the CFM Distinction

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Newsflash: Tough Secondhand Smoke Laws for Contra Costa County Condominiums

By Andrea L. O'Toole, Esq

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has just passed an ordinance that bans smoking in all areas of new multi-unit residences. This follows a recent trend in the Bay Area as several cities and counties are more aggressively regulating secondhand smoke in multi-unit residential buildings. See article regarding San Francisco’s recently-enacted secondhand smoke regulations at:www.berding-weil.net/articles/legislative-alert-for-sf-condos.php.The Contra Costa ordinance further limits where persons may smoke within existing multi-unit residences.

A multi-unit residence is a building having four or more dwelling units and, as such, would include most residential condominium buildings and many mixed-use residential/commercial buildings. Three cities in Contra Costa County - Richmond in 2009, and more recently, Pinole and Pleasant Hill - have already passed similar regulation of secondhand smoke.