secondhand Smoke and Smoking Prohibition

Numerous studies have found that tobacco smoke is a major contributor to indoor air pollution, and that breathing secondhand and thirdhand smoke is a cause of disease, including lung cancer, in nonsmokers. At special risk are minors, elderly people, pregnant women, individuals with cardiovascular disease, and individuals with impaired respiratory function, including asthmatics and those with obstructive airway disease. Additionally, studies have found a number of dangerous chemicals in electronic smoking devices emissions and cartridge contents. At least ten chemicals listed as carcinogens and reproductive toxins have been identified in mainstream or secondhand e-cigarette aerosol.

Health hazards induced by breathing secondhand smoke/e-cigarette vapor and being in smoking environments include lung and other cancer, heart disease, respiratory infection, decreased respiratory function, birth defects, asthma, bronchoconstriction, and bronchiospasm and ear infections.

Since there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) bases its ventilation standards on totally smoke free environments. ASHRAE has determined that there is currently no air filtration or other ventilation technology that can completely eliminate all the carcinogenic components in secondhand smoke and the health risks caused by secondhand smoke exposure, and recommends that indoor environments be smoke free in their entirety.

Accordingly, the City Council of City of Hawthorne finds and declares that the purposes of this section are: (A) to protect the public health and welfare by prohibiting smoking in public places and places of employment; (B) to guarantee the right of nonsmokers to breathe smoke-free and non-toxic air; and (C) to recognize that the need to breathe smoke-free air shall have priority over the desire to smoke.

(Ord. 2227 § 3, 2021)

The following definitions shall govern construction of this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

"City building or structure"

means any building or structure that the city of Hawthorne or its successor agency owns, controls, leases, operates, occupies, manages, or maintains.

"City park"

means a mini-park, neighborhood park, community park, regional park, bikeway, trail, developed or undeveloped park land, open space land, open space parcel, or open space area that the city of Hawthorne or its successor agency owns, controls, operates, occupies, manages, or maintains. It shall also include all buildings, structures, facilities, fields, or equipment within said city park.

"City parking lot or structure"

means a parking lot or structure that the city of Hawthorne or successor agency owns, controls, operates, occupies, manages, or maintains.

"City recreational facility"

means an indoor or outdoor area, location, place site, lot, building, structure, aquatic center, facility, or complex that is open to the general public for one or more recreational or sport activities or purposes, regardless of a fee for admission or use, that the city of Hawthorne or its successor agency owns, controls, operates, occupies, manages, or maintains. It shall also include all buildings, structures, facilities, fields, or equipment within said city facility.

"City vehicle"

means any vehicle that is owned, leased or rented by the city, as well as any vehicle that a city employee drives, operates, or has control over in connection with said person's employment with the city.

"Electronic smoking device"

means an electronic or battery operated device that delivers vapors for inhalation. This term shall include every variation and type of such devices whether they are manufactured, distributed, marketed or sold as an electronic pipe, an electronic hookah, or any other product name or descriptor.

"Enclosed area":

Means any covered or partially covered area having more than fifty percent of its perimeter walled or otherwise closed to the outside, regardless of material, including, for example, a covered porch with more than two walls; or

Means a space open to the sky ("uncovered") having more than seventy-five percent of its perimeter area walled in or otherwise closed to the outside including, for example, a courtyard.

Does not include an uncovered space of three thousand square feet or more, including, for example, a field in an open-air arena.

"Enclosed common area"

means any "enclosed area" of a multi-unit residential housing complex accessible to and usable by residents of more than one unit, including, but not limited to, hallways, enclosed stairwells, lobby areas, elevators, laundry rooms, enclosed common cooking areas, playrooms, enclosed fitness rooms, enclosed swimming pools, and enclosed parking areas.

"Landlord"

means any person other than a sublessor who owns a real property leased as residential property, who lets residential property, or who manages such property.

"Marijuana"

means the same definition as set forth in the "California Uniform Controlled Substances Act."

"Multi-unit residential housing complex"

means a premises that contains two or more units rented or available to be rented and not occupied by a landlord of the premises. Multi-unit residence does not include a residential condominium complex.

"Nonprofit entity"

means any entity that meets the requirements of California Corporations Code Section 5003 as well as any corporation, unincorporated association or other entity created for charitable, religious, philanthropic, educational, political, social or similar purposes, the net proceeds of which are committed to the promotion of the objectives of the entity and not to private gain. A public agency is not a nonprofit entity within the meaning of this definition.

