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Home My WebLink About1986-069FILE REFERENCE FORM 1 86-69 X Additional File Exists Additional File Contains Records Not Public, According to the Public Records Act Other FILE(S) Date Initials Amended by Ordinance No. 93-193 10/19/93 JR Repealed by Ordinance No. 2012-367 12/18/12 JR 1339L NOTE: AMENDED BY ORDINANCE 93-193 NO.4Z —1�o' 9' AN ORDINANCE ADDING ARTICLE IV, "SMOKING," TO CHAPTER 13 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, TO BE COMPRISED OF SECTIONS 13-40 THROUGH 13-45; DESIGNATING PORTIONS OF CERTAIN RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AND FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS AS NONSMOKING AREAS; PROVIDING SIGN REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR NONSMOKING AREAS; REQUIRING WRITTEN POLICIES IMPLEMENTING THIS ARTICLE; PROHIBITING SMOKING IN DESIGNATED NONSMOKING AREAS; PROVIDING EXEMPTIONS; PROVIDING PENALTIES; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the smoking of tobacco or weeds or other plant products has been demonstrated to have a detrimental effect on not only the smoker but others in close proximity to the smoker; and WHEREAS, it is the right of citizens to be able to choose for themselves whether to smoke either actively or passively; and WHEREAS, it is the policy of the City to encourage food establishments which have enclosed dining areas to provide adequate seating for those patrons who prefer a smoke -free environment; and WHEREAS, the citizens of Denton have demonstrated a desire to voluntarily comply with City ordinances which protect public health and welfare; and WHEREAS, regulations regarding smoking can and should be enforced only on a complaint basis; and WHEREAS, such enforcement would be effective without substantial additional cost to the City; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON: SECTION I. That Chapter 13 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas, is hereby amended by adding a new Article IV, Sections 13-40 through 13-45, to read as follows: ARTICLE IV. SMOKING Sec. 13-40. Definitions (1) "Administrative Area" means the area of an establishment not generally accessible to the public, including but not limited to individual offices, stockrooms, employee lounges, or meeting rooms. (2) "Director" means the Director of the City/County Health Department designated to enforce and administer this Article or the Director's designated representative. (3) "Food Establishment" means any operation defined as such in Section 11-20 of the Denton City Code. (4) "Hospital" means any institution that provides medical, surgical, and overnight facilities for patients (5) "Retail Establishment" means any establishment which primarily sells goods to the general public (6) "Public Service Area" means any area, other than an administrative area, to which the general public routinely has access for municipal services and which is designated a public service area in a written policy prepared in compliance with this Article Sec 13-41 Smoking Prohibited in Certain Public Areas (a) A person commits an offense if he smokes or possesses a burning tobacco, weed or other plant product in any of the following indoor or enclosed areas (1) an elevator used by the public, (2) a hospital or nursing home corridor providing direct access to patients' rooms, (3) any conference room, meeting room, or public service area of any facility owned, operated, or managed by the city, but does not include the Civic Center, the Visual Arts Center nor the Center for Performing Arts, (4) any retail establishment serving the general public, including, but not limited to, any department store, grocery store, or drug store, (5) An area marked with a no smoking sign in accordance with subsection (b) of this section by the owner or person in control of a hospital, nursing home, or retail establishment serving the general public, or (6) any facility of a public primary or secondary school, or an enclosed theater, movie house, library, or museum (b) The owner or person in control of an establishment in which smoking is prohibited by subsection (a) of this section shall post a conspicuous sign at the main entrance to the establishment The owner or person in control of an establishment in which smoking is prohibited in a specified area shall post a conspicuous sign at the entrance to the area The sign shall contain the words "No Smoking, City of Denton Ordinance," the universal symbol for no smoking, or other language that clearly prohibits smoking (c) Every hospital shall (1) allow all patients, prior to elective admission, to choose to be in a no smoking patient room, and (2) require that employees or visitors obtain express approval from all patients in a patient room prior to smoking (d) the owner or person in control of an establishment or area described in subsection (a)(4) or (a)(6) of this Section PAGE 2 may designate an area, including but not limited to lobbies, meeting rooms, or waiting rooms, as a smoking area, provided that the designated smoking area may not include (1) the entire establishment, (2) cashier areas or over the counter sales areas, or (3) the viewing area of any theater or movie house (e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section if the person was smoking in a location that was (1) a designated smoking area of a facility or establishment described in subsection (a)(4) or (a) (6) of this