Hartsville amends no smoking ordinance

HARTSVILLE --

Hartsville City Council gave final approval to an amendment granting an exception to the citys new no smoking ordinance for outdoor patios, porches and decks at bars, but not before tweaking it one last time to extend the exception to patios, porches and decks at restaurants in the city as well.

Smoking inside the restaurants and bars as well as all other businesses and other institutions in the city will still be prohibited.

The amended ordinance also relaxes the so-called 10-foot rule for entrances leading to outdoor patios, porches and decks to prohibit smoking within five feet of those entrances. Smoking within 10 feet of all other business entrances is still prohibited under the ordinance.

The ordinance also still prohibits smoking on public sidewalks in front of restaurants and bars and other businesses.

Councilman Johnny Andrews, who had previously expressed concerns about exposing underage workers in restaurants and bars to second-hand smoke, cast the only vote against the changes.

Council also gave final approval to an ordinance repealing previous city ordinances that banned smoking in city-owned buildings, parks and vehicles, since those are all now covered by the new ordinance.

The new ordinance goes into effect on Oct. 10.

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Hartsville amends no smoking ordinance