The members of Mt. Laurel Township Council aren’t just blowing smoke when it comes to their desire to eliminate smoking in township-owned spaces.
Last week’s Mt. Laurel Township Council meeting saw council pass a new ordinance to ban smoking at all municipal buildings/grounds, as well as parks owned by the township.
According to the ordinance, any person found guilty of violating the new ordinance may be subject to a fine anywhere between $250 and $1,000, and/or subject to 30 days of community service or up to 30 days incarceration in county jail.
The ordinance comes as a suggestion from the Mt. Laurel Green Team and will help the township qualify for further certifications through the Sustainable Jersey program,
Sustainable Jersey is the nonprofit organization that provides financial incentives for municipalities that pursue sustainable and environmentally friendly measures.
In addition to those reasons, the ordinance also outlines the township’s belief that reducing secondhand smoke will improve public health and help reduce the amount of litter created by smoking products.
As defined by the ordinance, municipally-owned spaces are broken into two categories: municipal buildings/grounds and public parks.
Municipal buildings/grounds are outlined as all structures and property owned, leased, rented or operated by Mt. Laurel Township, as well any other area occupied by township employees and used for officials township business.
As such, the ordinance specifically includes, but is not limited to, Mt. Laurel Township’s municipal building, police station, municipal court, community center and library, as well as any parking areas or grass lands that surround those buildings.
As defined by the ordinance, parks include any property Mt. Laurel Township owns or maintains for the purposes of active or passive recreation, including, but not limited to, playgrounds, sports fields, spectator areas and adjacent parking facilities.
Council’s new ordinance also outlines the activities and products that constitute as engaging in the act of “smoking.”
According to the ordinance, “smoking” is defined as the burning of, inhaling from, and exhaling of smoke from any lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe or any other matter or substance that contains tobacco, as well any other matter that can be smoked.
To that point, the ordinance also takes steps to ban the smoking any cannabis product in municipally-owned spaces should the state legalize such products at any time in the future.
In addition, the ordinance also bans the use of electronic smoking devices in municipally-owned spaces that would allow users to inhale or exhale any smoke or vapor.
Moving forward, the ordinance also notes that “no-smoking” signs or the internationally recognized “no-smoking symbol” will be clearly posted at each municipal building entrance and within each outdoor area where smoking is prohibited.
