Members of the Edgewood City Council were thinking about public smoking and the growth of vape businesses this week.
Although there was no formal action on the subject during the meeting, the discussions were continuations of similar conversations the council had held earlier in the year and provided insight into the city’s potential future course.
A healthcare expert and representative of the Edgewood chapter of Live Well NKY, an initiative run by the Northern Kentucky Health Department, Susan McDonald stated, “We’re just asking again for your consideration to think about a more comprehensive smoke-free policy for the city of Edgewood.”
Several cities in the region, including Bellevue, Dayton, Highland Heights and Ludlow, have already instituted smoke-free policies, and McDonald had first pitched the idea to the council in February,
according to city meeting minutes
.
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McDonald discussed the negative health effects of smoking and made the case that communities with smoke-free ordinances had healthier citizens. She also discussed the quirks of vaping pens and other electronic tobacco products and urged the city to stop their proliferation.
“We have a lot of concern that there are parcels open, especially up near the new Kroger and off of Barnwood Drive, that could easily turn into vape shops,” McDonald said, acknowledging that we are unable to regulate and restrict where businesses can operate. Therefore, our neighborhood would greatly benefit from anything the council can do to reduce that.
According to the minutes of a May city meeting, the council also discussed smoking bans and decided to put up signs prohibiting smoking in all of the city’s parks.
In terms of enforcement, this created a dilemma because, in the absence of a law, the city or police could not punish or cite someone for smoking in the parks. However, City Attorney Frank Wichmann contended that, as the parks are city property, they have the authority to establish internal regulations.
“We can enforce that it’s on our property, even though we may not have an ordinance that says you can’t park there,” said City Administrator Brian Dehner.
Practically speaking, this would imply that anyone found smoking in a park could be told to leave.
There is now a countywide smoking ban in place in Kenton County that only applies to county-owned public facilities; parks are not included by the ban. Additionally, the regulation permits the installation of signs prohibiting smoking in public areas.
In August of last year, the council also prohibited any legitimate cannabis companies from operating in the city.
Like other cities in the area, Edgewood is currently updating its zoning ordinance to better align with the comprehensive planning of the county. This approach is known as the Z21 Project in the county.
According to Dehner, the highway commercial zone at the base of the hill on Sperti Drive, close to the McDonald’s and Thortons, would be the only area in the city where a vape shop or other tobacco-specialty stores may be established when the city’s new Z21-based legislation is approved.
Tobacco products can still be sold outside the highway business zone at supermarkets and gas stations. On September 22, Kenton County Planning and Development Services will present the Z21 Project before the council. In the weeks that follow, the council will decide whether to approve or disapprove the ordinance.
According to Dehner, the City has finished designing the no-smoking signs, obtained prices for the smaller versions, and is awaiting feedback regarding quotes for the larger signs.
There was no indication from the council members if a possible smoke-free ordinance was coming down the pike in the future.
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