Zionsville passes smoke-free ordinance

After Aug. 10, residents and visitors in Zionsville won’t be able to light up in public places anymore.

The Zionsville Town Council approved an ordinance that will make Zionsville smoke-free at its Monday, July 10, meeting. The council has heard arguments for and against the ban for several months, and after weighing all the public comment, members voted 4 to 1 in favor of the ban. Member Art Harris voted against.

Several neighboring communities, including Carmel and Marion County, have similar smoking bans in place, but those exempt clubs such as the American Legion and bars and restaurants that require patrons to be older than 21 or 18 with a parent or guardian to enter.

American Legion members and several Zionsville businesses lobbied for similar exemptions but were denied. Commander Bill Bell of the Zionsville American Legion Post No. 79 worries that the ban will drive away patrons who frequent the post for lunch and activities such as its weekly bingo game. Without that income, the post won’t be able to financially support community organizations to the extent it had in the past.

“The members and guests who frequent our establishment are well aware it is a smoking facility,” Bell said.

His argument that the ban would cause undue financial hardship for the Legion did not fall on deaf ears. Council member David Brown proposed an amendment that would have exempted any private club that does not allow patrons younger than 18 from the ordinance for a period of five years, but the motion died without a second. Harris also proposed an amendment, one that took the concerns of Scott Barnes, owner of The Friendly Tavern, and Larry Easton, owner of Village Station Pizza King, into account. Both Barnes and Easton have expressed concern that a smoking ban could hurt their businesses.

Harris’ amendment would have allowed any establishment that served only those older than 21 or older than 18 with a parent or guardian — the same restriction that applies to bars — to be exempted from the ban. That motion also died without a second.

Council President Dick Crane said the American Legion, while operating as a private club, would be exempt from the ban. The smoking ban covers public places and places of employment but does not include private clubs, private residences, spaces that are not enclosed (i.e. outdoors), hotels and motels and smoking-designated rooms in nursing homes. While the Legion is a private club, it does open its doors to the public for numerous events, including daily lunch and family-centric festivals and celebrations. Crane said while the Legion is operating as a private club, which means it is open only to members and their guests, smoking would be allowed. However, Legion events that invite the general public will have to be nonsmoking.

The council heard comments from dozens of the assembled Zionsville residents and many nonresidents who came to voice their support of the ban. The division between the proponents of the ordinance and the opponents was clear; each sat on a different side of the room, applauding and cheering when a point was made they agreed with.

While no one argued that secondhand smoke was not a health risk, the opposing sides did disagree on whether or not the government needed to get involved.

“If you are a nonsmoker over 21 you have the choice to go to a smoking bar or a nonsmoking bar,” said Mary Anne Shepherd, who works at the Village Station Pizza King. If the town can take away that choice, what will be next, she asked. “Where do health issues stop? (Next will you) ban burgers and fries because of cholesterol?”

Zionsville resident Debbie Hudson said the idea of people having a choice might be ideal, but most people don’t know what they are choosing.

“People don’t really understand what is involved in exposing themselves to secondhand smoke,” she said. In her opinion, the town needs to act to protect people from making the uninformed choice to be exposed to secondhand smoke.

American Legion member George Scott said the answer is educating the public, then, not banning smoking in order to protect them from what they don’t understand.

“People should be educated — not restricted, but educated not to smoke,” he said. He opposed the ban because it was unfair. “It’s not freedom of choice. It’s freedom of choice for a certain group.”

After a brief discussion among members after all public comment had been heard, the council voted to enact the ordinance without amendments. Harris, whose proposed amendment to exempt bars was killed, voted against.

There was no discussion at this meeting about how the ordinance will be enforced, but council members outlined the basics at the council’s June meeting. Individuals who violate the smoking ban can be fined up to $250 per incident, as deemed appropriate by the Zionsville Town Court judge, and Zionsville Town Marshal Jim Wampler and his designees will be in charge of enforcing the ordinance. Business owners who fail to comply can be fined up to $100 for the first violation, up to $200 for the second violation in a year and up to $500 for each additional violation in that year. The council also agreed to enact a non-retaliation clause to protect employees who report violations.