[img]2122|right|Mehaul O'Leary||no_popup[/img]Simultaneously, opposition and cigarette smoke dually wafted away to that great big invisible smoke ring in the sky last evening when the City Council approved a prohibition on smoking in all multi-unit buildings across Culver City.
No surprises as Council members acted, they said, in the name of protecting public health.
While the ban gently will be phased in over an 18-month period, it remains elusively unclear how many properties will be affected for the first time.
Yesterday Councilman Jeff Cooper, who, as promised, cast the only dissenting vote, estimated that 60 percent of landlords already forbid tobacco.
In the language of the City Council, enforcement will be private – that is, neighbor will be espying neighbor.
City Hall will do outreach, educating landlords and residents on a complaint basis while verifying landlords comply with requirements for posting and denoting designated smoking areas.
Vice Mayor Mehaul O’Leary wanted to include a type of code enforcement warning to smokers.
He was, however, unable to convince any of his colleagues.
A resident of Raintree was concerned about the role of homeowners associations as enforcers. It was explained to her that “private enforcement” meant the homeowners associations will not be enforcers.
