Two California cities passed laws this summer to create smokefree multi-unit housing using a model ordinance developed by Public Health Law & Policy (PHLP). Robin Salsburg, a staff attorney at PHLP, worked closely with city staff in South Pasadena and Sebastopol (along with the American Lung Association and Smokefree Air For Everyone) to tailor the ordinance to each city.

In Sebastopol, the City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to make 100% of new and existing apartment and condominium units smokefree. The new law also makes patios, porches, decks, and all common areas nonsmoking. The multi-unit housing provisions are part of a very comprehensive ordinance that also creates smokefree parks, outdoor dining areas, and public events. Sebastopol’s smokefree housing provisions will be fully implemented by November 2011.

In South Pasadena, the Council passed a smokefree multi-housing ordinance to designate all new multi-unit housing nonsmoking and to make at least 80% of existing apartment and condominium units nonsmoking. South Pasadena’s ordinance will be fully implemented by September 2013.

Sebastopol and South Pasadena join several other California cities including Belmont, Richmond, Calabasas, Novato, Rohnert Park, and Dublin, among others, that have adopted smokefree multi-unit housing laws. Several other cities in California are considering similar measures, as is Contra Costa County, whose Board of Supervisors is considering making all new apartments and condominiums nonsmoking.