Letter to San Anselmo Mayor John Wright

Dear Mayor -

I appreciate your time Saturday, May 30 to discuss remedies about the homeless shelter. You mentioned hiring an attorney re zoning and documenting and reporting nuisance. Our group is working on both fronts.

You mentioned that you are not familiar with California and San Anselmo smoking laws. Here is a link to California smoking laws  dealing with smoking on school grounds. I am also providing you with a useful link to the report by Changelabs that describes smoking laws in detail: Tobacco Laws Affecting California. Below is a synopsis:

CA Health and Safety Code Section 104495 prohibit smoking of tobacco products within 25 feet of a playground or tot lot sandbox area. The law applies to private schools and there is a $250 fine per violation.

  

Our group found out that the Town Code is even more restrictive about outdoor smoking near areas used by children. The San Anselmo Municipal Code section that I quote below indicates that smoking would be unlawful on the sidewalk outside the gym.

4-15.02 (b)(5)(ii):
​The area must not include, and must be a reasonable distance from, unenclosed areas primarily used by children and unenclosed areas with improvements that facilitate physical activity including, for example, playgrounds, tennis courts, swimming pools, and school campuses

Even if children would not be present at the school during the summer, the Mayo Clinic website describes the danger from permitting smoking at any time in any area used by children. Here is the link to the Mayo Clinic article that is quoted below:

This toxic mix of third hand smoke contains cancer-causing substances, posing a potential health hazard to nonsmokers who are exposed to it, especially children. 

Studies show that third hand smoke clings to hair, skin, clothes, furniture, drapes, walls, bedding, carpets, dust, vehicles and other surfaces, even long after smoking has stopped. Infants, children and nonsmoking adults may be at risk of tobacco- related health problems when they inhale, ingest or touch substances containing third hand smoke. Third hand smoke is a relatively new concept, and researchers are still studying its possible dangers.

Third hand smoke residue builds up on surfaces over time and resists normal cleaning. Third hand smoke can't be eliminated by airing out rooms, opening windows, using fans or air conditioners, or confining smoking to only certain areas of a home. In contrast, secondhand smoke is the smoke and other airborne products that come from being close to burning tobacco products, such as cigarettes.

The only way to protect nonsmokers from third hand smoke is to create a smoke- free environment, whether that's your private home or vehicle, or in public places, such as hotels and restaurants. 

The Town Code protects neighbors vigorously and permits a civil action against exposure to smoke that would drift into a residential property:

         4-15.09 (b)

For all purposes within the jurisdiction of the Town, non-consensual exposure to smoke occurring on or drifting into residential property is a nuisance, and the uninvited presence of smoke on residential property is a nuisance and a trespass. Any person bringing a civil action to enforce the nuisance provision contained in this section need not prove an injury different in kind or in degree from injury to others to prove a violation of this chapter.

We appreciate your attention to the smoking issue.  The Town Attorney does not reference any smoking code sections in his letter. We believe that the Town is obligated to protect residential areas and inform REST immediately that there can be no smoking at all at St. Anselm Elementary School and its surroundings. We believe that it is the Town's responsibility to act now to prevent civil actions by neighbors.

Thank you,
Marsha Hallet