section which is posted as a smoking area with appropriate signs, (2) an administrative area or office of an establishment described in subsection (a)(4) or (a)(6) of this section, (3) a retail establishment serving the general public with less than 500 square feet of a public showroom or service space or having only one employee on duty, unless posted as a designated nonsmoking area in accordance with subsection (a)(5) of this section, or (4) a retail establishment which is primarily engaged in the sale of tobacco, tobacco products or smoking implements (f) The owner or person in control of an establishment exempted from designating nonsmoking areas by paragraph (e) of this section who chooses not to designate any such areas shall post a conspicuous sign near the main entrance to the establish- ment with the words "Smoking Permitted Throughout" or "Nonsmoking Areas Not Available" or similar language to indicate that no nonsmoking areas are provided Sec 13-42 Written Policy Required The owner or person in control of any facility or area designated as a no smoking area in section 13-41 (a)(3) or (4) of this Article shall (a) have and implement a written policy on smoking which conforms to this Article, and (b) make the policy available for inspection by the Director Sec 13-43 Food Establishments (a) A food establishment which has indoor or enclosed dining areas shall provide separate indoor or enclosed dining areas for smoking and nonsmoking patrons (b) A nonsmoking area must (1) be separated, where feasible, from smoking areas by a minimum of four feet of contiguous floor space, PAGE 3 (2) be ventilated, where feasible, and situated so that air from the smoking area is not drawn into or across the nonsmoking area, (3) be clearly designated by appropriate signs visible to patrons within the dining area indicating that the area is designated nonsmoking, and (4) have ash trays or other suitable containers for extinguishing smoking materials at the perimeter of the nonsmoking area (c) Each food establishment which has a dining area shall (1) have and implement a written policy on smoking which conforms to this Article, (2) make the policy available for inspection by the Director, and (3) have signs at the establishment's entrance indicating that nonsmoking seating is available (d) Nondining areas of any food establishment affected by this section to which patrons have general access, including, but not limited to, food order areas, food service areas, restrooms, and cashier areas, shall be designated as nonsmoking areas (e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the food establishment is (1) an establishment which has indoor seating arrangements for less than 50 patrons, or (2) an establishment in which more than 70 percent of its annual gross sales is from the sale of alcoholic beverages, or (3) a physically separated bar area of a food establish- ment otherwise regulated (f) The owner or person in control of an establishment exempted from designating nonsmoking areas by paragraph (e) of this section who chooses not to designate any such areas shall post a conspicuous sign near the main entrance to the establish- ment with the words "Smoking Permitted Throughout" or "Nonsmoking Areas Not Available" or similar language to indicate that no nonsmoking areas are provided Sec 13-44 Smoking in Food Establishments A person commits an offense if he smokes or possesses a burn- ing tobacco, weed, or other plant product in an area of a food establishment designated as nonsmoking Sec 13-45 Penalties (a) Any person violating section 13-41(b), 13-41(c), 13-41(f), 13-42, or 13-43 of this Article, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine of not less than Fifty Dollars ($50 00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500 00) PAGE 4 (b) Any person violating section 13-41(a) or 13-44 of this Article, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine of not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25 00) nor more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200 00) SECTION II That this ordinance does Y manager or any employee of violation or to take any action section 13-41(a) or 13-44 of Denton City Code as amended violating the aforementioned tot require the owner, operator, an establishment to report a against any individual violating Article IV, Chapter 13 of the Complaints against individuals sections shall be made to the City/County Health Department for investigation and referral, if warranted, to the Office of the City Attorney for prosecution SECTION III That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word in this ordinance, or application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance, and the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas, hereby declares it would have enacted such remaining portions despite any such invalidity SECTION IV That this ordinance shall become effective June 1, 1986, and the City Secretary is hereby directed to cause the caption of this ordinance to be published twice in the Denton Record - Chronicle, the official newspaper of the City of Denton, Texas, within ten (10) days of the date of its passage PASSED AND APPROVED this the P, day of aa�, 1986 ATTEST FWNFm cmm. *-W mqm Mail%TON, TEXAS APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM DEBRA ADAMI DRAYOVITCH, CITY ATTORNEY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS BY "1 a 0.s. TON, TEXAS PAGE 5