§ 16-69. Smoking and tobacco products.

(a)

Areas in which smoking and tobacco products are prohibited.

(1)

Smoking and the use of tobacco products are prohibited:

a.

On city grounds of the city's parks system.

b.

In city buildings located in the city's parks system.

(2)

Smoking and the use of tobacco products are prohibited on grounds of the city's parks system and in buildings located in the city's parks system being used for private events.

(b)

Implementation requirements.

(1)

The city shall post signs that meet all the requirements in subsection (c) of this section.

(2)

The city shall remove all ashtrays and other smoking receptacles from the grounds of city's parks system and the buildings located in the city's parks system.

(3)

The parks and recreation director, staff, or his or her designee, shall direct a person who is smoking or using a tobacco product in a prohibited area to cease and, if the person does not comply, shall contact the city police department.

(c)

Signage. The signs required must:

(1)

State in English that smoking and the use of tobacco products are prohibited and include the universal "No Smoking and Use of Tobacco Products Prohibited" symbol.

(2)

Be of sufficient size to be clearly legible to a person of normal vision, and be conspicuously posted.

(3)

Be posted at each entrance of the buildings located in the city's parks system and in other locations within the buildings reasonably calculated to inform employees and the public of the prohibition.

(4)

Be posted on the grounds of the city's parks system in locations and at intervals reasonably calculated to inform employees and the public of the prohibition.

(d)

Enforcement and penalties.

(1)

Penalty for violation. Following oral or written notice by the person in charge of an area described in subsection (b)(3), or his or her designee, failure to cease smoking or using tobacco products constitutes an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00). A citation may be issued by a sworn law enforcement officer. Conviction of an infraction under this section has no consequence other than payment of a penalty, and no court costs may be assessed.

(2)

In addition to any penalty under subsection (d)(1), employees of the city who violate this section shall be subject to disciplinary action consistent with the city's human resources policies.

(e)

Public education. The City of Salisbury shall engage in an ongoing program to explain and clarify the purposes and requirements of this section to employees and citizens affected by it, and to guide operators and managers in their compliance with it. In doing so, the City of Salisbury may rely upon materials and information provided by the local health department.

(f)

Authority. This ordinance is enacted pursuant to G.S. 130A-498 and 160A-174(a).

(g)

Definitions. The following definitions are applicable to this section.

City building means a building owned, leased as lessor, or the area leased as lessee and occupied by the city.

Employee means a person who is employed by the City of Salisbury, or who contracts with the city or a third person to perform services for the city, or who otherwise performs services for the city with or without compensation.

Grounds means an unenclosed area owned, leased, or occupied by the city.

Local health department means Rowan County Health Department, the jurisdiction which includes the City of Salisbury.

Parks system means any tract of land or body of water comprising part of the city's parks, playgrounds, natural areas, recreation areas, trails and greenways, and streams or other bodies of water.

Smoking means the use or possession of a lighted cigarette, lighted cigar, lighted pipe, or any other lighted tobacco product.

Tobacco product means any product containing, made, or derived from tobacco that is intended for human consumption, whether chewed, smoked, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other means, or any component part or accessory of a tobacco product, including, but not limited to, cigarettes; cigars; little cigars; cheroots; stogies; periques; granulated, plug cut, crimp cut, ready rubbed, and other smoking tobacco; snuff; snuff flour; Cavendish; plug-and-twist tobacco; fine-cut and other chewing tobacco; shorts; refuse scraps, clippings, cutting and sweepings of tobacco; and other kinds and forms of tobacco. A tobacco product excludes any product that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for sale as a tobacco-cessation product, as a tobacco-dependence product, or for other medical purposes, and is being marketed and sold solely for such an approved purpose.

Universal "No Smoking and Use of Tobacco Products Prohibited" Symbol means symbol consisting of a pictorial representation of a burning cigarette and a tobacco product enclosed in a red circle with a red bar across it.

(Ord. No. 2014-01, § 1, 1-7-14)