Back in August the City of Manhattan Beach passed a law that prohibited smoking in all public places. The law carried fines up to $1,000.00. Yesterday, the City Council directed the city staff to draft a new ordinance extending the ban.
The new ban will extend to multi-unit residences and require all tobacco retailers to have a license to operate within the city.
According to published reports, 15% of the housing in Manhattan Beach is two or more units. Originally Councilmember Amy Howorth was against such a ban, but she has heard from community members they are all of this new proposal.
Currently there are 16 cities in the state of California that has banned smoking in 100% of their housing, with the most recent being Culver City.
According to Sona Coffee who heads up the city’s environmental programs the federal and state courts have ruled that there is no legal right to smoke and that smoking is labeled as a nuisance within the state.
Since passing the initial ban in October the city has posted 50 signs and no citations have been issued.
Manhattan Beach, CA is home to 35,000 residents over 3.941 square miles and was founded in 1912.
