LITTLETON —William Ryan stepped out of the front door of Littleton’s on Main Street, walked 15 or so feet away, and — — lit a cigarette.
The Littleton resident and frequent tavern patron said he typically smokes in the alley, but on hot days he prefers to take shelter under the awning of the vacant restaurant next door.
Acting at the request of City Council, staff members in the Littleton City Manager’s office are in the process of researching stricter smoking bans recently adopted in other metro area communities. If, at the conclusion of the process, Littleton were to follow in Boulder or , Ryan and his fellow smokers could be barred from lighting up in Historic Downtown, and possibly other city-owned outdoor places.
“It’s really about what are we doing? What we should be doing? Should we doing more? And are we meeting the needs of our citizens?” Councilwoman Debbie Brinkman said of city’s research efforts, which according to staff, remain in the early stages. “Not only are people not following the law, but we’re not enforcing the law and is that creating a different experience down here than what we intend?”
Brinkman said she first asked the city manager to look into the city’s public smoking rules at a meeting this spring after getting a rash of calls from parents asking if there were any rules governing smoking at playgrounds.
Kim Glidden, owner of the Pottery Studio Gallery at 5739 S. Curtice St., is firmly behind banning smoking downtown. She said she has persistent issues with people smoking in front of her business.
“I just don’t want to have a business where people come in and it smells like cigarette smoke. Customers have commented on it,” Glidden said.
Helen Rice owns Willow — An Artisan’s Market next door to the Olde Towne Tavern at 2400 W. Main St. Despite her proximity to a bar, Rice said she can’t recall ever having a problem with smoke wafting into her store.
“I don’t see it as a problem,” she said.
William Ryan, for his part, said he would need a lot more information on any sort of new smoking law before he could offer an opinion. He feels there is a very small smoking population in Littleton and people generally go out of their way to be respectful.
“I mean, people smoke on the rooftop of the . Would it ban that, too?” he asked.
City Councilman Bill Hopping, who for many years has operated a hotel consulting business out of an office above Main Street, said the state’s 15-foot smoking restriction is unclear and confusing, and he hopes the city’s research will at least provide clarity.
“I’ve seen people walk around clusters of smokers on the sidewalks here and it sets up conflict. We want shoppers to be able to be free to stroll the streets and look in windows and not have to pick their way through the smokers,” he said. “But I think, on the other hand, if people want to smoke and it’s their right to do so, they need a place to do that and that’s why we need to look at options.”
Several Colorado communities on the use of e-cigarettes and vaporizers, but Golden’s stricter smoking ban, enacted Jan. 1, banned smoking or vaping throughout the city’s popular downtown area, as well as in all city parks and on all city trails.
It’s too early to know if Littleton will adopt or even pursue a smoking ordinance of its own — city staff members have tentative plans for a City Council study session on the topic this month — but Brinkman said that if one is proposed, she wants it to be comprehensive like Golden’s.
“If I were to support any ordinance, I think it has to be about all public spaces,” she said.
Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953 or jrubino@denverpost.com
