Public Hearing for Smoking Ban on Tuesday
The public will have one last chance to speak for or against Parkville’s proposed public smoking ban at Parkville City Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m.
“It’s time,” Ward 2 Alderman and chair of the city’s Clean Indoor Air Initiative sub-committee. “If you are a resident of Parkville and you have an opinion on the proposed smoking ban you’d like to share please attend the hearing.”
A smoking ban in Parkville has been a topic of on-again-off-again debate ever since former Ward 1 Alderman J.C. “Charlie” Poole asked the board to consider a ban in August 2004. Aldermen at the time were not initially receptive to the idea, saying in public session that they favored a statewide or federal ban amid fears a local ban would hurt business in Parkville. While several aldermen indicated support for a “trigger” law that would go into effect after a certain percentage of surrounding municipalities adopted similar non-smoking bans, Poole was unable to craft language for an ordinance and the issue was dropped.
After Gerry Richardson was sworn in as Parkville mayor last April, the matter was reignited and McFarlane was asked to head the committee. After a public hearing this past June, the committee worked to craft language for an ordinance. At a work session of the board in October, the ordinance language was generally considered to be something the board could bring to a vote. Plans are to vote on the ordinance at the Dec. 2 meeting of the Board of Aldermen.
Anecdotally, most Aldermen have told the Luminary that residents have been overwhelmingly in support of a ban. Notable exceptions include members of the American Legion and restaurants like Rancho Grande and Café Cedar. All three have said such a ban could force them to close their doors or lose an unacceptable amount of profit during these rough economic times.
Ward 1 Alderman Deborah Butcher told the Luminary she has received vociferous support for a smoking ban from a contingent related to the initial effort to ban smoking in 2004, but said she wanted to consider all of the options – particularly in the case of the American Legion.
“I believe there is support to permanently exempt the Legion, and would like to put together a reasonable exemption that would hold up legally for that establishment,” Butcher said.
Under the proposed ordinance – which can be viewed at City Hall or at the city’s website of parkvillemo.com – private clubs such as The National and Legion (the VFW Hall is not in the city limits of Parkville) are not exempt from the ban. The city has been advised by their legal counsel that “grandfathering” existing restaurants or private clubs may turn into a legal mess. Aldermen are studying a similar ordinance passed in Ballwin, Mo, a city near St. Louis, that does exempt private clubs. Perhaps in a nod to restaurants and bars in Ballwin – one who claimed a 35 percent drop in business after the ban – Butcher said she supports a temporary exemption for existing restaurants and bars in Parkville, calling it a “reasonable compromise.”
Under the proposed ordinance – which can be viewed at City Hall or at the city’s website of parkvillemo.com – private clubs such as The National and Legion (the VFW Hall is not in the city limits of Parkville) are not exempt from the ban. The city has been advised by their legal counsel that “grandfathering” existing restaurants or private clubs may turn into a legal mess. Aldermen are studying a similar ordinance passed in Ballwin, Mo, a city near St. Louis, that does exempt private clubs. Perhaps in a nod to restaurants and bars in Ballwin – one who claimed a 35 percent drop in business after the ban – Butcher said she supports a temporary exemption for existing restaurants and bars in Parkville, calling it a “reasonable compromise.”
If the ban was passed in Parkville, it would go into effect 120 days later. Butcher said she would be open to exempting existing restaurants (of which there are four in operation in Parkville) until Dec. 2010 or another agreed upon date. Butcher said a temporary exemption would allow business owners time to add exterior smoking areas or even move to another location outside the city limits.
“It might also address those who believe the current downturn in economic conditions combined with a smoking ban would close them down. I have found a number of municipalities that have passed temporary exemptions.”
One notable exemption in the recently passed Kansas City smoking ban is one for casinos.
Under proposed terms of the ban, smokers in violation would be charged $50 for each offense and restaurant owners would be charged $100 for the first offense, $300 for the second offense and $500 in fines for each calendar year.
Those that served on the ad- hoc committee were Tracy Stevens, Kevin Heaton, Bruce Edwards, Janet Hessell, Denver Harris, Gia McFarlane, Susan Parsons, Karen Russ, Roger Hershey, Scott McRuer, Judy McRuer, Charlie Poole, and Larry Doughty.