UPDATE: Monterey and Carmel City Councils take on smoking ordinances

UPDATE 11/3/15 10 p.m.:

On Tuesday night, the Monterey and Carmel City Councils discussed policies regarding smoking in public areas. Both decided to continue the topic at later meetings.

The Monterey City Council looked at two items regarding smoking before deciding to continue the discussion during its December 1 meeting. One of them would have banned smoking on the Municipal Wharf II in Monterey. The second would have but electronic cigarette devices in the same category as regular cigarettes, meaning they couldn’t be used in certain parts of the city.

“The recreation trail, our municipal beach, Wharf No.1, the bus terminal station, those kinds of properties,” said City of Monterey Chief of Planning and Engineering Chip Rerig.

Small business owner Rico Chapa’s dreams may go up in smoke. He has owned the Smokestacks Vape Bar in Monterey for about a year and a half now. He says he believes his vape bar could evaporate if city leaders pass these e-cig ordinances.

“I put a lot into this business and I jumped out there and stepped out on faith and made a huge decision to open this up to try to help other people,” Chapa said.

He says vaping has helped his customers get off of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

“I just hope that they (council members) take into consideration that this is something that helped us and helped save our lives and its going to save a lot of other people that are out there and trying to quit cigarettes,” Chapa said.

Carmel-by-the-Sea is also looking to curb smoking. Mayor Jason Burnett says they’ve noticed an uptick in smokers, many of whom are believed to be out of town visitors. The council was looking at an ordinance that would’ve prohibited smoking in public areas like sidewalks.

“We really value the air quality here in town,” Mayor Burnett said. “So the question for the counsel is whether we want to ban smoking in all public spaces, sidewalks for example, and associated with that, we would put up cannisters with something that would say to the effect of, “Welcome to Carmel, we hope you enjoy the clean air. Please extinguish your cigarettes here.”

He says it’s not so much about enforcement, rather education.

“As the father of a little one,” Mayor Burnett explained, “I will often go to the other side of the street to avoid walking by someone who is smoking and I think that by in large in society we have the notion, that if you are causing pollution you should not ask people around you to go out of their way to avoid the pollution, that we should work to address the pollution at its source and that’s what we are working to do.”

ORIGINAL POST:

Two Central Coast cities on the Monterey Peninsula are taking a stand against smoking — Carmel and Monterey.

Officials from both cities say it’s a public health issue.

On Tuesday night, both city councils will discuss ordinances that would ban smoking in certain areas.

In Monterey, the ordinance calls for banning e-cigs where smoking is already prohibited. It would also ban smoking on the Municipal Wharf.

Rico Chapa, the owner of Smokestacks Vape Bar in Monterey, is concerned his business could evaporate if city leaders follow through with the agenda item.

“It could shut down my business,” Chapa said.

Chapa says vaping helps people get off cigarettes and other tobacco products.

In Carmel, the council is looking at an ordinance that would prohibit smoking in public areas like sidewalks.

“As the father of a little one, I will often go to the other side of the street to avoid walking by someone who is smoking,” Mayor Jason Burnett said. “And I think that by in large in society, we have the notion that if you’re causing pollution, you should not ask people around you to go out of their way to avoid the pollution.”

News Channel 5’s Mariana Hicks will have more on this story tonight at 5 and 6 p.m.