Tuesday, May 27, 2008 | Just a concern. On Memorial Day, I received a ticket on Fiesta Island for what I’m told is smoking in a restricted area. I had driven my motor home to the beach with two friends and a 12 year old. We were parked a 100 yards from a vehicle to the north and south of us. We had a table set up in front of my 30-foot motor home door facing the ocean and had an ashtray on the table. My friends son, who is 12 and asthmatic was in the vehicle and we stepped outside after breakfast to smoke. Two officers arrived in a vehicle and pulled up behind our motor home and proceeded to write us a ticket. We were dumbfounded.
It is obvious coming to Fiesta island that bottles and alcohol are prohibited and the warnings are posted coming on to the island and on trash cans throughout. However, we drove the island looking for any signs for what I thought was a beach smoking ban and couldn’t locate any indication. The officer issued a citation to appear in traffic court on Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
So is this violation somehow tied to my vehicle?
They also presented me with a flier that stated I can attend a two-hour presentation on crime, health issues, and law enforcement concerns and then perform four hours of community service. Call me crazy but I think a course on smoking cessation may be more pertinent. The Over the Line tournament comes to San Diego very soon. I wonder what the rule will be then.