We’ve just confirmed with Seattle Parks that Superintendent Tim Gallagher has decided NOT to go with the Parks Board‘s recommendation regarding tobacco use in parks – and will instead put a full tobacco-use ban into place. It’s part of Gallagher’s final decision on the “Code of Conduct” that the board reviewed over the past month. He issued a memo today including this:
The Board (by a vote of 3-2) recommended limiting the ban on tobacco products (Section 3.2.10) to select areas within parks. The inclusion of a ban on tobacco products is in response to the recommendation from Public Health: Seattle King County (Attachment 1) and Seattle City Council members. It is also a stated goal in the Departments 2008 Strategic Action Plan (2.A.3) which was developed through extensive community input. The majority of the comments received by the Board on the Code of Conduct supported the prohibition as well. The negative health effects of tobacco are well documented. As an agency that has as a fundamental mission to support the health and wellbeing of Seattle residents, it is appropriate and beneficial to prohibit the use of tobacco products at parks and park facilities. I have decided to retain the language proposed by staff prohibiting smoking, chewing or other tobacco use anywhere on Parks and Recreation property.
Here’s the full, final Code of Conduct. Side note: Parks Board chair Jackie Ramels is scheduled to talk about this and other parks issues at tomorrow night’s meeting of the Alki Community Council (of which she’s a former president), 7 pm Thursday, Alki UCC.
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