Allen COunty smoking ordinance is HORRIBLY written

Allen County Smoking Ordinance is poorly written

The proposed Allen County smoking ordinance is poorly written and needs to be clarified before it is voted on.

The ordinance exempts “Private residences, except when used as a licensed child care, adult care, or Health Care Facility.”

What does this mean? I spoke to several Allen County officials about the definition of a “Private residence.” None of the officials I spoke to could define a “private residence.” Allen County Code does not define a “private residence.” The proposed smoking ordinance does not define a “private residence.”

Will the proposed smoking ban affect a home owner who has a home office and runs a small business out of their home? Will the proposed smoking ban affect a home owner who has had their residence rezoned into a commercial property? Will it affect a home owner who has a “use variance” in place so they can conduct commercial business on their property? I once again talked to several individuals that work for Allen County and not one of them could answer any of these questions either. This must be clarified in the proposed ordinance.

The posting requirements are the worst section of this document. Per section 10-8-4 “any establishment exempted shall post the following sign at the main entrance: “Warning: This is a smoking establishment.”

My wife and I are accountants and each have an office in our home. If our house qualifies as a “private residence” we would be exempt from the proposed smoking ordinance. My wife and I choose NOT to allow people to smoke in our house.

Per section 10-8-4 we will be required to post a sign on our front door, even though we do not allow smoking in our house, that says “Warning: This is a smoking establishment.”

Section 10-8-4 needs to be re-written. I do not allow smoking in my home; it is absurd that this ordinance will require me to post a sign at the main entrance of my house stating that it is a smoking establishment. As written this ordinance would require every person who has a business in their home to post a sign at their front entrance stating that it is smoking establishment, whether you allow smoking or not.

This ordinance will affect hundreds of thousands of people if it is enacted. I hope the County Commissioners take the time to write it properly and then let the public comment on it after the errors are fixed.

Mike Sylvester
Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Allen County