Lake County Municipal Code Art. XIV Regulations Governing Smoking and Tobacco Use Within Unenclosed Areas Of…

For the purposes of this article the following definitions shall govern except where the context of such words and phrases clearly indicates a different meaning or construction:

(a) "Cannabis" has the meaning set forth in California Business and Professions Code Section 26001, as that section may be amended from time to time.

(b) "County staff" means the Person in Control of County owned, leased, or managed unit of real estate or common area.

(c) "Electronic smoking device" means any device that may be used to deliver any aerosolized or vaporized substance to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, vape pen, or e-hookah.

(d) "Employee" means any person who is employed or retained as an independent contractor by any employer in consideration for direct or indirect monetary wages or profit, or any person who volunteers his or her services for an employer.

(e) "Employer" means any person or nonprofit entity that retains the service of one (1) or more employees.

(f) "Enclosed area" means all space between a floor and a ceiling that is bounded by walls, doorways, or windows, whether open or closed, covering more than fifty (50) percent of the combined surface area of the vertical planes constituting the perimeter of the area. A wall includes but is not limited to any retractable divider, garage door, or other physical barrier, whether temporary or permanent.

(g) "Multiunit Residence" means property containing two (2) or more units, including, but not limited to, apartment buildings, common interest developments, senior and assisted living facilities, and long-term health care facilities.

(h) "Outdoor Dining Area" means any publicly or privately owned outdoor area, including streets and sidewalks, that is available to or customarily used by the general public or an employee, and that is designed, established, or regularly used for consuming food or drink.

(i) "Person" means any natural person, business, corporation, partnership, cooperative association, personal representative, receiver, trustee, assignee, or any other legal entity.

(j) "Person in Control" means a person, employer, business, or owner, proprietor, manager, or operator that is legally responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of a unit of real estate or with legal control over a common area.

(k) "Recreational area" means any publicly or privately owned area, including streets and sidewalks located within the area, that is open to the general public for recreational purposes, regardless of any fee or age requirement. The term "Recreational Area" includes, but is not limited to, facilities, parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, restrooms, beaches, picnic areas, spectator and concession areas, golf courses, walking paths, gardens, hiking trails, bike paths, riding trails, roller and ice-skating rinks, skateboard parks, amusement parks, zoos, and aquatic areas.

(l) "Service area" means any publicly or privately owned area, including streets and sidewalks that is designed to be used or is regularly used by one (1) or more persons to receive a service, wait to receive a service, or to make a transaction, whether or not such service or transaction includes the exchange of money. The term "service area" includes, but not limited to, areas including or within thirty (30) feet of information kiosks, automatic teller machines (ATM's), service lines, bus stops or shelters, or cab stands.

(m) "Service lines" means an outdoor line in which one (1) or more persons are waiting for or receiving service of any kind, whether or not the service involves the exchange of money, including but not limited to, ATM lines, concert lines, food vendor lines, mobile vendor lines, movie ticket lines, and sporting event lines.

(n) "Smoke" or "Smoking" means:

(1) Inhaling, exhaling, or burning any tobacco, nicotine, cannabis, or plant product, whether natural or synthetic;

(2) Carrying any lighted, heated, or activated tobacco, nicotine, cannabis, or plant product, whether natural or synthetic, intended for inhalation; or

(3) Using an electronic smoking device or hookah.

(o) "Tobacco product" means:

(1) Any product that is made from or derived from tobacco, or that contains nicotine, that is intended for human consumption or is likely to be consumed, whether inhaled, absorbed, or ingested by any other means, including but not limited to, a cigarette, a cigar, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, or snus;

(2) Any electronic smoking device and any substances that may be aerosolized or vaporized by such device, whether or not the substance contains nicotine;

(3) Any component, part, or accessory of parts (1) or (2), whether or not any of these contains tobacco or nicotine, including but not limited to filters, rolling papers, blunt or hemp wraps, hookahs, mouthpieces, and pipes; or

(4) "Tobacco product" does not include drugs, devices, or combination products authorized for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as those terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

(p) "Tobacco product waste" means any component, part, or remnant of any tobacco product. Tobacco product waste includes any waste that is produced from the use of a tobacco product, including all tobacco product packaging and incidental waste such as lighters or matches, whether or not it contains tobacco or nicotine.

