Oxnard OKs curbs on smoking, vaping in outdoor areas - Ventura County Star

Wendy Leung, [email protected], 805-437-0339 5:23 p.m. PDT September 7, 2016




The Oxnard City Council opted to ban smoking and e-cigarettes in parks and other public recreational areas on Tuesday night.(Photo: STOCK PHOTO)

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Smoking and vaping will be banned at parks, beaches, bus stops, farmers markets and many other outdoor areas of Oxnard after the City Council approved such an ordinance.

The new regulations will take effect mid-December.

“People should not have their health impacted because of other people’s habits,” Councilwoman Carmen Ramirez said.

The ban received full support from the council at its meeting Tuesday.

Areas where smoking and vaping will be prohibited include al fresco dining areas, festivals, trails, parks, beaches, farmers markets, ATM lines, bus stops, all city facilities and other areas. Under the new ordinance, smoking will not be allowed within 25 feet of areas where smoking is prohibited.

The city has been mulling a smoking ban for the past year and held study sessions on the issue in October and May.

Five people spoke in favor of the ban during the public-comment portion of Tuesday's meeting.

Kaz Iwamoto, of Oxnard, said similar bans exist in Ventura and Camarillo.

“Shouldn’t we have our citizens protected, as well?” he said.

Iwamoto said he understood the ban would inconvenience some businesses. It will apply to all restaurant patios.

“Think of the thousands of residents who will have the basics — clean air to breathe,” Iwamoto said.

Nancy Lindholm, president of the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce, said the ban does not appear to be a big issue among chamber members. She said many people are now accustomed to not smoking in outdoor dining areas.

Although officials could write a citation to violators of the ban, the city does not plan to spend additional resources to enforce it. The city may spend up to $9,000 on new signs at city parks and rely on voluntary compliance.

“Public education and peer pressure, it works,” Ramirez said. “If you light up at the beach, people will look at you. There’s no need to call the police.”

In other business at Tuesday's meeting, a subdivision permit was approved for the former Kmart site at South Ventura Road and West Channel Islands Boulevard. The approval allows the developer to divide the 13-acre vacant site into eight parcels.

It will pave the way for Smart & Final, L.A. Fitness, Star World and other tenants. The first to arrive will be Smart & Final, with the aim of opening in time for Thanksgiving.

“This area has been blighted far too long,” Councilman Bryan MacDonald said. “It’s about time we see something good go in there.”

The council also approved an agreement to consolidate Oxnard Fire Department dispatching operations with the Ventura County Fire Communications Center. The agreement was approved by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors last month and the consolidation is expected to take place Sept. 20.

With separate dispatching systems, there were incidents when the city and county fire departments would respond with multiple units on the same call. Interim Oxnard Fire Chief Darwin Base said consolidation would eliminate the duplication of calls.

Under the agreement, Oxnard’s Engine 51 would be responsible for a greater coverage area in the north end of the city while the county’s Engine 67 would move elsewhere. The two engines are stationed side by side.

Finally, the council agreed to pay up to $1 million to outside counsel Hunt Ortmann Palffy Nieves Darling & Mah Inc. for the next phase of a lawsuit over construction of the Hueneme Road recycled-water pipeline project. The city is in a legal dispute with the contractor over the costs of the project.

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