HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 2042 (Smoking Ordinance Amendment)CLERK’S CERTIFICATE
I, LINDSAY LARA, City Clerk of the City of San Rafael, and Ex-Officio Clerk of
the Council of said City, do hereby certify that the foregoing
ORDINANCE NO. 2042
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
AMENDING CHAPTER 9, SECTION 9.04.120 OF THE SAN RAFAEL MUNICIPAL
CODE TO ALLOW FOR A CIVIL RIGHT OF ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE
CITY’S SMOKING ORDINANCE
is a true and correct copy of an Ordinance of said City, and was introduced at a REGULAR
meeting of the City Council of the City of San Rafael, held on the 3rd day of September
2024; a SUMMARY of Ordinance No. 2042 was published as required by City Charter in
the MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL, a newspaper published in the City of San Rafael,
and passed and adopted as an Ordinance of said City at a REGULAR meeting of the City
Council of said City, held on the 16th day of September 2024, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Hill, Kertz, Llorens Gulati & Mayor Kate
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Bushey
WITNESS my hand and the official
Seal of the City of San Rafael this
17th day of September 2024
______________
LINDSAY LARA, City Clerk
1
ORDINANCE NO. 2042
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL AMENDING
CHAPTER 9, SECTION 9.04.120 OF THE SAN RAFAEL MUNICIPAL
CODE TO ALLOW FOR A CIVIL RIGHT OF ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS
OF THE CITY’S SMOKING ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, Section 118910 of the California Health and Safety Code and Section
26200 of the Business and Professions Code expressly authorize local governments to
regulate smoking in any manner not inconsistent with state law; and
WHEREAS, there is no Constitutional right to smoke; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the City’s smoking restrictions is to serve the public
health, safety, and welfare due to the known dangers to health and wildfire risk posed by
smoking and secondhand smoke; and
WHEREAS, In 2012, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1908, which
significantly changed the City’s smoking regulation in San Rafael Municipal Code
(“SRMC”) Chapter 9.04; and
WHEREAS, enforcement challenges of provisions of section 9.04.120 persist, and
community members continue to report violations that negatively impact their health and
quality of life; and
WHEREAS, the amendments to the San Rafael Municipal Code made by adoption
of this Ordinance are necessary to further enforce current smoking laws so as to more
fully protect City residents, businesses and visitors against risk and unwanted secondhand
smoke in public places, parks, and multiunit dwellings.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Division 1. Amendment of Municipal Code.
Sections 9.04.120 of Chapter 9.04 (Clean Indoor And Outdoor Air And Health Protection)
of the San Rafael Municipal Code are hereby amended to read as follows. Additions are
shown in underline, and deletions are shown in strikethrough.
9.04.120 Enforcement and penalties.
A. Any violation of this chapter shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be,
unlawful and a public nuisance, and shall be enforceable pursuant to Chapters 1.40, 1.42,
1.44, or 1.46 of this Code, or by any other judicial and administrative penalties and
remedies available to the city under state law. Each instance of smoking in violation of this
chapter shall constitute a separate violation. For violations other than for smoking, each
day of a continuing violation of this chapter shall constitute a separate violation. The
remedies provided by this chapter are not intended to preclude any other remedy available
at law or in equity.
2
B. Any Person acting for the interests of itself, its members, or the general public
(hereinafter “Private Enforcer”) may bring a private action in any court of competent
jurisdiction, including small claims court, to enforce this section against any Person who
has violated this section. The Private Enforcer must produce documentation substantiating
the violation of the City’s Smoking Ordinance, which could include resident complaints,
inspection reports, and/or enforcement actions by local public health or code enforcement
officers. A court shall grant all appropriate relief, including: (1) awarding damages; and (2)
issuing an injunction or a conditional judgment. Except as otherwise provided,
enforcement of this section is at the sole discretion of the City. Nothing in this section shall
create a right of action in any Person against the City or its agents to compel public
enforcement of this section against private parties.
Division 2. Severability.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance is for any
reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect
the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares
it would have passed and adopted this Ordinance and each and all provisions hereof
irrespective of the fact that any one or more of said provisions be declared invalid.
Division 3. CEQA Determination.
This Ordinance makes only administrative changes to the operations of a City commission
and is therefore exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) under 14 Cal. Code Regs. §15061(b)(3), the common sense exemption, because
it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the Ordinance may have a
significant effect on the environment.
Division 4. Publication; Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall be published once, in full or in summary form, before its final
passage, in a newspaper of general circulation, published, and circulated in the City of
San Rafael, and shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after its final passage. If
published in summary form, the summary shall also be published within fifteen (15) days
after the adoption, together with the names of those Councilmembers voting for or against
same, in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City of San
Rafael, County of Marin, State of California.
Within fifteen (15) days after adoption, the City Clerk shall also post in the office of the City
Clerk, a certified copy of the full text of this Ordinance along with the names of those
Councilmembers voting for and against the Ordinance.
THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE was first read and introduced at a regular meeting of the
San Rafael City Council on the 3rd day of September 2024, and was passed and adopted
at a regular meeting of the San Rafael City Council on the 16th of September by the
following vote, to wit:
3
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Hill, Kertz, Llorens Gulati & Mayor Kate
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Bushey
KATE COLIN, Mayor
ATTEST:
LINDSAY LARA, City Clerk