| |
|
|
|
Raytown board rejects proposed smoking law
KansasCity.com
9/8/2009
The Raytown Board of Aldermen on Tuesday night voted down a proposed smoking ordinance.
The ordinance would have prohibited smoking in all public places except where people younger than 18 are not allowed, such as bars and billiard parlors, said Nancy Thompson, city attorney. Smoking in restaurants would have been prohibited, but restaurants could have operated a separate smoking area if that area was separately ventilated, she added.
The ordinance needed six affirmative votes to pass, Thompson said.
The vote was 7-3 against.
Throughout the summer, a committee of Raytown citizens wrestled with a proposed ordinance.
Kansas City area smoke-free advocates found the Raytown dialogue significant, as they considered Raytown the largest community on the Missouri side of the metropolitan area that didn’t provide protection from secondhand smoke in public places and the workplace.
Raytown Alderman Jim Aziere, who sponsored the ordinance, cited a 2007 citizen satisfaction survey that found more than 60 percent of residents who responded supported an ordinance prohibiting smoking in public places.
Others, however, had argued against a sweeping smoking ban. One member of the Raytown committee, a bar and grill owner, this summer said he represented small-business owners who worked hard to meet a marketplace demand. |
|
|
| | |
| | |
|
|
