The city of Sunnyvale has received a grant of $95,000 that will go toward studying the effects of secondhand smoke in public places with the possibility of recommending future bans on smoking in such places.
The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety applied for the funding in mid-March, and the grant was provided by the Santa Clara County United for Health–Partnership to Improve Community Health project.
The study will focus on smoking inside all units and in common areas of multi-family residences, in all outdoor dining areas and within a specified distance of entrances, exits and windows of all businesses. The distance could be 20 feet, according to the city website.
The study could wrap up by December and will include community meetings, research, surveys and input from the public.
In 2012, the Sunnyvale City Council approved bans that prohibit smoking on all city property and public parks, excluding golf courses. The Santa Clara County Public Health Department funded the study for those issues related to secondhand smoke in 2011.
The city also opted to add electronic cigarettes to the ban last year.
The study has come to light after residents expressed concern over the level of secondhand smoke in certain areas of the city.
“Sunnyvale is responding to increasing concerns from the community about the harmful effects of secondhand smoke and the desire for greater access to tobacco-free environments for its residents, business owners and operators, and visitors,” said Jennifer Garnett, communications officer for the city.
According to the agenda item detailing the study issue, in the last five years, the city has received numerous complaints, especially related to unwanted smoke wafting into multi-family housing units.
“A resident living in a multi-family housing unit … stated that he is negatively impacted by neighbors who are smoking in close proximity to his unit,” the agenda item states. “He suggested the study issue because he believes that the issue is prevalent in multi-family housing units city-wide.”
It is likely that the study will look at common smoking areas, patio smoking and indoor smoking in multi-family units. The goal is to study where people smoke and how it may affect nonsmoking residents.
The agenda item states, “This study would consider prohibiting smoking inside all units and in common areas of multi-family housing developments including, but not limited to, duplexes, apartments, condominiums and townhouses.”
After the study is completed and the results are presented to city council, council members will decide whether to amend existing smoking restrictions to add the ban.
Sunnyvale would be the first city in Santa Clara County to adopt a ban on smoking in and around multi-family unit housing, according to the study issue document.
San Rafael adopted a similar ban in 2012 and recently, and several neighboring towns followed suit. Mill Valley is the most recent city to discuss adopting the ban. Berkeley adopted a multi-family unit housing smoking ban in May 2014.
In unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County, smoking is prohibited for multi-unit residences and within 30 feet of outdoor service areas. But it is up to individual cities to craft their own anti-smoking ordinances.
If the study concludes that action should be taken and the council decides on a ban, it would likely be implemented early next year.
For more information on secondhand smoke and the study issue visit sunnyvale.ca.gov.
