There just may be some room in Peachtree City's proposed indoor smoking
ban for bars to be exempted.
And that's only one of several changes the city will be looking into
after getting two hours of input, both pro and con, during a public meeting
Wednesday.
Mayor Steve Brown, who moderated the meeting, and councilwoman Judi-ann
Rutherford both dismissed the notion that the city council has already
decided to enact some form of smoking ban.
Rutherford said she would only decide on the issue after the ordinance
is finalized and up for a council vote.
"People seem to think it’s a done deal. It’s not a done
deal at all,” Rutherford said.
Brown said the proposed ordinance reviewed at the meeting was just a
starting point and as changes are made the proposed ordinance on the
city's web site would also be updated.
The basic goal of the meeting was to judge the public's position on
such an ordinance, Brown said.
"This is one issue where we have had no barometer," Brown
said. "This one is really hard to judge. That's why we want to
have a good discussion on this."
Rutherford and Brown seemed to lean toward the idea of creating a form
of exemption from the ordinance for bars and other establishments where
it has become custom for patrons to smoke.
"Part of it is, they (smokers) need a place to go," Rutherford
said.
Brown indicated, however, that the city is not totally out of bounds
in considering such an ordinance.
"The fundamental premise government works on is health, safety
and welfare," Brown said.
The ordinance does not call for businesses to be inspected for compliance
unless complaints are filed, Brown noted. Compliance issues will likely
be left up to the city’s code enforcement officers and perhaps the
city’s fire marshal, Brown added.
There also will be some tweaking to the proposed ban on smoking outdoors
within 25 feet of enclosed buildings, which some business owners said
would force their employees to take their smoke breaks in the parking
lot, perhaps putting them in danger of being struck by automobiles.
Rutherford and Brown also agreed they didn't think it would be a good
idea to extend any smoking ban to cover the city's cart path system.
But the council members got plenty of input during the meeting - two
hours' worth. There were impassioned pleas from a variety of viewpoints
on the issue.
Bar owners in particular don't want an indoor smoking ban to force their
smoking patrons elsewhere. Several bar owners argued such a ban would
hurt small business owners much more than it would chain-owned establishments.
Peachtree City resident Jessie Horejs, who smoked for 50 years and later
quit, said she felt smoking should be a personal choice and no one is
forced to enter businesses where smoking is allowed.
"I don't have to go ... nobody's holding a gun to my back," she
said.
James Adduci, who owns Martini's at Westpark Walk, said the city has
a nice safety feature with local cabs to take home patrons too intoxicated
to drive, but he worried that patrons going out of the city because of
the smoking ban would create an additional hazard on the road: more drunk
drivers.
"What about establishments where children are not permitted?” Aducci
asked.
Rick Parham, owner of the Y-Knot sports bar, said he allows smoking
in his establishment in a way of catering to that demographic. He also
said the bar has some nonsmoking patrons who prefer to enjoy the restaurant's
patio instead.
Parham also noted that tying enforcement of the ordinance would hurt
his business on Sundays when alcohol can’t be served but patrons
want to watch football games.
Others in favor of the indoor smoking ban were also passionate about
their viewpoint.
"Smoking is optional; breathing is not," said Peachtree City
resident Paul Andre Chaisson, who is also founder of People Against
Cigarette Smoke.
Peachtree City resident Kathie Cheney, who has been a vocal supporter
of antismoking legislation, noted that the expensive machines used by
some restaurants to rid the smoke odor do not remove the cancer-causing
elements from tobacco smoke.
"When you add smoke to trapped air, everyone shares in the damage,” Cheney
said.
Debby Kelley, who works for the American Cancer Society and works in
Fayetteville, noted that the Georgia legislature would have voted on
a statewide smoking ban had it not been stalled on the last day of the
legislature by the House speaker Terry Coleman. Kelley, a Griffin resident,
said the issue would come before the legislature next year also.
"Peachtree City is a very charming community," Kelley said. "You
guys can make an example."
Michael Waters, a Peachtree City resident who volunteers with the American
Lung Association, noted that after an indoor smoking ban was enacted
in New York City, bars and restaurants experienced a 9 percent increase
in revenue over a 10-year period, according to a study conducted by the
city's health department. He also noted that 22 other jurisdictions in
Georgia have enacted smoking bans.
"What's the holdup?" he asked. "This is a family oriented-community."
Brown said he would like for local bar owners to get together and develop
more recommendations for the proposed ordinance.
There just may be some room in Peachtree City's proposed indoor smoking
ban for bars to be exempted.
