Buying and selling tobacco in South County is on pace to get
more difficult
– if not impossible – after the Santa Clara County Board of
Supervisors passed three new ordinances for tobacco control
Tuesday.
Buying and selling tobacco in South County is on pace to get more difficult – if not impossible – after the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors passed three new ordinances for tobacco control Tuesday.
The board voted to move ahead with a second reading of the three ordinances that will make unincorporated Santa Clara County instantly known for having the most stringent anti-tobacco laws in the Bay Area. The comprehensive measures make Santa Clara County one of the most aggressive jurisdictions in the nation in preventing youth tobacco use and protecting residents from secondhand smoke, according to a news release issued Tuesday evening.
The first ordinance would outlaw tobacco use in county parks, fairgrounds, rooms rented to guests at hotels and outdoor areas of hotels, outdoor shopping malls and retail stores that exclusively sell tobacco and paraphernalia.
The second ordinance would ban smoking inside duplexes, townhouse and apartment complexes as well as its common areas. Smoking will be allowed in designated smoking areas. The third ordinance would tack on a required annual $425 permit in order for retailers in unincorporated areas to sell tobacco.
The county would govern and oversee the enforcement of these ordinances. The board directed its staff to look at waiving the additional $340 fee in the proposal for existing tobacco retailers and find out if it can be covered by the $7 million grant the Public Health Department received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Businesses in San Martin and Morgan Hill account for 11 of the 33 retailers that would be subject to obeying the new ordinances. In Morgan Hill the following businesses sell tobacco and may have to make changes to comply with the new ordinances: Coyote Valley Sporting Clays, Gugleilmo Winery, Parkway Lakes RV and Thousand Trails RV Park; in San Martin: Avila’s Market, CordeValle Golf Club, Mama’s Market, Marathon Trading Company, Rocca’s Market, San Martin Drive-In Market, San Martin Gas & Mart. A single Gilroy retailer, Old Gilroy Service Station on Pacheco Pass Highway, is also on the county’s list.
The first violation of ordinances one and two is a $100 fine and violation of a smoking ban in apartments would be liable to lose their county permit.
Retailers that also operate a pharmacy or are located within 1,000 feet of a school or within 500 feet of another tobacco retailer would no longer be allowed to sell tobacco.
Smoking would be prohibited in and within 30 feet of any outdoor service area, such as a ticket line or outdoor seating of a restaurant, though only in unincorporated areas of the county.
The ordinances will come back to the board for a second reading and final approval Nov. 9.
District 4’s Supervisor Ken Yeager brought the ordinances to the board to work harder to prevent tobacco sales to minors, which prevents a threat to the health and safety of the county. According to the California Department of Public Health, 17 percent of tobacco retailers in Santa Clara County illegally sell to minors and each year in the U.S. more than 70 percent of minors are not asked to provide proof of age when buying cigarettes or other tobacco products.
Funding for public education about the new ordinances will come out of a $7 million grant the county Public Health Department received from a Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant through ARRA. Funding will also be used to advocate similar, comprehensive tobacco control policies.
Read more about the proposed tobacco ban in the Morgan Hill Times’ Oct. 22 edition.
Businesses that would be affected by the smoking ban:
Coyote Valley Sporting Clays, 1000 San Bruno Ave., Morgan Hill
Emilo Guglielmo Winery Inc., 1470 East Main Ave., Morgan Hill
Parkway Lakes RV Investments, 100 Ogier Ave., Morgan Hill
Old Gilroy Service Station, 2035 Pacheco Pass, Gilroy
Avila’s Market, 14440 Monterey Highway, San Martin
CordeValle Golf Club, 1 CordeValle Club Dr., San Martin
Mama’s Market, 13305 Sycamore Avenue, San Martin
Rocca’s Market Inc., 13335 Monterey Highway, San Martin
San Martin Drive-In Market, 13320 Depot Street, San Martin
San Martin Gas and Mart, 13235 Monterey Highway, San Martin
