North County Report: Carlsbad’s Infamous Smoking Ban

The “small California beach town” making headlines for its sweeping smoking ban is none other than Carlsbad.  

The city’s new ordinance has gained national attention for banning residents from smoking in their own homes, and let’s just say, there are some mixed feelings about it. 

Last week, Carlsbad became the only city in San Diego County to prohibit people from smoking and vaping cannabis and nicotine products in or around multifamily residential buildings, meaning apartments or condos. 

That means balconies, porches, patios and decks are off limits, too. 

The new rules: The Carlsbad City Council last week voted 4-1 to ban smoking in or around multi-unit homes that have three or more units. It applies to both rental and for-sale housing units. 

The goal, according to a city staff report, is to reduce the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, which can transfer between units and common areas through walls, ceiling crawl spaces, doorways, windows and shared ventilation systems. 

“I do hear quite a few people complain about shared ventilation systems in apartments and condos,” Councilmember Teresa Acosta said. “Knowing that somebody else wakes up in the morning, rolls over and lights up a cigarette has the resident who doesn’t smoke in the adjacent unit coughing and feeling sick and complaining, and it causes a lot of friction between neighbors.” 

But some residents and the only dissenting councilmember, Melanie Burkholder, called it an overreach. 

“Landlords and property managers can make their own determinations within the confines of the lease,” Burkholder said at the first reading of the ordinance on July 30. “I don’t think the city should be involved… It just sounds like the city is telling people how to live their lives… I have a really hard time with this.” 

There are other cities: More than 80 cities and counties in the state have enacted some sort of smoke-free housing law. Some cities ban smoking in all units, others prohibit smoking in a certain percentage of units and some only prohibit smoking in common areas. 

Potential Challenges 

Limited city resources: There are approximately 13,709 multi-housing units in the city, according to a city staff report. 

Based on other similar-sized cities in California with city-wide smoke-free housing policies, Carlsbad staff estimate that the city would receive up to 10 complaints per month within the first year related to people violating the ordinance. 

But the Carlsbad Police Department and the city’s Code Enforcement Division don’t have the money or resources to handle those complaints and enforce the new ordinance, city staff said. 

It would also be difficult for police officers to issue citations at all, staff said, because the officer would have to either observe the violation firsthand, see other compelling evidence that a violation had occurred or have the alleged violator admit to the violation. 

Instead, it will be up to individual landlords, property managers and homeowners associations (HOAs) to enforce the new rules by putting it in their lease agreements, which means a violation could lead to an eviction. Tenants will also be encouraged to take civil action against their neighbors if they see any violations from their neighbors. 

This idea of leaving the enforcement mostly up to landlords and property managers has garnered some criticism about putting more responsibility on property owners than they never asked for. 

“So you pass an ordinance and then tell the property managers, ‘You need to enforce this’ … good luck. This is another clear case of government overreach,” said Will Creagan, chairperson of property management company Southwest Equity Partners, in a letter to city staff. 

On the other hand, some property managers have applauded the city for taking this step.  

Carlsbad resident and property manager Gina Knutson said at the meeting that she and her husband have had a non-smoking policy for their tenants in their lease language since 2007. 

“We’ve never had complaints from neighbors regarding drifting secondhand smoke and we’ve never had a problem renting out the unit,” Knutson said at the July 30 council meeting. “From a business perspective, having a smoke-free policy saves us a lot of money. We retain tenants longer, we have reduced maintenance and turnover costs and we have reduced risk of fire.” 

Designated smoking area: The ordinance does give landlords and property owners the option to create a designated smoking area for their tenants to use, however it would have to be outdoors and at least 25 feet from units and other outdoor amenities. And that would require landlords to monitor and manage it, which may not be feasible for many property owners. 

Carlsbad also has smoke-free air laws in other parts of the city. Smoking is prohibited in public parks, trails and beaches, as well as within 20 feet of an outdoor dining area. 

State laws prohibit smoking within 100 feet of public parks, trails and beaches, as well as within 50 feet of a farmer’s market or city event and within 20 feet of a public building’s entrance, exit or window. 

The new Carlsbad smoking ordinance will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. 

In Other News  

• ICYMI: Oceanside and Carlsbad jointly received a $11.4 million state grant to move hundreds of homeless people from an encampment area into shelter and housing. Last week, Oceanside officials unveiled just how they plan to do it. (Voice of San Diego) 
• Del Mar City Councilmember Dwight Worden is stepping down from his role two years before the end of his term citing recent health issues. Also, Del Mar is considering new short term rental restrictions. (Coast News) 
• Carlsbad is considering firing the management company that oversees Windsor Pointe, a low-income housing complex, because of a recent security breach and ongoing concerns from the surrounding community. (Coast News) 
• Sharp Healthcare and Palomar Health have announced a new partnership to jointly establish new clinical services and expand Sharp into North County. (Press release)