Palatine bans smoking on downtown sidewalks, parking lots

Palatine is banning smoking on public sidewalks and rights of way in parts of the village’s downtown within 300 feet of a newly created smoking section.

The rule comes as the village recently reopened a portion of Slade Street that had undergone streetscape improvements over the summer. The designated smoking area is in a pavilion outside a parking lot along Slade, south of the railroad tracks.

A code amendment approved by the village council also bans smoking in public parking lots.

Village Manager Reid Ottesen told the village council Monday that police will begin enforcement in the area to keep smokers away from outdoor dining areas and parking lots.

“This will help with our ongoing enforcement moving forward,” Ottesen said.

Along with compliments he heard over the weekend at the grand reopening of the streetscape improvement area, council member Scott Lamerand said the one question he heard was what would be done about smokers on the sidewalks.

“How fast and how soon do we start to issue the warnings and tickets, citations after tonight’s action?” Lamerand asked.

“Tomorrow,” Ottesen replied.

Ottesen said downtown establishment owners are looking forward to the village’s help.

“They have tried to get people to relocate. It hasn’t always been successful. It’s not something that we relish doing,” he said.

But the village has created an environment that encourages families and people with strollers to gather, Ottesen added.

“We’ve provided, I think, a relatively nice area for (smokers) to go to within a very short walk of where they are,” he said.

Council member Kollin Kozlowski asked if the village’s rule supersedes the state ban on smoking within 15 feet of a door.

Ottesen said it doesn’t. He said people standing and leaning against buildings are already violating state law.

“What we don’t want to do is have somebody then walk out into the outdoor dining area to say, ‘Now I’m 15-feet-2-inches away,’ or stand in the street by the cars or between cars and smoking, and it gets into a gray area,” Ottesen said.

szalusky@dailyherald.com