"Outdoor dining area"

means an unenclosed area that is open to the general public, or closed to the public for a private function, where food and/or beverages are offered, served, or consumed, regardless of whether compensation is offered or given in exchange:

Outdoor dining area shall include, but shall not be limited to:

a.

A restaurant, or a bar, or both,

b.

A standing area,

c.

A seating area,

d.

A patio area.

Outdoor dining area does not include any unenclosed dining area at a private residence.

"Outdoor public event"

means an activity, ceremony, event, fair, function, gathering, meeting, pageant, or program – whether athletic, civic, cultural, charitable, community, entertainment, intellectual, recreational, or social – that:

Is open to the general public,

Takes place outside of an enclosed building or structure, and

A person, employer, business, nonprofit entity, or the city sponsors, hosts, organizes, or operates.

"Outdoor seating area"

means bleachers, benches, or seats located outside of an enclosed building or structure – regardless of whether permanently or temporarily affixed – that is provided for an audience, viewers, spectators, or participants of an event that is adjacent to, in front of, facing, or opposite said event.

"Public place"

means any area, location, place, site, property, lot, building, structure, facility, or complex – public or private – open to the general public regardless of any fee or age requirement, including, but not limited to, streets, sidewalks, plaza, bars, restaurants, clubs, stores, stadiums, polling places, parks, playgrounds, restrooms, elevators, taxis, and buses.

"Public transit station or stop"

means an enclosed or unenclosed platform, sidewalk, shelter, bench, or area where people wait for public transportation, such as a train, shuttle, or taxicab. It shall also include, but shall not be limited to, any ancillary area such as restrooms, kiosk area, storage locker area, and pedestrian path or walkway.

"Reasonable distance"

means a distance of twenty feet.

"Recreational area"

means any public or private area open to the public for recreational purposes whether or not any fee for admission is charged, including, without limitation, parks, gardens, sporting facilities, stadiums, and playgrounds.

"Service area"

means any area, public or private, designated for one or more persons to wait for a transaction, entry, exit, or service of any kind, regardless of whether such service involves the exchange of money. Service area includes, but shall not be limited to, any area designated for lines or waiting for ATM machines; banks; information kiosks; restaurants and other food service venues; vending machines; tickets or admission to a theater or event; waiting areas at car washes and vehicle service establishments; and valet pick up areas.

"Smoking"

or "to smoke" means possessing or to possess a lighted tobacco product, lighted tobacco paraphernalia, lighted marijuana, or any other lighted weed or plant (including, but not limited to, a lighted pipe, lighted hookah pipe, lighted cigar, or lighted cigarette of any kind), an electronic smoking device of any kind, or the lighting or emitting or exhaling the smoke or vapor of a tobacco product, tobacco paraphernalia, marijuana product, or any other weed or plant (including, but not limited to, a pipe, a hookah pipe, cigar, marijuana product, electronic cigarette or cigarette of any kind).

"Tobacco product"

means any substance containing tobacco leaf, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, bidis, or any other preparation of tobacco.

"Unenclosed area"

means any area which is not an enclosed area.

"Unit"

means:

A dwelling space consisting of essentially complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, including, for example, permanent provisions for living and sleeping, and any associated private outdoor spaces such as balconies and patios; and

Senior citizen housing and single room occupancy hotels or "residential hotel," as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 50519(b)(1), even where lacking private cooking or plumbing facilities. "Unit" does not include lodging in a hotel or motel that meets the requirements set forth in California Civil Code section 1940(b)(2).

(Ord. 2227 § 3, 2021)

A. Smoking is prohibited in the following areas:

1. City Property. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter or by state or federal law, no person shall smoke or otherwise permit, allow, or suffer smoking in any city building or structure, city park or recreational facility, city parking lot or structure, or city vehicle.

2. Public Areas. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter or by state or federal law, no person shall smoke or otherwise permit, allow, or suffer smoking within any of the following areas:

a. Enclosed public place;

b. Service area;

c. Outdoor dining area;

d. Outdoor public event;

e. Outdoor seating area;

f. Public transit station or stop.

3. Enclosed Common Areas of Multi-Unit Residential Housing Complex. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter or by state or federal law, no person shall smoke or otherwise permit, allow, or suffer smoking within any enclosed common area of any multi-unit residential housing complex.

B. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorize or allow smoking in any area where smoking is prohibited by state or federal law.

(Ord. 2227 § 3, 2021)

A. Except as otherwise provided by this article or by state or federal law, no person shall smoke or otherwise permit, allow, or suffer smoking within twenty feet of the property line of any real property on which a public or private institution of learning for children (including preschool, kindergarten, and grades 1-12) exists, except when the smoking occurs within a private residence located adjacent to, or within a twenty feet distance from said institution.

B. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter or by state or federal law, no person shall smoke or otherwise permit, allow, or suffer smoking within twenty feet of any area in which smoking prohibited under Section 8.48.030 of this chapter except while actively passing on the way to another destination and provided smoke does not enter any unenclosed area in which smoking is prohibited.

C. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter or by state or federal law, no person shall smoke or otherwise permit, allow, or suffer smoking within twenty feet of any entrance, window, or air intake vent to an enclosed area in which smoking is prohibited under Section 8.48.030 of this chapter except while actively passing on the way to another destination and provided smoke does not enter any unenclosed area in which smoking is prohibited.

D. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorize or allow smoking in any area where smoking is prohibited by state or federal law.

(Ord. 2227 § 3, 2021)

Section 8.48.030 does not prohibit uses authorized under Chapters 5.100 and 17.90 related to on-site consumption of cannabis that is ancillary to retail.

(Ord. 2244, 9/26/2023)

A. Disposal of Waste. No person shall dispose of used smoking or tobacco product within any area in which smoking is prohibited, including within any reasonable distance required by this chapter.

B. Smoker's Waste Receptacles. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter or by state or federal law, no person, employer, or nonprofit entity shall cause the presence or placement of a smoker's waste receptacle (for example, ashtrays or ashcans) within any area in which smoking is prohibited by law, including within any reasonable distances required by this chapter. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the presence of ash receptacles in violation of this subsection shall not be a defense to a charge of smoking in violation of any provisions of this article.

C. Signs. "No Smoking" or "Smoke Free" signs, with letters of not less than one inch in height or the international "No Smoking" symbol (consisting of a pictorial representation of a burning cigarette enclosed in a red circle with a red bar across it) or any alternative signage approved by the city manager shall be conspicuously posted by the person, employer, business, or nonprofit entity who or which has legal or de facto control of such place at each entrance to a public place in which smoking is prohibited by this chapter has occurred, or is likely to occur. The city manager shall post signs at each entrance to a public place in which smoking prohibited by this chapter that is owned or controlled by the city. Signage required by this subsection shall not be subject to Title 17, Chapter 17.35 (On-Premises Signs) of this code. Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, the presence or absence of signs shall not be a defense to the violation of any other provision of this chapter.

D. Required Lease Terms.

1. Every lease or other rental agreement for the occupancy of a unit within a multi-unit residential housing complex entered into, renewed, or continued month to month on or after February 1, 2022, shall include:

a. A clause stating that smoking is prohibited within any enclosed common area, and a reference to subsection 8.48.030(A)(3) of this chapter.

b. A clause stating that it is a material breach of the lease or agreement to cause, permit, aid, abet, or conceal smoking within any interior common area of the multi-unit residential housing complex; and

c. A clause stating that all lawful occupants of the units in the multi-unit residential housing complex are third party beneficiaries of the clauses required by subsections (D)(1)(a) and (D)(1)(b) of this section.

2. The lease or agreements terms required by subsection (D)(1) of this section are incorporated by force of law into any lease or other agreements for the occupancy of a unit in a multi-unit residential housing complex made on or after the effective date of this section which lease does not fully comply with subsection (D)(1) of this section.

E. Private Regulations. Nothing in this chapter prohibits any person, employer, or nonprofit entity with legal control over any property from prohibiting smoking on any part of such property, even if smoking is not otherwise prohibited in that area.

(Ord. 2227 § 3, 2021)

A. The remedies provided by this chapter are cumulative and in addition to any other remedies available at law or in equity.

B. Any person who causes, permits, aids, abets, suffers, or conceals a violation of any provision of this chapter may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor, as an infraction or as a civil administrative action in the discretion of the city attorney in accordance with Section 1.20.030 of this code.

C. A violation of this chapter is subject to a civil action brought by the city attorney, punishable by a civil fine not less than one hundred dollars and not exceeding one thousand dollars per violation.

D. Any violation of this chapter is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.

(Ord. 2227 § 3, 2021)