Smokefree Housing News
County approves plan to limit smoking in public housing
HeraldNet - Noah Haglund - September 2, 2010
Public housing agencies in Snohomish County have a financial incentive to adopt smoking bans after a new policy passed the County Council on Wednesday.
The policy gives bonus points in the funding process to agencies that ban smoking in all or most of their facilities. It's expected to affect about 700 units over the next five years, said Dean Weitenhagen, the county's supervisor of housing, homelessness and community development.
The county awards about $3 million in capital funds each year for public housing, but supplies no housing directly. ...
South Pasadena takes another step against public smoking
Whittier Daily News - Adolfo Flores - September 2, 2010
SOUTH PASADENA - After a new ordinance banning smoking in common areas in apartment, condo and townhouse complexes goes into effect this weekend, Yan Shackleton worries she may not see much of her father.
"I can't imagine telling my dad not to smoke," said Shackleton, 36, who lives in an apartment complex near El Centro Street. "I'm not kidding. He won't go to Santa Monica" because of a similar ordinance there.
Starting Saturday, residents of multi-unit dwellings - including duplexes - who light up in common areas like lobbies, stairways, community rooms and elevators will face a minimum fine of $250.
The ordinance goes further. In three years, beginning in September 2013, smoking will be banned inside individual apartments, duplexes, condos and townhomes. Landlords can designate smoking areas or designate not more than 20 percent of their units as smoking residences.
Effective immediately as of Saturday, all new construction units must be non-smoking, according to the ordinance. ...
Snohomish County to crack down on public housing smoking
Puget Sound Business Journal, September 1, 2010
Snohomish County is moving closer to banning smoking in the county's public housing projects.
The Herald in Everett reports that the Snohomish County Council Wednesday will consider giving public housing agencies financial incentives to ban smoking in their buildings, citing secondhand smoke and fire dangers, as well as money saved cleaning smokers' dwellings. ...
HACSA to Ban Smoking Inside Housing
KEZI TV - Susan Gager - August 31, 2010
LANE COUNTY, Ore. -- Some local smokers are outraged with local housing managers because of a smoking ban inside low-income housing complexes.
Smoking was banned in restaurants, bars and taverns and around certain public buildings. Now the Housing and Community Services Agency of Lane County (HACSA) has put their foot down.
Come the new year, smoking will not be allowed in their estimated 1,500 complexes they own around Eugene and Springfield.
HACSA says it's hard to turn a unit damaged by nicotine smoke. They've also received numerous complaints from people who smell smoke from neighboring units, and the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) supports them.
But smokers in those apartments say it's not so much the issue of smoking, but rather an invasion of their privacy.
One smoker who does not want to be named says he lost his home Monday over the issue.
"They want to ban legal things that we are able to enjoy within the privacy of our homes," said Rick.
"Unfortunately, there is no right to smoke and damage a unit or damage someone else's lungs. Once that smoke infiltrates into my neighbor's unit, it has now become a situation that the other neighbor is trying to take care of," said Chuck D. Hauck, HACSA Housing Director. ...
Smoke-free living goal for coalition
Glens Falls Post-Star - August 30, 2010
Developer Peter Hoffman remembers when smoking was a social norm.
His high school had a smoking area for students. Planes had ash trays. And cigarettes were as commonplace as drinks inside bars.
While a lot of progress has been made to create smoke-free public places, landlords like Hoffman say there is still work to be done on the residential front.
With assistance from the Southern Adirondack Tobacco-Free Coalition, Hoffman is working toward a smoke-free goal for all of his real estate holdings, including about 100 apartments.
Janine Stuchin, project manager for the Southern Adirondack Tobacco Free Coalition, said demand for smoke-free housing is growing, which helps to push developers in that direction.
The coalition, which is funded by the state Department of Health, has made smoke-free housing a priority project. The idea is that such policies reduce non-smokers' exposure to second-hand smoke, and are an incentive for smokers to quit.
The coalition recently released results from a survey, which showed a majority of property owners have non-smoking policies in their rental housing, and are satisfied with those policies.
"They are motivated by reducing complaints about exposure to smoke, and that really points to the fact that the public has less tolerance for this," Stuchin said.
The survey polled 421 landlords who manage a total of more than 10,000 units in Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady counties about tobacco policies.
Fifty-four percent have a smoking policy in at least some of their multi-unit rental properties. Of those, about half have had that policy for five or more years.
Eighty percent said a non-smoking policy has lessened their maintenance costs, and 61 percent received positive feedback from tenants and guests about the non-smoking rules ...
Pierce Co. considers banning smoking in apartments
Seattle Post Intelligencer - August 29, 2010
TACOMA, Wash. -- The fight over smoking restrictions in Washington state has moved from bars and office-buildings to private residences.
The News Tribune reports that a group called People United for Smoke-Free Housing has asked the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Board to classify secondhand smoke as a "nuisance" in multi-unit housing, because smoke can seep from one apartment to another and bother other residents. That could allow landlords to evict people for smoking.
The proposal, which backers hope to have inserted into the state's landlord-tenant law, is one of dozens of attempts in communities around the country to extend no-smoking restrictions to rental housing.
"This is the last piece of the puzzle that needs to be placed," said Nan Hogan of University Place, who helped write the proposed legislation. "We've got smoke-free motel rooms, smoke-free restaurants, smoke-free bars, smoke-free office buildings and even prisons. Why should we go home and have to breathe it there? ...
Tacoma group pushing for smoke-free apartments
Health: Group wants secondhand smoke declared 'nuisance' in multi-unit housing
Bellingham (WA) Herald, 2010-08-29
ROB CARSON; Staff writer
In Washington, as elsewhere, the battle over secondhand smoke is moving from airplanes, bars and office buildings to an arena that once seemed impenetrable: private residences.
Next month, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Board members will consider a proposal to classify secondhand smoke as a "nuisance" in multi-unit housing.
The proposal, which backers want inserted into the state's landlord-tenant law, is one of dozens of attempts in communities around the country to extend no-smoking restrictions from public places to rental housing.
"This is the last piece of the puzzle that needs to be placed," said Nan Hogan of University Place, who helped write the proposed legislation. "We've got smoke-free motel rooms, smoke-free restaurants, smoke-free bars, smoke-free office buildings and even prisons. Why should we go home and have to breathe it there?" ...
Battle Over Smoking in Condos Catches Fire in Florida
The National Law Journal - I.M. Stackel - August 25, 2010
If you can smell it, it can hurt you.
That contention has churned up debate among condominium owners over the right to smoke cigarettes in one's own unit versus a neighbor's right to breathe clean air.
Lawsuits are being filed around the nation, and some attorneys who represent Florida condominium associations say the issue could soon be coming to a court here.
Coral Gables real estate agent Ana Anderson moved out of her Silver Palms condo last month because her neighbors' smoke was seeping into her walls and through her ventilation system. Minimally, Anderson wants to recoup the cost of medical bills, sealing off her apartment from smoke, and wages lost due to illness. She also wants Silver Palms to become a smoke-free building. She said she will sue if she has to and is in the process of hiring attorneys who are well-versed in the issues.
Anderson now lives in the in-law quarters of a house she owns. It is smoke-free and she has control over the environment.
Anderson became physically ill several days after her November move into her new condo. She muscled through her allergic reactions before asking the condo association for help to seal off smoke wafting in from two neighbors' apartments, one next door and one beneath her unit.
Her neighbors at the Dadeland-area complex were sympathetic, and tried to remedy the situation but could not, she said.
They washed down their walls with bleach, but fresh second-hand smoke kept pouring in, according to Anderson. Had her neighbors stopped smoking, the air would have cleared up in a very short while, she said.
"I understand that people have a right to do what they want [in their own homes] but here's the problem: I spent over $2,000 sealing my apartment from smoke," Anderson said. ...
Detroit Housing Commission adopts smoke-free policy for all properties, effective January 1, 2011
Smoke Free Environments Law Project (SFELP), 8/17/2010
… We're very pleased to report that the Detroit Housing Commission Michigan’s largest public housing authority adopted a smoke-free policy for all its multi-family properties. The smoke-free policy goes into effect for all residents no grandfathering on January 1, 2011 in all its 15 properties with a total of 2,118 units. The policy covers 10 elderly buildings with 1,440 units and 5 family buildings with 678 units. Smoking will only be allowed in outdoor designated smoking areas, if any. The Detroit Housing Commission will provide assistance to residents to quit smoking. It has been our pleasure to assist the Detroit Housing Commission in adopting this policy. Michigan now has 42 housing commissions with smoke-free policies for some or all their properties. The policies cover about 85 apartment buildings/developments and over 384 townhouses/scattered site units, with about 7,744 total apartment units. Three of the largest housing commissions in Michigan now have adopted smoke-free policies Grand Rapids with about 900 units, Detroit with 2,118 units, and Lansing with 834 units. Nationally, there are now at least 179 local housing authorities that have adopted smoke-free policies for some or all their properties. Among the largest housing authorities to have adopted smoke-free policies for almost all their properties are the 3 three Michigan ones named above; Portland, Oregon with 1,993 units covered and may be adding 3,760 units soon; and Everett, Washington with 1,047 units to be smoke-free in June, 2011. Other large housing authorities that have adopted smoke-free policies, but only for a few of their properties or are phasing in the smoke-free policies over the next few years include: Minneapolis, Boston, Denver, and Seattle.
