SANTA MONICA—The Santa Monicans for Non-Smoking Renters Rights wants the city to expand non-smoking laws by creating non-smoking sections in multifamily residential buildings, including individual units.

The group is asking that the City Council review its current non-smoking laws, and look into expanding those laws to require that landlords designate sections of apartment buildings and condominiums as non-smoking. They also ask that City Council require landlords to disclose information on locations of smoking and non-smoking units to potential renters and buyers. 

The Santa Monicans for Non-Smoking Renters Rights, formerly known as the Alliance for Protection from Secondhand Smoke in Apartments and Condominiums, have been successful in the past when they lobbied the City Council to ban smoking in common areas of condominiums and apartments. 

Photo by Joanne DeCaro Afornalli

The City Council has been urged to take up measures similar to that of Oakland and Calabasas in order to make a large percentage of condos and apartments smoke-free. 

Currently, 85 percent of all apartments in Oakland are non-smoking and Calabasas has recently passed a law that requires 80 percent of all condos and apartment buildings to be non-smoking; that law is to take effect in 2010. 

In 2008, the City Council explored different solutions to the secondhand smoke issue when The Santa Monicans for Non-Smoking Renters Rights as well as other concerned individuals brought forth the proposal to ban smoking in common areas of condos and apartments. 

 

A sign of prohibited activities on the Third Street Promenade. Photo by Joanne DeCaro Afornalli

It was noted on an October 2008 staff report concerning the ban, which took effect in January, that, “Whatever enforcement approach the Council takes, it is vital to consider the practical ramifications for landlords, smoking tenants, and non-smoking tenants. Remedies and the effect of the law on smoking tenants’ rights and tenancies need to be considered and carefully spelled out in the ordinance. Landlords and their organizations have expressed concern about landlords’ potential liability to non-smoking tenants if they fail to take action against smokers; they also expressed concern that they not be seen as violating tenants’ rights laws if they take action against smoking tenants. Rent Control Board staff and a representative of Santa Monicans for Renters Rights expressed concern that any regulation not undermine the existing rights or tenancies of tenants in controlled rental units. They also expressed concern that, even if existing smoking tenants are protected under the law, that some unscrupulous landlords may still use any anti-smoking regulation as a pretext for harassment of tenants in controlled units.” 

Similar concerns are at hand for the City Council regarding expanding the smoking ban this time around. 

Smoking is currently banned in most public areas in Santa Monica such as the Farmers Market, outdoor dining areas, bus stops, Third Street Promenade and ATM lines.