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Posted on 06/19/2003 9:20:11 AM PDT by Just another Joe

Smoking ban put on hold

Charleston council to study issue

BY JASON HARDIN

Of The Post and Courier Staff

Charleston City Council on Tuesday backed off a proposal to make the city one of the first places in the South to ban smoking in nearly all indoor places other than homes, deciding instead to study the issue further.

Council had been close to passing a sweeping ban during a meeting last month, but some said that the ban did not have the votes it needed for passage Tuesday.

The question now will be what kind of ban, if any, can win the support of a majority of council.

Councilman Robert George, who expressed support for the ban a month ago, said Tuesday that he believes something less restrictive is the answer.

"I really would like a nonsmoking ordinance, but I think if we go too far, we're going to create a lot more problems than we solve," he said.

The ban as proposed would have eliminated smoking in bars, restaurants and workplaces, allowing it only in private residences, some hotel rooms, tobacco stores and "smoking bars," defined as establishments primarily devoted to serving tobacco products for on-premises consumption.

On Tuesday, City Councilwoman Anne Frances Bleecker proposed tabling the ban and creating a commission to more thoroughly examine the matter.

"This issue deserves further study," she said.

Only two council members, Kwadjo Campbell and James Lewis, both ban foes, voted against tabling the matter.

George said that he believes some kind of compromise can be reached. He said other cities have passed bans that still allow smoking in some bars and that address ventilation issues.

"I think the whole thing is a moving target," he said. "We've got to find some middle ground. I'm not quite sure where the middle ground exists."

Both ban supporters and opponents mobilized for the public hearing held Tuesday.

More than a hundred people turned out for a public hearing on the ban, filling the Dock Street Theatre, and several dozen spoke during the hearing, divided roughly evenly on both sides of the issue.

Several medical professionals spoke in support, while representatives from the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Greater Charleston Restaurant Association and the Greater Charleston Hotel and Motel Association spoke against the ban.

The issue inspired sharp words from both sides.

Backers focused on health issues and the right of nonsmokers to avoid cigarette smoke.

"Secondhand smoke is ... a smoker's garbage," said Duke Hagerty, a former city councilman who unsuccessfully pushed for a ban in 1999. "We don't tolerate litter."

Ban foes, meanwhile, argued that businesses have the right to choose whether or not smoking is allowed and cast the issue in terms of avoiding unwanted government intrusion.

"What's next, and where does it end?" asked ban opponent Matthew Collins. "Are you going to ban fried chicken and fast-food restaurants?"

Ban backers said secondhand smoke has proven to be dangerous, and that bans have not caused economic hardship in other places.

Opponents, however, said they are concerned about the economic effects and that many businesses in places such as New York City have been hurt by the bans.

Jim Curley, who owns AC's bar and restaurant downtown, said the issue is about business owners' rights.

"I'm here to ask you to love freedom more than you hate smoking," he said.

Ban proponents, though, argued that nonsmokers have the right not to have to breathe smoke. Claims that the ordinance was a step on the road to totalitarianism were overblown, they said.

"Freedom is not in jeopardy," said City Councilman Paul Tinkler, who has pushed for the ban. "I believe we've got more freedom in this country than we've ever had."

Charleston's discussions about a ban have sparked a reaction in Columbia, as state S.C. Rep. John Graham Altman III has filed a bill that would prohibit municipalities from banning smoking in bars and many restaurants. The bill would not allow municipalities to ban smoking in businesses with valid alcohol permits. If a city did that anyway, it could lose various state funds.

Some business owners outside of the city have expressed concerns about the ordinance, which they fear could spread throughout the county as the city's 2 a.m. bar closing did. Some business owners in the city say it is unfair to do it only in one place, and that any ban should be done throughout the county or state.

Smoking foes, meanwhile, hope to do just that. Some say that convincing other municipalities to pass a ban will be easier if Charleston paves the way.

Council members and Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. will now appoint 25 people to a commission that will study the issue and report back to council. Council discussed, but did not set, a deadline for that report.

The commission will look at issues such as the economic impact a ban might have and what other cities have done, among other matters. Bleecker and Riley said the commission will include members with varying perspectives on the issue.

Whatever those perspectives, a smoking ban in the conservative and tobacco-friendly Palmetto State will be a hard sell to many.

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous," said Tom Murray, 22, a College of Charleston junior who was drinking and smoking at the Kickin' Chicken on King Street Tuesday during the hearing.

"I don't think bars around here will comply with it," said Murray, who smokes a pack and a half a day. "I mean, this is South Carolina."

In other matters, council voted to approve the creation of new zoning rules that allow "main street"-style commercial areas and walkable neighborhoods not easily built under old zoning laws.

The changes would not mandate that development follow the guidelines, but would allow developers to use them if desired.

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