Just before Charleston City Council passed a resolution on Monday to ban smoking in all city parks and playgrounds, Mayor Danny Jones cast a lone dissenting vote.
He said the resolution, referred by the Parks and Recreation Committee, is "poorly laid out."
Smoking now will be prohibited on all city playgrounds and parks, on the outdoor grounds of city community centers and the Sunrise Carriage Trail.
Signs to notify the public of the change are essential, Parks and Recreation Chairwoman Susie Salisbury said during council's discussion of the resolution. She added after the meeting that the ban would not take effect at individual parks and playgrounds until the new signs are in place.
Jones argued after council adjourned that enforcing the new policy would be nearly impossible.
If caught smoking in a city park, the penalty is a verbal warning to put out the cigarette. If a person refuses to extinguish their cigarette they can be asked to leave. If they refuse to do so, the police may get involved and the person could face a trespassing charge.
"Parks and Recreation aren't equipped to enforce this kind of bill the way it's laid out," he said. "They're going to have to call the police, and what part of the West Side are they going to take the police off of?"
Salisbury contended that "very few people" will cause problems in adhering to the rule, as has been the case at Haddad Riverfront Park, which already boasts numerous "no smoking" signs.
"By no means is this going to pull police off their patrols," she said.
Implementing the policy will likely be done in phases over the next year as signs and butt receptacles are placed throughout the parks, playgrounds and outside of community centers, Salisbury said.
In other business Monday, Council:
n Amended the zoning ordinance to allow tattoo and body piercing studios in the central business district under a conditional use permit.
All such businesses may not be located within 1,500 feet of another tattoo or piercing studio and limit hours of operation between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. All tattooing and piercing must be done out of view of the business' windows. Council did not discuss the matter before or after the vote.
n Adopted a resolution to authorize a the acceptance of a conservation easement from Graff-Lane Properties, LLC, on 30 acres of land at the entrance to Quarry Creek subdivision, which will prohibit any future development on the easement. The Quarry Creek Homeowners Association has paid to maintain the stretch of land for more than 20 years, said Council Member Tom Lane, who recused himself from voting.
n Voted to modify the West Side Community Renewal Plan to prohibit adult businesses, bail bonds, cash-for-gold establishments, check cashing services, firearm sales, gambling establishments, pawn shops, pay-as-you-go phone sales and storage facilities.
n Amended the city's zoning ordinance to require a conditional use permit for future businesses that sell alcohol for off-premises consumption in the central business district.
n Established a Restricted Use Area in Kanawha City at 3148 MacCorkle Ave. SE that prohibits drilling into or extraction groundwater, except for monitoring and remediation. An environmental assessment by ExxonMobil Corporation, which owned a gas station that previously operated on that site, indicated that "chemicals of concern" are now "migrating with the flow of ground water from the site into surrounding groundwater."
n Authorized the purchase of property at 515 Mary St. for $12,000. The city will remove a vacant structure on the property in order to construct a new retaining wall that supports the street.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.