(q) "Tobacco use" means the act of smoking or the consumption of any other tobacco product in any form.

(r) "Unenclosed area" means any area that is not an enclosed area.

(Ord. No. 3142, § I, 9-10-2024)

(a) Effective ninety (90) days upon adoption of this ordinance, smoking and tobacco use is prohibited within thirty (30) feet of the entrances and operable windows of buildings and Unenclosed Areas of the following places, in the unincorporated area of Lake County:

(1) All Unenclosed Areas owned or leased by the County of Lake;

(2) Recreation areas; or

(3) Service areas; or

(4) Outdoor dining areas; or

(5) Notwithstanding parts (1) through (4) above, the prohibitions of this article shall not apply to Unenclosed Areas of private residential properties that are not multiunit residences.

(b) Effective one hundred eighty (180) days after the adoption of this ordinance, Smoking and Tobacco use is prohibited in the Unenclosed Areas of the following places within the unincorporated areas of the County of Lake:

(1) All Unenclosed Areas owned or leased by the County of Lake; or

(2) Recreational areas; or

(3) Service areas; or

(4) Outdoor dining areas; or

(5) Notwithstanding parts (1) through (4) above, the prohibitions of this article shall not apply to Unenclosed Areas of private residential properties that are not multiunit residences.

(C) Nothing in this article prohibits any Person in Control of any property from prohibiting smoking and tobacco use on any part of such property, even if smoking or tobacco use is not otherwise prohibited in that area.

(D) It is not a violation of this article to use tobacco as part of a Native American spiritual or cultural ceremony.

(Ord. No. 3142, § I, 9-10-2024)

(a) No Person in Control shall permit smoking ash receptacles within an area which smoking, or tobacco use is prohibited by law, including within thirty (30) feet from any area in which smoking, or tobacco use is prohibited under this article.

(b) The presence of smoking ash receptacles in violation of this article shall not be a defense to a charge of smoking or tobacco use in violation of any provision of this article.

(c) No person shall dispose of tobacco product waste within the boundaries of an area in which smoking, or tobacco use is prohibited.

(Ord. No. 3142, § I, 9-10-2024)

(a) A Person in Control of an area in which smoking, and tobacco use is prohibited by this article shall post a clear, conspicuous, and unambiguous "No Smoking" and "No Tobacco Use" or "Smoke-Free" and "Tobacco-Free" sign at each entrance to the Unenclosed Area, and in at least one other conspicuous point within the Unenclosed Area.

(b) Each sign shall have letters of no less than one (1) inch in height and shall include the international "No Smoking" symbol.

(c) Signs posted on the exterior of buildings to comply with this section shall include the thirty-foot distance requirement set forth in Section 9-135, Part (a) above.

(d) The presence or absence of signs shall not be a defense to a charge of smoking or tobacco use in violation of any other provision of this article.

(Ord. No. 3142, § I, 9-10-2024)

(a) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article may be subject to any State or County enforcement remedies, as well as any applicable legal or equitable remedies available under law.

(b) No person shall intimidate, threaten any reprisal, or effect any reprisal, for the purpose of retaliating against another person who seeks to attain compliance with this article.

(Ord. No. 3142, § I, 9-10-2024)

(a) County Staff will be notified about the requirements of this article in County policies and procedure.

(b) County Staff will communicate to all applicants seeking use or access to county property the requirements of this article. This may include but is not limited to: adopting language in permitting process paperwork and applications for the use of county property no matter the duration of the use.

(c) County Staff will make observations of county property covered by this article to monitor for compliance.

(d) County Staff will remind anyone found to be violating the Smoking and tobacco use requirements contained herein, and asked to comply before being subject to ejection from the property. Violators will be reminded of these requirements and asked to comply before being subject to ejection from the property.

(Ord. No. 3142, § I, 9-10-2024)