Efforts to adopt an outdoor no-smoking policy are moving
forward, as the city council accepted a $41,000 grant from Santa
Clara County to draft the law.
Effort to ban outdoor smoking moves forward
Efforts to adopt an outdoor no-smoking policy are moving forward, as the city council accepted a $41,000 grant from Santa Clara County to draft the law.
City staff hope to adopt an ordinance that could prohibit the smoking of tobacco at city parks and trails, outdoor dining areas, construction sites, sidewalks in busy shopping areas, outdoor concerts and other events and perhaps even service areas such as ATM lines by March 2012.
The grant from the county will be used for public outreach on the process, educational efforts and some enforcement costs, city staff said. The purpose of the effort is to curb the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.
The council voted 4-1 to accept the grant and start working on an ordinance, with council member Marilyn Librers against the effort.
Morgan Hill resident Jeff Burrus addressed the council at Wednesday’s public hearing, relaying numerous concerns he has with the proposal. One is the proposal presented to the council indicated that under a new ordinance, smoking could potentially be prohibited even on private property, which Burrus indicated might be a limitation of personal freedoms.
City attorney Danny Wan said during the upcoming study and outreach period the city could determine if a new ordinance could be written to specifically exempt private property from the outdoor smoking ban.
City staff estimate it would cost about $16,500 annually for police to enforce an outdoor smoking prohibition.
City pays annual share of habitat plan study
The city will pay $93,800 to continue the South Valley-wide study of the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan.
The SCVHCP has been in the study phase since 2005. When completed, it will allow builders and developers to acquire a single permit for the disturbance of certain threatened or sensitive species in the South Valley. The plan is intended to hasten the permitting process while protecting animals, allowing builders to go through one single agency to acquire permits faster than they do now by waiting on approval from a list of state and federal agencies, according to planners.
The city council unanimously approved the expenditure of Morgan Hill’s share, for 2011-2012, of the study costs Wednesday.
Morgan Hill pledged to contribute 10 percent of the total funding to develop the SCVHCP in 2005, according to city staff. The city’s total contribution to bring the plan to completion is $410,000.
Also participating in the SCVHCP are the U.S. Fish & Wildlife department, California Fish & Game, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, city of San Jose, Santa Clara County and city of Gilroy.
Funding for the city’s share of comes from a variety of local sources, including the general plan update, community development fees, traffic impact fees and the water, sewer, parks and storm drainage funds, city staff said.
Though the SCVHCP, when completed, will likely speed up the permitting process for construction projects, permits in some cases will cost more than they do now. For example, the city’s Butterfield Boulevard south extension will require costlier permits if the city does not begin construction before 2012, when the plan is expected to be finalized, it will pay $534,020 for wetland impact fees, city staff said.
If construction on the new road begins before the SCVHCP begins before 2012, as the city plans, wetland mitigation fees will cost $250,000, according to city staff.
The total costs of nearly $950 million associated with the plan over the next 50 years include the purchase of about 58,000 acres of undeveloped habitat – about 62 percent of the county’s total acreage – as well as the preservation and maintenance of the land and species. About 45 percent of the revenue for such costs will come from development permit fees, and the total acreage won’t be purchased until the 45th year.
