New smoking ban not as strict as first planned

There were no real winners today.  Even though the City Council agreed to strengthen San Antonio’s smoking ban to the dismay of small business owners, the approved ordinance wound up giving more exceptions than health advocates and some council members probably wanted.  While smoking will now be banned inside all restaurants, bars, pool halls, bingo facilities and the zoo, people can still light up along the RiverWalk, within the Main and Alamo plazas, at private clubs, the Botanical Gardens, in service lines, VFWs, tobacco retail shops and on outdoor patios connected to a restaurant or bar.  Smoking will continue to be tolerated within city parks as well, but will now be banned near playgrounds and pavilions.

Even with the exceptions, the new restrictions will still allow San Antonio to qualify as a smoke-free city, which will in turn make us more desirable to large corporations who have refused to hold their economically stimulating conventions here because of our relaxed smoking ordinance to date.  In order to be considered a smoke-free city, smoking must be banned within municipal worksites, private worksites, restaurants, bars within restaurants and all other bars.  Prior to the passage of this new ordinance, San Antonio met two of the five requirements.

“This is not totally a consistent ordinance…but we never get 100 percent,” said District 8 Councilman Reed Williams.  “Right now this is what we got and I will not fail to take a step forward.” 

Yet, District 10 Councilman John Clamp argued the idea of declaring San Antonio smoke-free while still allowing people to light up along the RiverWalk and near the Alamo -- San Antonio's top two attractions -- is “an interesting but silly way to do this. 

“I think [the ordinance] started out well-meaning, but ended up with too many holes,” he added. 

Although clearly frustrated with the newly amended resolution, Clamp, Elisa Chan of District 9, Jennifer Ramos of District 3 and Ray Lopez of District 6 did initially approve the new smoking ban if the changes were phased in over at least a two-year period.   But, the remaining council members and Mayor Julian Castro shot down this Chan-led motion.  Instead the council approved the same smoking ordinance but with a 12-month implementation period in a 7-4 vote.  Clamp, Chan, Ramos and Lopez were in opposition of the second motion. 

“I am concerned the new ordinance will impact small businesses and I am in business and I know the economy out there and we are in a downed economy,” said Chan who hoped a longer implementation period would offer enough time for small business owners to crawl out of this recession and prepare for any loss of income the new smoking ban may cause. 

Chan also questioned how this new ordinance would be enforced, called the exceptions an unlevel playing field for small business owners and pondered whether smoking establishments were really a major concern among city residents.  Since 2003, approximately 230 complaints have been made against the 853 establishments that still allow smoking.  According to Ramos, this averages to about 11 complaints a year. 

“I hear a complaint about a drainage problem 11 times a day,” she said, adding that San Antonio has bigger problems to deal with. 

In order to help accommodate small business owners, the new ordinance will relax existing smoking restrictions placed on restaurants and bars in regards to outdoor patio areas and will waive inspection and permit fees for those establishments interested in adding an outdoor seating area in response to the new ban.  The city estimates the amount of fees waived could be as much as $112,000.