Smoking will be prohibited in all indoor public places in Starkville under an ordinance passed by the Board of Aldermen Tuesday.
The ordinance, which will take effect 60 days after it is published in the Starkville Daily News, passed unanimously in a voice vote.
The ordinance prohibits smoking in restaurants, bars, lobbies of hotels, city buildings and other indoor public places. Private clubs and hotel rooms rented to guests are not subject to the restriction.
Smoking is also prohibited in some outdoor areas, including areas “immediately preceding or blocking the entrance and/or exit of an area where smoking is prohibited,” attached areas of restaurants that are covered or partially covered with 50 percent or more of the perimeter walled or otherwise closed, and seating areas of outdoor sports venues, the ordinance says.
The drive to ban smoking in public places began in November when a group called Citizens for a Breathe-Free Starkville presented an ordinance banning smoking to the Board of Aldermen.
In February, the board created a committee to draft a no-smoking ordinance for Starkville. The group was made up of citizens from both sides of the issue, aldermen and a student.
“Ultimately, we came to consensus with an ordinance that we developed from scratch for the city of Starkville,” Ward 5 Alderman Matt Cox said.
People wearing maroon, black and white stickers reading “Citizens for a Breathe-Free Starkville” sat at the meeting and cheered after the ordinance passed.
Some citizens spoke out against the ordinance, while others expressed concerns about specific parts of the ordinance.
Senior political science major Hunter Lipscomb expressed concern over a section in the ordinance prohibiting smoking in sorority and fraternity houses, which was stricken from the ordinance before it passed because it conflicted with another section of the ordinance.
Lipscomb said that if the ordinance applied to fraternities and sororities, it would be an open opportunity for police, who can enter establishments covered by the ordinance, to come into the houses at any time and give police an opportunity to see fraternities in a negative light.
“It’s no lie, the fraternities are often stigmatized in negative ways,” he said.
Another fraternity member, Joshua Andrews of Lambda Chi Alpha, asked, “Why are the fraternities not seen as a private residence?”
Ward 3 Alderman P.C. McLaurin explained that another section ordinance saying that it is subject to all other government jurisdictions rules and regulations pertaining to smoking.
Student Association attorney general Aaron Rice said he wanted students to understand the impact they can have on the community.
“Tuesday’s events prove that students can involve themselves in the decision-making process and bring about changes in city policy that reflect their interest,” he said.
The ordinance requires the person in charge of a building covered by the ordinance to post an at least 2-inch-by-2-inch international no-smoking symbol at the main entrance of the premises.
The business will have to pay for the sticker, Cox said. He said the stickers should cost less than $10 each.
The ordinance will stand for two years after it takes effect to allow the city a chance to evaluate its effects.
After two years, it will be automatically repealed, the ordinance says. The board can then decide whether to reinstate a ban.