Safety or freedom? Rules restrict smoking in public housing
MetroWest Daily News - Michael Morton - August 12, 2010
When a Wayland board responded to health worries and tenant complaints with a vote last fall prohibiting smoking in the town's public housing, it initially exempted existing occupants out of a sense of fairness.
Last month, Housing Authority board members reconsidered: Since the special allowance left enforcement an impossible task and created its own equity problems, they applied the ban to everyone.
"The smokers are resigned that they have to change their lifestyle," Executive Director Brian Boggia said, placing the restriction within the progression of laws barring smoking in enclosed public spaces. ...
Most landlords, residents ‘satisfied’ with non-smoking policies
Troy (NY) Record, 2010-08-11
Jessica M. Pasko The Record
The majority of property owners in six upstate counties have non-smoking polices in their rental housing and are satisfied with those policies, according to a survey by the Siena College Research Institute.
The survey, conducted on behalf of the Capital District Tobacco-Free Coalition and the Southern Adirondack Tobacco-Free Coalition, is based on answers from 421 landlords in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties. The landlords, who manage more than 10,000 units of housing in the region, were asked about their tobacco policies.
Across the six counties, more than half -- 54 percent -- of the property owners have a smoking policy in at least some of their multi-unit rental properties. A majority of those with a policy -- 53 percent -- have had that policy in place for at least five years, while 17 percent have had the policy for less than three years.
Non-smoking policies vary, and can include prohibiting residents and visitors from carrying lit tobacco inside all or some rental units, common areas, entrances and grounds. Tri City Rentals, the largest apartment management in the region, made a corporate decision last year to encourage all of their apartment communities to convert at least one of their buildings to a non-smoking policy.
EDITORIAL: Boston should ban smoking in all public-housing units
Boston (MA) Globe, 2010-08-09
BANNING SMOKING in multifamily housing is the next frontier of the anti-tobacco movement, and Boston's plan to enact such a restriction in its 64 public housing developments within the next three years would intrude, to some extent, on residents' personal choices. But while residents deserve to make their own health decisions, their actions shouldn't burden their neighbors with second-hand smoke and fuel a burgeoning asthma epidemic. With all due respect to those who feel they should have the right to light up in their own homes, the city should aggressively follow through with the ban. . . .
Even though the proposal is only in its beginning stages, Boston Housing Authority staff have already fielded calls from other cities wondering how they, too, can adopt such a measure. This puts Boston in a unique position. If the city follows through with its proposal, Boston can enhance the lives of its own residents while striking a meaningful blow against one of the nation's most deadly, and most easily correctible, public-health problems: smoking. ...
Wayland Housing Authority units to become smoke-free
Wicked Local (MA), 2010-08-05
Susan L. Wagner GateHouse News Service
By the spring of 2011, smoking will be history throughout Cochituate Village Apartments, Bent Park, and all the single and multi-family homes operated under the auspices of the Wayland Housing Authority.
After two public hearings in June, the five-member Housing Authority voted unanimously on July 15 to institute a blanket prohibition on smoking in all 111 of its apartments and the 20 scattered-site homes they operate in town. The ban goes into effect on May 1, 2011. Currently, public areas of the units are smoke-free.
According to Brian Boggia, executive director of the Housing Authority, the impetus to initiate the ban arose from the tenants. ...
Council Expands Residential Smoking Ban
The Lookout News - Jonathan Friedman - July 29, 2010
The City Council on Tuesday strengthened second-hand smoking protection in multi-family residential buildings with a ban on smoking within a 25-foot radius of doors and windows. Smoking is already not allowed in common areas, but this new restriction will cover private balconies, patios and other areas from which smoke can travel to other units and common areas.
As when the council members approved the common area ban last year, they did not approve any penalties for violating the restriction. Those who are bothered by a violator can take the person to small claims court. Nearly all the council members admitted this was not a great solution, but some feared including an infraction could lead to evictions.
“It’s the classic ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions,’” Council member Gleam Davis said. “What we are doing here is walking a very thin line trying to weigh and protect the rights of non-smokers and the rights of tenants.”
Mayor Bobby Shriver wants penalties for violations. He was the lone vote against the measure because he said it was not strong enough. Although he did not specify he wanted a ban on smoking within a unit, something some activists have demanded, Shriver said one does not have the right to do whatever he or she pleases in the home.
“Even though I fully take the home is your castle kind of concept, it’s not your castle for various things already under the law,” Shriver said. “You can’t have certain controlled substances in your home. You can’t engage in certain kinds of activities in your home. And why your right to engage in putting carcinogens into babies should be protected is beyond me.”