Pleasanton council to consider confirming new smoking restrictions for apartments

The Pleasanton City Council is set Tuesday to consider final approval of a proposed ordinance to implement stringent smoking regulations for rental apartments across the city.

On track to take effect early next year, the new restrictions would include banning smoking inside individual units, on balconies and patios, in all indoor and outdoor common areas and within 25 feet of those locations at apartment complexes under single ownership with two or more leased units.

The council gave unanimous support to the proposed ordinance during a first reading in June, but asked city staff to do more research on how to handle medical marijuana before giving final approval.

Under the recommendation from city staff, the ordinance would allow medical marijuana smoking inside apartment units “if tenant provides landlord written documentation that tenant needs it for medical purposes, no alternative means of delivery or ingestion are available and tenant is unable to smoke outside,” assistant city attorney Larissa Seto said in her staff report.

Council members could also consider allowing medical marijuana smoking only outdoors in the complex’s designated smoking area — though owners are not required to provide a designated smoking area — or they could opt to prohibit all marijuana smoking at apartments altogether, Seto said.

Though focusing on traditional tobacco products, the smoking restrictions would also apply to e-cigarettes and recreational marijuana.

In addition to the onsite bans, “No Smoking” signs would need to be posted around the complex, and the smoke-free rules would need to be disclosed in tenant leases. The property owners would have the option to create a designated smoking area outdoors at least 25 feet from non-smoking areas.

The ordinance only applies to rental apartments, not other adjoining multi-family complexes like condos or townhouses where units are individually owned. Council members directed city staff to solicit community feedback on possible smoking restrictions for condos and townhouses and then return with a recommendation some time next year after the apartment rules take effect.

If approved without changes Tuesday night, the new restrictions would take effect starting March 15 instead of the typical 30 days after adoption of an ordinance.

“The six-month delay is intended to give apartment managers and owners time to change leases, develop signage and advise existing tenants,” Seto said.

Final confirmation of the new smoking regulations is listed among the council’s 13-item consent calendar, a collection of items deemed routine and voted upon all at once. Any consent item can be pulled for separate consideration, which would need to occur if the council wants to discuss the final ordinance any more or make any changes before adoption.

The regular council meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday inside the council chamber at the Pleasanton Civic Center, 200 Old Bernal Ave.

In other business

* The council will present a commendation to Foothill High School freshman Afreen Shameem for designing the Pleasanton Public Library’s new library card artwork.

Shameem’s concept was selected as the winner of the library card design contest from among more than 100 submissions, according to Heidi Murphy, director of library services.

“Afreen’s submission combined the library’s new mission statement (‘Start your journey here: discover, connect, share’) with symbols that represent the library and the city of Pleasanton, including books and the Pleasanton Arch,” Murphy said.

* Council members will consider appointing local author Meg Fleming as the city’s first-ever literary arts ambassador.

A candidates review committee and the Civic Arts Commission chose Fleming as their top choice for the two-year post from among three applicants for the new position, which was created as an expansion of the city’s former adult poet laureate program — which had gone without a new appointee since 2015 after several failed recruitment efforts.

“The mission of the literary arts ambassador program is to raise awareness of the importance of literature as it relates to lifelong literacy and education toward the development and enhancement of the lives of Pleasanton residents,” community services director Susan Andrade-Wax said.

A three-year Pleasanton resident, Fleming has had two books published and two more are due out next year. She has also been actively involved in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Fleming would receive a $1,000 stipend for work related to her new position.

* The council will also consider appointing the city’s next teen poet laureates — two from each comprehensive high school — to serve through the new school year.

The list includes naming new teen poet laureates Yasmin Ghaemmaghani (Amador Valley) and Varsha Vaidyanath (Foothill) and reappointing Irene Sha (Amador Valley) and Nithya Swaminathan (Foothill).

“The primary role of the city’s teen poet laureates is to provide appropriate poetry at civic events and promote the appreciation of the literary arts in the community during the current school year,” Andrade-Wax said.

After the appointments, the council will host public readings by the four teen poet laureates and the new literary arts ambassador.

* Also part of the consent agenda, the council will consider approving a $158,928 contract with Walnut Creek-based Quincy Engineering to design the Hopyard Road-Owens Drive intersection improvements project.

The effort aims to create a dedicated right-turn lane from southbound Hopyard onto westbound Owens, and two left-turn lanes from northbound Hopyard onto westbound Owens.

A more in-depth design than originally anticipated is needed because there isn’t enough space available to simply widen the western part of Hopyard to accommodate the new right-turn lane, according to city engineering director Stephen Kirkpatrick.

“Instead the entire intersection must be modified, including narrowing the median and shifting it to the east,” he said. “The primary reason that the scope of work has been expanded is to accommodate standard bike lane widths on Hopyard as part of the improvements.”

The estimated $1.8 million project, which still has a funding shortfall of about $1.26 million, is tentatively estimated to begin construction in fall 2018 and wrap up that next spring, according to Kirkpatrick.

The project location is on the opposite side of the intersection from where Pleasanton Middle School teacher Carla Boerman was killed in a crash during spring break last April.

* The council will also meet in closed session with city officials to discuss ongoing negotiations with the Pleasanton Police Officers Association. That private meeting will start at 6 p.m. in the council chamber conference room.