Smoking Prohibited in +10-unit Multi-Family Buildings

As of July 1, 2020, the City's Municipal Code prohibits smoking in all common areas and multi‐unit residences (both rental and owner-occupied) with ten (10) or more units in Hercules. Additionally, smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of outside entrances, operable windows, and ventilation systems of enclosed areas where smoking is prohibited, to prevent smoke from entering those areas.

• In October 2020, the City sent letters to owners/tenants as well as letters to the homeowners associations of those multi-family residences affected by the new smokefree rules.

Compliance with this law is encouraged through signage and education. However, a person who smokes in an area where smoking is prohibited by the provisions of the City’s Smokefree Ordinance may be subject to the penalty provisions of the code, which also includes the right of a private enforcement action.

In addition to the City’s Smokefree Ordinance, homeowners’ associations (HOA) may have additional rules and restrictions on smoking in the development. If your HOA does not have such rules, you may want to consider updating your HOA's bylaws for consistency with the City’s smokefree ordinance, as this is the most effective way to eliminate secondhand smoke in a condo complex. You may also be able to restrict on-site smoking through nuisance provisions that may already exist in your bylaws. Making your building smoke-free is beneficial to you because it can reduce costs, risks, and liability associated with smoking, and is attractive to residents.

For those wishing to quit smoking, the Smokers’ Helpline provides free cessation services at: 1‐800‐NO‐BUTTS. 

Additional Resources

• Contra Costa Tobacco Prevention Project 
• The Smoker Next Door: Handling Unwanted Tobacco Smoke in Apartments and Condominiums (pdf)
• Options for Condo Owners Suffering from Drifting Secondhand Smoke  (pdf)
• Legal Options for Tenants Suffering from Drifting Tobacco Smoke (pdf)
• How to Make a Condo Complex Smokefree (pdf)
• Frequently Asked Questions from Housing Providers about Smokefree Buildings (pdf)

Other Areas Where Smoking is Prohibited

The City's Municipal Code also prohibits smoking in the following locations:

• Enclosed residential facilities
  • Private and semi-private rooms in nursing homes
  • All hotel and motel guest rooms
• Enclosed places of employment
  • Includes, without limitation, common work areas, auditoriums, classrooms, conference and meeting rooms, private offices, elevators, hallways, medical facilities, cafeterias, employee lounges, stairs, restrooms, vehicles, and all other enclosed facilities.
• City-owned facilities and property
  • All enclosed areas
  • All vehicles owned, leased, or operated by the City
  • Outdoor property adjacent to City-owned buildings
• Enclosed public places, including but not limited to:
  • Libraries
  • Areas available to the general public in businesses and nonprofit entities patronized by the public, including, but not limited to, banks, laundromats, professional offices, and retail service establishments.
  • Bars
  • Child care and adult day care facilities.
  • Educational facilities, both public and private
  • Elevators
  • Health care facilities
  • Hotels and motels
  • Lobbies, hallways, and other common areas in apartment buildings, condominiums, trailer parks, retirement facilities, nursing homes, and other multiple-unit residential facilities
  • Parking structures
  • Polling places
  • Public transportation vehicles, including buses and taxicabs, under the authority of the City, and ticket, boarding, and waiting areas of public transportation facilities, including bus, carpool, ferry, and train facilities
  • Restaurants.
  • Restrooms, lobbies, reception areas, hallways, and other common-use areas
  • Retail stores
  • Rooms, chambers, places of meeting or public assembly, including school buildings 
• Outdoor public places
  • In, and within 25 feet of, outdoor seating or serving areas of restaurants and bars.
  • Outdoor shopping malls, including parking structures.
  • Outdoor arenas, stadiums, and amphitheaters, and within twenty-five (25) feet of, bleachers and grandstands for use by spectators at sporting and other public events.
  • Outdoor recreational areas, including parking lots.
  • In, and within 25 feet of, all outdoor playgrounds.
  • In, and within 25 feet of, all outdoor public events.
  • In, and within 25 feet of, all outdoor public transportation stations, platforms, and shelters under the authority of the City.
  • In all outdoor service lines, including lines in which service is obtained by persons in vehicles, such as service that is provided by bank tellers, parking lot attendants, and toll takers. In lines in which service is obtained by persons in vehicles, smoking is prohibited by both pedestrians and persons in vehicles, but only within twenty-five (25) feet of the point of service.
  • Outdoor common areas of apartment buildings, condominiums, trailer parks, retirement facilities, nursing homes, and other multiple-unit residential facilities, except in designated smoking areas, not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the total outdoor common area, which must be located at least twenty-five (25) feet outside entrances, operable windows, and ventilation systems of enclosed areas where smoking is prohibited. A designated smoking area of an outdoor common area of a multi-unit residence must not include areas used primarily by children; must have a clearly marked perimeter; and must be identified by conspicuous signs.