Portland smoking ban

The Portland City Council voted 4-1 to approve a parks smoking ban.

(Associated Press)

The Portland City Council voted 4-1 on Wednesday to pass a total smoking ban in city parks and nature areas.

Starting in July, smoking or consuming tobacco products in more than 200 Portland parks and nature areas could lead to a misdemeanor citation. City officials say that's unlikely, and that the primary goal of the policy is education and public health-related.

The ban applies to all tobacco, e-cigarettes, marijuana and vaping products.

"I think it's a common sense thing to do," said Commissioner Nick Fish before voting.

Commissioner Dan Saltzman cast the lone dissenting vote, saying the smoking ban was "simply unenforceable" and would lead to conflicts between law enforcement officers and smokers. Saltzman said the policy granted "a pretext for police to hassle somebody for smoking."

Portland joins New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and other large cities in passing similar policies.

Last year, Commissioner Amanda Fritz asked the volunteer parks board to study a city ban. She brought the proposal to her City Council colleagues earlier this month.

Fritz said parks are "supposed to be about healthy behavior." She said she's pleased to follow the hundreds of other cities that have similar bans, but added that enforcement would be a low priority.

Parks rangers don't have the ability to write citations, she said, and police would be unlikely to do so. Fritz added that the "vast majority" of Portlanders would likely follow the rules.

Earlier in the meeting, Commissioner Steve Novick suggested an amendment that would allow neighborhood associations to request specific smoking areas in various parks, but that proposal failed.

City officials plan a five-month grace period, in which offenders will be educated about the new policy.

It's not yet clear how much the city will spend on signs and other enforcement measures.

-- Andrew Theen and Brad Schmidt

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@cityhallwatch