Victorville Municipal Code Ch. 6.14 Smoking

The following words and phrases, whenever used in this chapter, shall be construed as hereafter set out, unless it is apparent from the context that they have a different meaning:

(1) "Bar" means an area which is devoted to the serving of alcoholic beverages and in which the service of food is only incidental to the consumption of such beverages.

(2) "Enclosed" means closed in by roof and four walls with appropriate opening for ingress and egress.

(3) "Smoking" means the carrying or holding of a lighted pipe, cigar, or cigarette of any kind, or any other lighted smoking equipment or the lighting or emitting or exhaling the smoke of a pipe, cigar, or cigarette of any kind.

(Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)

All enclosed facilities owned by the city shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)

Smoking shall be prohibited in the following places within the city:

(1) Retail stores, pharmacies, child care facilities, banks, and related facilities;

(2) Elevators, public restrooms, indoor service lines, buses, taxicabs and other means of public transit under the authority of the city, while within the boundaries of the city, and in ticket, boarding, and waiting areas of public transit depots; provided, however, that this prohibition does not prevent (i) the establishment of separate waiting areas for smokers and nonsmokers; or (ii) the establishment of at least fifty percent of a given waiting area as a nonsmoking area;

(3) Public areas of museums, galleries and libraries;

(4) Enclosed theaters, auditoriums and halls which are used for motion pictures, stage dramas and musical performances, ballet or other exhibitions, except when smoking is part of any such production;

(5) Retail food marketing establishments, including grocery stores and supermarkets, except those areas of such establishments set aside for the purpose of serving of food and drink, restrooms and offices, and areas thereof not open to the public, which may be otherwise regulated by this chapter;

(6) Hearing rooms, conference rooms, chambers and places of public assembly in which public business is conducted, when the public business requires or provides direct participation or observation by the general public;

(7) Polling places;

(8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any owner, operator, manager or other person who controls any establishment described in this section may declare that entire establishment as a nonsmoking establishment.

(Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)

Smoking shall be prohibited in all city parks, on sports fields, in recreational areas, and at all adjacent parking areas.

(Ord. No. 2329, § 2, 2-3-15)

(a) Smoking shall be prohibited in waiting rooms, hallways and other public areas of health facilities, including, but not limited to, hospitals, clinics, physical therapy facilities, doctors' offices and dentists' offices.

(b) In bed space areas of health facilities used for two or more patients, smoking shall be prohibited, except that the facility may, at its option, permit smoking in a room; provided, that all patients within the room have requested in writing upon the health facility's admission form to be placed in a room where smoking is permitted.

(Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)

Smoking is prohibited and is unlawful within all indoor eating establishments serving food whose occupancy capacity is forty or more persons; provided, however, that this prohibition shall not apply to any such establishment maintaining a contiguous no smoking area or separate no smoking rooms containing at least fifty percent of the seating capacity of the establishment. This prohibition shall not apply to any rooms which are being used for eating establishment purposes for private functions. Any portion of an indoor eating establishment used as a bar is excluded from the restrictions of this section.

The restaurant manager may, at his discretion, temporarily expand the size of any designated smoking area in order to accommodate smoking individuals.

(Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, the following areas shall not be subject to the smoking restrictions of this chapter:

(1) Private residences, excepting a private residence when serving as a child care facility;

(2) Bars;

(3) Hotel and motel rooms rented to guests;

(4) Retail stores that deal exclusively in the sale of tobacco and smoking paraphernalia;

(5) Restaurants, hotel and motel conference or meeting rooms, and public and private assembly rooms while these places are being used for private functions;

(6) A private enclosed place occupied exclusively by smokers, even though such a place may be visited by nonsmokers, and a private enclosed office, excepting places in which smoking is prohibited by the fire department or by any other law, ordinance or regulation;

(7) Offices;

(8) Common areas of shopping centers and shopping malls.

(Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)

"Smoking" or "No Smoking" signs, whichever are appropriate, 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), and citing Victorville Municipal Code Section 6.14.070 shall be clearly, sufficiently and conspicuously posted in every building or other place where smoking is controlled by this chapter, by the owner, operator, manager or other person having control of such building or other place.

Every restaurant regulated by this chapter shall have posted at its entrance a sign clearly stating that a nonsmoking section is available and every patron shall be asked as to his or her preference.

(Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)

(a) Administration of this chapter shall be by the city manager or his designees.

(b) Any citizen who desires to register a complaint hereunder may initiate enforcement consideration with the city manager or his designee.

(c) A violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a public nuisance and may be abated by the city or by any affected employee or resident of the city through civil process by means of restraining order, preliminary or permanent injunction or in any other manner provided by law for the abatement of such nuisance.

(d) Any owner, manager or operator of any establishment controlled by this chapter may inform persons violating this chapter of the appropriate provisions thereof.

(Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)

(a) It is unlawful for any person who owns, manages, operates or otherwise controls the use of any premises subject to the restrictions of this chapter to fail to:

(1) Properly post signs required hereunder;

(2) Properly set aside no smoking areas;

(3) Adopt a smoking restriction policy;

(4) Comply with any other requirements of this chapter.

(b) It is unlawful for any person to smoke in any area in which smoking is prohibited by the provisions of this chapter.

(c) Any person or business which violates subsections (a) or (b) of this section, or any other provision of this chapter, shall be guilty of a civil penalty punishable as provided in Chapter 1.05. In addition, in the discretion of the city attorney and based upon the specific facts and circumstances presented to him or her, any such violation may be charged as an infraction subject to the penalties contained in Section 1.04.010.

(Ord. 1908 § B (part), 1999: Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)

This chapter shall not be interpreted or construed to permit smoking where it is otherwise restricted by other applicable law or regulation.

(Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)

If any provision or clause of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held to be unconstitutional or to be otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect other chapter provisions or clauses or applications thereof which can be implemented without the invalid provision or clause or application, and to this end the provisions and clauses of this chapter are declared to be severable.

(Ord. 1183 § 1 (part), 1988)