A ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas proposed by the Montgomery County Council is likely to include exceptions to restaurants offering rooftop dining.
Since last fall, the council has been considering a bill that would prohibit smoking at restaurants that offer dining areas outside.
The council’s Health and Human Services Committee on Monday adopted a pair of amendments that would grant exemptions to establishments with rooftop or balcony dining, and that would allow customers eating in a restaurant adjacent to a golf course to smoke on the course.
The county bill does not cover Rockville or Gaithersburg, which have separate outdoor smoking bans.
Since 2003, the county has prohibited smoking indoors except at establishments with designed smoking rooms with separate ventilation systems. Smoking has been banned in county parks since 2016.
District 2 council member Craig Rice (Germantown), a member of the committee who offered the rooftop amendment, said that he had spoken with restaurant owners who were worried about losing customers.
“They were very appreciative and think that this strikes a compromise, and they have a business model that they have to adhere to as well,” he said.
Rice said he has also spoken with representatives from the American Cancer Society, which pushed for the bill, and they support the amendment.
Only a few restaurants would be affected by the smoking ban, one of which is Caddie’s sports bar on Cordell Avenue. Owner Ronnie Heckman said the compromise was “a step in the right direction” but that the bill should also allow smoking in downstairs patios.
“We’re trying to fix something that isn’t a problem,” Heckman said of the smoking ban.
Heckman said he’s willing to compromise, but that he continues to speak with council members to voice his concerns.
Communications consultant Adam Zimmerman, who successfully pushed for the ban in Rockville two years ago and is backing the county’s proposal, said he too was willing to accept the council’s compromise, noting that the exception “will only cover a small number of places.”
“That’s not ideal, in my view, but when it comes to legislating on any topic, we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” he said.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
