Hollister council members may be on the way to approving an ordinance that would ban smoking from licensed home daycares 24 hours a day – meaning there would be no fumes at the sites even after children go home.
The idea is still in the discussion phase, but if council members pass a related ordinance, the city would be ahead of the state in laying down the law to protect the county’s youth from second-hand smoke.
San Benito County is home to an estimated 115 childcare providers, and 103 of those providers have signed a voluntary policy to not smoke in their daycare centers at any time of the day even if students are not present, said Ofelia Toledo-Prieto, a health education advocate for the San Benito County Public Health tobacco education program. Of the county daycare centers, at least 85 percent are in Hollister.
While the city discusses the possibility of an ordinance, the state may be on its way to weighing a similar law. Assembly Bill 1819 would make home daycares smoke free 24 hours a day, while the current law prohibits smoking in the centers only when children are present.
“Studies have shown the particles of the smoke linger in the air and set on the furniture and the curtains and possibly toys,” said Toledo-Prieto, who noted smoke particles can sit around on a surface for up to two weeks.
With no proposed ordinance on the books locally, city council members are still questioning whether legal language can be worded so home daycare neighbors would not be forced to endure the same smoking ban and if the ordinance could be enforced.
“That was obviously our biggest concern, enforcement,” said Councilman Victor Gomez when the topic surfaced at the most recent meeting.
A similar ordinance banning smoking in daycare centers was proposed more than two years ago by the San Benito County Public Health Department, but city council members rejected it because they were concerned it couldn’t be enforced. Council members also expressed concern that the specific ordinance in discussion – which prohibited smoking within 25 feet of the home daycares – could infringe on the smoking rights of neighbors with properties adjacent to the centers.
Councilman Ray Friend brought up concerns that neighbors could be affected by the ban depending on the language of the ordinance. Gomez asked that the item be brought back on a future agenda. Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia, meanwhile, said she would support an ordinance that would ban smoking at home daycare centers.
Such ordinances don’t need enforcement to be effective, said Hewitt Joyner III, the project director for the second-hand smoke program for Breathe California of the Bay Area.
“They (council members) thought it was a great idea to makes sure that all daycare providers are smoke free, but they couldn’t figure out how to enforce without a budget increment,” said Joyner. “Basically, my thought was, ‘Why can’t you do what we do in San Jose.’ ”
In Santa Clara County – including San Jose – the nonprofit Breathe California of the Bay Area helps citizens become aware of the ordinances that ban smoking and gives warning letters so that code enforcement steps in only for extreme cases when a citation is needed before a citizen is willing to change behavior.
Joyner gets the complaints from people in 15 cities in Santa Clara County, talks with the concerned citizens and then visits the sites in question. If a city or county ordinance is violated, Joyner writes the offender a warning letter. After three letters, he contacts code enforcement, which has the authority to issue citations.
“The broad number of people that we ever get complaints about really just don’t understand the law or don’t understand how the law applies,” said Margo Sidener, CEO at Breathe California of the Bay Area.
