Unalaska, AK – The city council decided to send the proposed smoking ordinance out of work session and to a first reading Tuesday night. They also decided not to send it to a public vote and to enact it themselves. That means that the ordinance could go into effect as soon as early May and businesses would have 90 days after that to fully comply.

As it is currently written, smoking would be prohibited in all enclosed public spaces, including bars, restaurants, private businesses that are visited by customers, child care facilities, and government facilities. Smoking would also be prohibited within 15 feet of an entrance and in free, employee-provided bunkhouses. If an employee pays any rent for the housing, then the smoking ban does not apply. Fifty percent of hotel rooms must also be designated as non-smoking.

As it currently stands, business owners will only be fined if there is evidence that they did not try to deter a customer from smoking. Some police discretion is allowed in determining that. Public Safety Director Jamie Sunderland said the police would use common sense when enforcing the ban, especially when determining if business owners should also be fined. If a person is caught smoking, he or she will be fined $100.

Council member Katherine McGlashan, who acted as mayor pro-tem at this week's meeting, said the process of developing the ordinance was appropriate for Unalaska.

"I think it went really well because we basically got an ordinance from Anchorage, which is a huge city, and we pared it down to our size city," she said. "We took some things out and adjusted some sections and overall I think our ordinance fits our city very well."

Very few people commented on the ordinance at the meeting. Donna Rahn with Unisea expressed concerns over banning smoking in bunkhouses. Vic Fisher, who originally proposed the ban over a year ago with encouragement from other community members, was in favor of the current version.

"The way the ordinance stands right now, I couldn't be more delighted. We're very happy about the situation," Fisher said.

All council members said they will vote in favor of the ban.