Tighter smoking ban fails Tighter smoking ban fails (January 28, 2005)

Lighting up on Castro Street still okay

By Jon Wiener

Already shut out of bars, restaurants and public buildings and forced onto the sidewalk, smokers were in danger Tuesday of losing that privilege, too.

But despite testimony from student activists, health advocates and one former smoker, the Mountain View City Council narrowly struck down a proposal that would have made smoking illegal on most of Castro Street.

"You're asking the government to legislate against stupidity," said Council member Matt Pear, expressing a level of contempt for smoking that appeared common among council members. "There are other ways we can go about this."

The proposal would have extended a prohibition on smoking within 20 feet of entrances from public buildings to private businesses. The distance is large enough that it would have only allowed smoking downtown in parking lots or in front of closed storefronts.

The ban would likely have passed had it come to a vote last year. Recently retired Council members Mary Lou Zoglin and Rosemary Stasek both had voiced support for the measure, with Stasek referring to Castro Street as a "gauntlet" of cigarette smoke.

Their replacements, Tom Means and Laura Macias, joined Pear and Greg Perry in voting down the proposal. Means called it a "feel-good law" that the city did not have the resources to enforce. Macias cited the burden it might cause local businesses.

Mayor Matt Neely, Vice Mayor Nick Galiotto and Mike Kasperzak all cast straw votes for the ban, part of a larger ordinance they had worked on as members of the council's youth services committee.

Kasperzak tried to frame the issue as one of public safety versus personal freedom. "You can choose to smoke," he said. "I can't choose not to breathe."

However, the council passed other parts of the ordinance it discussed, enacting stricter penalties for retailers who sell tobacco and alcohol products to minors. Recent police sting operations have nabbed dozens of Mountain View stores for selling to teens who volunteered to go undercover.

Under the new law, owners will have to pay penalties when their clerks are caught selling tobacco to minors. Repeat offenses within three years will require retailers to apply to the city for a conditional use permit. If they are cited again, their permit could be further restricted or even revoked.

"Employers are responsible for the behavior of their employees," Kasperzak said. "Selling alcohol to minors is really serious stuff."

The discussion, which lasted close to an hour, had some light-hearted moments. City Attorney Michael Martello, who introduced the proposed ordinance, recalled authoring his first smoking law 20 years ago in another city, and said three out of the five council members smoked on the dais.

Perry, cautioning against overreacting to underage drinking, asked his fellow council members, "How many of us were 21 when we had our first beer?" Only Kasperzak raised his hand, but explained the drinking limit was 18 at the time.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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