City Council tightens bar smoking area rule.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

The smoking areas attached to Eugene's taverns need to be less smoky, the City Council decided Wednesday.

Councilors voted to direct the city manager to develop new rules that would require the smoking enclosures to be mostly open to outside air. Existing smoking areas that don't meet the rules will have one year to make the changes. Councilors also agreed to subsidize a small part of the cost to do the remodeling.

Smoking areas should be better ventilated, a council majority said, because that's what was envisioned four years ago when the city passed one of the state's toughest indoor smoking bans. Secondhand smoke is viewed as a health hazard.

The original intent was "outdoor smoking areas," Councilor David Kelly said.

But the rules written by the city staff to implement the ban allowed bar owners to construct smoking enclosures outside of their buildings as long as openings equaled 25 percent of the exterior wall area.

With Wednesday's council direction to the city manager, the openings in the near future must equal 75 percent or more of the exterior wall area.

About 40 Eugene bars have smoking areas.

They range from patios and decks to tentlike structures, and nearly enclosed building additions.

O'Donnell's Pub on Highway 99 has an enclosure with a roof and 8-foot walls, the uppermost 4 feet made of lattice to comply with the ventilation requirement.

"The thing that is so frustrating is that (the city) already has everybody (smoking) outside," owner Shon O'Donnell said. "All we have ever tried to do out there is make it halfway comfortable for people. Now, you are talking about 75 percent open, and with the rain coming in sideways, it's just going to be miserable out there."

In addition to giving bar owners up to a year to make changes to their existing smoking areas, councilors agreed to provide a total of $15,000 to help owners with the fees for the city building permits that would be required to make the structural changes.

O'Donnell said his business hasn't recovered from the indoor smoking ban, mainly because he has fewer customers who play video poker.

He was unsure if he would accept the city fees subsidy because he didn't know if a building permit would be needed in order to get his smoking area in compliance with the new rules.

"I can take out some of the boards," he said. "All they are going to leave us with is a roof out there."

The smoking issue was raised by public health advocates and doctors, who urged the council to clamp down on the smoking areas.

The advocates said secondhand smoke in the enclosures is harmful to the health of bar workers.

But Councilor Gary Pape didn't like the idea of changing the rules on bar owners.

During the council's Wednesday debate, he said none of the 11 confidential complaints about smoking areas made to the city this year came from bar workers.

"Do we really have a problem with workers and patrons regarding secondhand smoke?" Pape asked.

After much discussion, councilors approved a motion by Councilor Bonny Bettman to impose the 75 percent open requirement.

First, however, Councilor George Poling offered a motion for a smaller opening requirement, 50 percent, which failed to garner enough support.

"I believe that we are being told by our county health department that we need to address this health issue," Piercy said.

On another matter, the council voted to direct the city manager to execute a land swap with a landlord that could lead to the reopening of West University Park, on East 14th Avenue, between Hilyard and Patterson streets.

Under the potential deal, Bob and Leslie Quinney would trade their corner lot at East 14th Avenue for the back portion of the former park, which was closed 10 years because of drug dealing, loitering and other unsavory behavior.

The trade would allow the Quinneys to replace two old rental houses with a new apartment building behind the park.

It also would change the shape of the park.

Officials and residents hope the new shape will make it easier to police and, thereby, safer.

But the swap and park proposal is uncertain because the Quinneys must agree to terms of the deal.

Bob Quinney on Wednesday said he will decide within a month.