The ordinance amends the City’s existing policy prohibiting smoking in youth-involved activity areas, expanding it to include all the City’s parks, athletic fields, trails, golf course, municipal lakes, parking lots, and sidewalks bordering park grounds.
In response to the City’s Health in All Policies directive adopted by Burlington City Council on February 20, 2018, Impact Alamance and the Wellness Collaborative collaborated to propose the amended ordinance to the Recreation and Parks Commission on November 8, 2018. The Commission voted unanimously to recommend the ordinance to the City Council for consideration. Council voted on January 15, 2019 to adopt the ordinance, which goes into effect on April 1, 2019.
Signage outlining the prohibitions in the ordinance has begun to be implemented throughout the parks system and will be completely in place within three months. Recreation & Parks staff is prepared to help educate park goers about the amended Tobacco-free policy. Violating the ordinance may result in a fine of up to $50.