San Marcos City Council has scheduled a public hearing Sept. 3 to gauge whether residents want to strengthen the city's smoking ordinance. The hearing is set for 7 p.m. at San Marcos City Hall.
San Marcos' current ordinance allows smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants. Since the ordinance was enacted in 1995, a number of other Central Texas cities—including Austin and San Antonio—have decided to ban smoking in most public indoor areas.
"Most people are surprised when you come to San Marcos and you can smoke in bars," Councilwoman Kim Porterfield said during a council meeting Aug. 20.
In a community survey conducted this spring, 47 percent of San Marcos residents agreed the city should enact stricter smoking regulations, while 26 percent disagreed, 21 percent were neutral and 5 percent said they did not know.
Council members directed city staff to draft a smoking ordinance that is a hybrid of Austin's 2005 ordinance and San Antonio's 2010 ordinance. Both ordinances establish nearly all indoor public places and all public parks as smoke-free areas. The ordinances exempt private residences, private clubs, outdoor areas of workplaces, retail tobacco stores and designated smoking rooms in hotels and motels.
"This is a lifesaving effort," San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero said. "This is one of those health initiatives that will save lives, whether of someone working at that establishment or an individual frequenting that establishment."
Council members also discussed the possibility of exempting or grandfathering some businesses that allow smoking.
"We all agree smoking is bad for you," Councilman Wayne Becak said. "My concern is [for] individual property owners. I think there are some unique places in San Marcos, entertainment venues or whatever that allow smoking, and there are a certain amount of citizens who will always want to go to them."
The Aug. 20 discussion did not require a vote. However, council members said they believed City Council was the appropriate governing body to decide on changes to San Marcos' smoking ordinance. They did not discuss the possibility of placing the item on a future ballot for voters to decide.
In 2011, the city considered putting the item before voters in the November election but ultimately decided not to do so. That July, 97 people attended two open houses regarding public smoking in San Marcos.
At the open houses, 56 percent of attendees said smoking and second-hand smoke are problems in San Marcos, compared with 42 percent who said smoking and second-hand smoke were not a problem and 2 percent who had no opinion. When asked whether the city should further restrict smoking, 51 percent said yes, 48 percent said no and 1 percent had no opinion.
On Aug. 20, Sam Huenergardt, the president and CEO of Central Texas Medical Center, urged council members to strengthen the city's smoking ordinance.
"We have an opportunity here to take a step forward as a community," Huenergardt said. "We have a lot of business opportunities in front of us with companies looking at our workforce and evaluating, 'Is this a healthy workforce or not?' This can help us show that our city and citizens are dedicated to creating a better environment for each other."
