Smoking Ban On Public Property Introduced By Township Council

A complete ban on smoking on township-owned property was introduced at the Township Council’s Feb. 23 meeting.

Lighting up a smoke in a township park could cost you as much as $1,000 under an ordinance introduced Feb. 23 by the Township Council.

The ordinance, which has been discussed for more than two years, would ban smoking and vaping on any property, building or automobile owned by the township.

That would also include parking lots and driveways of property owned by the township, according to the ordinance.

Violators of the ordinance wold be subject to a $250 fine for the first offense, a $500 fine for the second offense and a $1,000 fie for the third and subsequent offenses, according to the ordinance.

The council “recognizes the well-known health and safety risks posed by smoking,” according to the ordinance.

The move is also seen as a cost-savings move, with the elimination of trash associated with smoking.

The issue was first raised in 2013 by Alice Osipowitz, the township’s recreation director. She enlisted the help of the Municipal Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse, the township’s Advisory Board of Health and, in a limited manner, the township’s Open Space Advisory Committee.

The open space committee favored a ban that would create designated smoking areas where applicable. The township’s proposed ordinance does not include that provision.

The council was scheduled to introduce the ordinance at its Sept. 23, 2014 meeting, after Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have banned smoking statewide in public parks and on beaches, but it was never introduced.

The ordinance will get a second reading and public hearing at the council’s March 22 meeting.

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