City to Hold Hearing on Public Smoking

The Hermosa Beach City Council has scheduled a public hearing for June 23 to discuss and analyze what kind of impact smoking in outdoor spaces has on the community's overall health. 

Mayor Pro Tem Howard Fishman and Councilman Jeff Duclos  to host a workshop with local business owners and residents to discuss the possibility of prohibiting smoking in public spaces.

The hearing—scheduled to be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.—will focus on the financial impact regulation might have on local businesses, healthcare and community members who are affected by outdoor smoking or will be impacted by its potential regulation, according to a news release from the office of City Manager Steve Burrell on Monday.

At the hearing, the Beach Cities Health District and National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence—South Bay Area are scheduled to provide scientific testimony on the impacts of outdoor smoking, and Dr. Lisa Santora, chief medical officer for Beach Cities Health District, will serve as the hearing’s chair.

Fishman and Duclos plan to report their findings on the outdoor smoking issue—and responses from the hearing—to the entire City Council later this year.

Under current regulation, Hermosa Beach has already banned smoking at the beach and residents cannot smoke in parks under state law. 

But some cities throughout Los Angeles County, including Beverly Hills, have taken further steps to adopt measures that limit or ban smoking in outdoor public spaces.

Earlier: