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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.1 Smoking Pollution Apt Housing STAFF REPORT CITY CLERK File #560-90 CITY COUNCIL DATE:February 19, 2013 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Joni Pattillo, City Manager SUBJECT: Smoking Pollution Control Ordinance Report for Apartment Housing Prepared by Martha Aja, Environmental Coordinator EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: On July 19, 2011, the Dublin City Council adopted an ordinance that amended Chapter 5.56 of the Dublin Municipal Code, titled Smoking Pollution Control, which required that apartment complexes (with 16 or more units) designate 75% of their units as non-smoking by January 1, 2013. The City Council will receive a report outlining compliance with the ordinance provisions. The City Council will also consider whether apartment complexes should be required to continue to submit an annual Smoking Pollution Control Ordinance compliance report. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council: 1) receive the report and 2) provide direction to Staff whether to continue the requirement for apartment complexes to submit an annual compliance report. Submitted By Reviewed By Assistant to the City Manager Economic Development Director/ Public Information Officer DESCRIPTION: At the July 19, 2011 City Council meeting, the City Council adopted an ordinance that amended Chapter 5.56 of the Dublin Municipal Code, titled Smoking Pollution Control. Specifically, the ordinance required that apartment complexes, with 16 or more for rent apartment units, designate 75% of their units as non-smoking by January 1, 2013. In order to ensure compliance with the ordinance, the City Council included a provision that required the submittal of an annual compliance report. As requested by the City Council, Staff has collected reports from all eligible complexes and is presenting an update on the progress of each complexes transition. As part of ITEM NO. 8.1 Page 1 of 3 the report, Staff created a template for property managers to fill out indicating the number of units that were designated as non-smoking, the percentage of lease agreements that include the non-smoking restrictions, whether all outdoor common areas are designated as non- smoking, whether the property contains a smoking area, and an area for the property manager to indicate compliance with the 75% non-smoking unit requirement. Current Non-smoking Units The City of Dublin has 19 apartment complexes (with a total of 4,326 units) that are affected by the ordinance. This includes two new apartment complexes (Wexford Way and Carlow Court) located within the Emerald Vista development. All complexes within the City have complied with the ordinance and have obtained the previously required threshold that at least 75% of their units are non-smoking, although there are a few different plans employed to comply. Some complexes simply drew a line across the property and designated a portion as non-smoking. Others surveyed tenants and sought volunteers to opt-in as a first and sometimes only step necessary. Thus, in some cases, the contiguous unit requirement was difficult to obtain as some complexes attempted to work around tenants that smoked. The ordinance does allow this to occur with the exact requirement being that units be contiguous as much possible. As of January 1, 2013, the City’s apartment housing stock consisted of 3,868 (89%) units that are non-smoking. This high percentage is aided by a number of large complexes that have chosen to become all non-smoking properties. Specifically, nine properties (Amador Lakes, Carlow Court, Evan Alan, Fairway Ranch, Groves Senior Housing, Parkwood, Waterford, Wexford Way and Wicklow Square) have chosen to be complete non-smoking locations and Camellia Place is close to this number at 94%. As smoking eligible units become available at Camellia Place, they will be designated as non-smoking. Additionally, Ironhorse Trail Apartments is in the process of becoming a non-smoking property. All new and renewed leases are required to be non-smoking. There are currently 19 smoking units left that will be converted to non-smoking as those leases are renewed. A complete breakdown of each property’s progress is listed below. Non- Total smoking % Non- Complex Units Units smoking 1/1/13 Amador Lakes 555 555 100% Amador Valley 80 62 78% Archstone Emerald Park 324 252 78% Avalon Dublin (Eaves) 204 156 76% Avalon Dublin Station 305 230 75% Camellia Place 112 105 94% Carlow Court 50 50 100% Cottonwood 248 187 75% Emerald Park 368 288 78% Evan Alan 20 20 100% Fairway 304 304 100% Groves 322 322 100% Ironhorse Trail 177 158 89% Park Sierra 283 237 84% Parkwood 224 224 100% Page 2 of 3 Non- Total smoking % Non- Complex Units Units smoking 1/1/13 The Springs 176 144 82% Waterford 390 390 100% Wexford Way 130 130 100% Wicklow Square 54 54 100% Total 4,326 3,868 89 Lease Agreements All complexes indicate that they have incorporated verbiage into their lease agreements indicating units are non-smoking. Outdoor Common Areas All apartment complexes indicate that the common outdoor areas are designated as non- smoking. In addition, there is only one complex, Park Sierra that has a designated smoking area on its property. The smoking area is in-between the two buildings designated for smoking and is compliant with the requirements listed within the ordinance. Annual Reporting Requirement Staff is requesting that the City Council provide direction to determine whether it is necessary to continue the requirement for complexes to submit annual compliance reports. The annual report has been a useful tool in determining compliance and ensuring that all complexes were on track in obtaining the required thresholds of 50% and subsequently 75%. Currently all apartment complexes are in compliance with the ordinance and have a minimum of 75% non-smoking units. Staff would recommend removing or relaxing this requirement. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: A copy of the Staff Report was provided to all apartment complexes required to report under the ordinance. ATTACHMENTS: None. Page 3 of 3