Joe Camel could become unwelcome at even more places around the county.
San Diego is set to consider banning smoking at its beaches and parks, and La Mesa is considering a similar step.
DAN TREVAN / Union-Tribune
David Martin of Mission Beach smoked near Belmont Park on Sunday. A San Diego council panel has backed a smoking ban for beaches and parks.
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A San Diego City Council committee voted yesterday to forward the proposal to the full council. La Mesa's council discussed the issue Tuesday night and is expected to vote on its own ordinance June 13.
An ad hoc Oceanside committee began hearings this week that could lead to a ban in that city.
The San Diego proposal would cover a variety of public spots, including Balboa Park, Mission Bay Park and all beaches between La Jolla and Point Loma.
Anyone caught smoking there probably would get a warning but could be charged with an infraction or a misdemeanor. Fines would start at $250.
The ban's champions are Council President Scott Peters and Councilman Jim Madaffer, who proposed the idea in February. Peters said that, for him, the issue is curbing the accumulation of cigarette butts flicked onto the grass and sand.
“I don't see any other way that will be more effective,” he said.
More than a dozen health and environmental advocates testified at the committee hearing yesterday to support the no-smoking ordinance.
“We feel people need to be protected from secondhand smoke,” said Molly Bowman-Styles of the American Heart Association's San Diego office.
The Surfrider Foundation's Bill Hickman said his organization is not against smoking per se, “but the litter aspect has become out of hand.”
Only one person spoke against the idea.
Joe Lessor of North Park said he took time off from work to defend his rights as a smoker.
Lessor told the council to enforce existing litter laws to address cigarette butts and suggested that city vehicles patrolling the beaches cough out more air pollution than smokers.
“This is another violation of my personal freedom to use a legal product in public,” he said. “The idea that any person is going to develop cancer from a wisp of smoke at the beach is preposterous.”
The city would have to post signs announcing the new policy, and Madaffer estimated the startup costs would be $30,000 or less. He said private donations would be sought, but some public money might be needed.
He and Peters downplayed the need for lifeguards or city police to make the proposed ordinance stick.
“What we find in other cities is they don't really need to enforce those fines,” Peters said. “It gets enforced because the guy's girlfriend says, 'Hey, you can't smoke here anymore.' ”
Madaffer and Peters said there could be room for exceptions, such as at city golf courses.
If San Diego and La Mesa approve bans they will join more than 30 California cities that have outlawed smoking in one spot or another.
Other cities with smoke-free parks or beaches are Del Mar, Solana Beach, El Cajon, National City, Imperial Beach, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach, San Francisco and Santa Cruz.
The Metropolitan Transit System is thinking about banning smoking at its more than 6,000 bus stops and more than 50 trolley stations.
Chula Vista recently voted to put a stop to smoking at outdoor restaurant patios, and Del Mar could extend its smoking ban to include all public spaces.
In La Mesa, reaction to the proposals is mixed. Roger Woody, who was walking his two dogs at Briercrest Park yesterday afternoon, said the ban would criminalize smoking.
“I don't like the idea of excluding smokers from society,” he said.
Woody, 62, a Lakeside resident, said he hasn't smoked in 36 years and appreciates the ban on smoking in restaurants. But outlawing it outdoors, where the smoke dissipates into the air, seems to be taking things a little too far, he said.
Ana Guerrero, 45, disagrees. Guerrero, a mother of seven, said she doesn't think smokers should be allowed to light up at parks because children are exposed to the secondhand smoke.
“I think it's a very good idea,” Guerrero said. “Some kids have asthma and people who smoke (near them) might not know.”
In Balboa Park, Sara Yucavage said she has mixed feelings about the proposed San Diego ban. The problem, as Yucavage sees it, is sometimes smokers aren't courteous enough to check with nearby people before lighting up outside.
“Maybe they could have designated areas in parks (for smokers). I think that would work out really well,” said Yucavage, who works near Balboa Park and came over to eat her lunch outside.
Harvey Bowser, a smoker, said he'll continue to puff no matter what. Walking his cocker spaniel toward the Nate's Point dog park, Bowser said a smoker's plight has become tiresome.
“You can't live your life,” Bowser said. “You have to hide. You've got people yelling at you all the time.”
Staff writer Liz Neely contributed to this report.
Jeanette Steele: (619) 293-1030;
jen.steele@uniontrib.com
