2015 could start with a push towards new, stronger smoking rules in Denton.
On Tuesday, the city council will receive their first update on their current smoking ordinance since it was voted into place in December 2012 and took effect April 2013.
Under those rules, smoking is not allowed in restaurants, bowling alleys and pool halls. Folks can still light up in bars that don’t serve food or limit age of who can enter, patios and fraternal organizations.
That was a compromise at the time, as the city council heard a lot of opinions from residents on both sides.
So far, the city reports nearly universal compliance with the rules, only encountering two non-compliant businesses that remedied the issue right away.
City Councilman Kevin Roden, who has been a proponent of a tougher smoking ordinance, said one of the main factors in revisiting the ordinance is to establish rules on e-cigarettes and vapor devices.
During the 2012 draft the devices had not yet gained popularity, and today Roden said the city has basically no rules even regulating the sale of such devices.
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However, aside from the new technology, Roden said all options in regards to smoking will be on the table for discussion.
"With a new council in place, we're wanting to revisit that,” he said.
That could include anything. Council documents show there’s interest in discussing the distance from buildings in which smoking can take place, or expanding bans to park and recreation facilities at the request of staff.
Many feel though that an all-out ban may be looming.
Kenneth Bearly, manager at Hooligans bar in downtown Denton, said he believes a smoking ban in bars may be inevitable at some point, but he hopes this isn’t the time.
"I do see it happening; I'm hoping it's within the next five years and not within the next five months,” said Bearly.
Right now, Hooligans is one of few bars in Denton that still allows patrons to smoke inside and order food. The bar, operating as a private club, banned anyone under 18 from entering at any time in order to keep the option, but Bearly feels it’s paid off.
"Our business went and sky-rocketed because there's a huge market in Denton who want to sit down, be able to have a meal, smoke and drink,” he said. "This is one we're really hoping they just kind of leave to the bar managers and the bar owners."
Other bar owners, including a group on the popular Fry Street near the UNT campus, have elected to go smoke-free on their own; saying they, too, believe a ban is inevitable and they’d rather do so on their own terms.
Roden said he hopes to bring up an all-out ban again as a protection for bar employees.
"I think it's important we continue to look at this,” he said. “Again, every major city you go to visit has already gone this way, so it's just a matter of when, I think."
The city council will only look at options for their smoking ordinance and possibly give direction to staff on Tuesday. Roden said they will take public input, as they did with the first ban, before taking any formal action.
