Smoking ban likely here to stay / LJWorld.com

Lawrence's citywide smoking ban appears to be staying on the books.

The coalition gathering signatures to overturn the ban said Friday it would not pursue a referendum on the issue, opting instead to work with the City Commission on a compromise.

But a majority of city commissioners said they had no interest in backing off from the indoor smoking ban, which they approved earlier this year.

"I have no enthusiasm for the compromise position," Mayor Mike Rundle said. "I think it's a compromise in a negative sense. You're compromising the goal of addressing a public health issue."

Rundle and city commissioners David Dunfield, Boog Highberger and David Schauner all said they didn't plan to support a proposed compromise, which would measure nicotine levels in public buildings in the city. Commissioner Sue Hack couldn't be reached for comment.

Under one interpretation of city law, Friday was the final day a petition could be filed to force a vote in the March 1 election. Ban opponents could start another petition to put the issue to vote in a future election.

In a news conference Friday afternoon at City Hall, Phil Bradley, spokesman for the Appeal to Reason and Tolerance Coalition, said the group had collected more than 5,000 signatures of people wanting to repeal the ban, which took effect July 1. That's about 1,200 more than the number needed to force a public vote.

But he said the group preferred to pursue the compromise route and said pursuing the vote would be counterproductive to finding common ground.

"We look forward to working with (city commissioners) and all others who want to work together to make Lawrence better than other communities that only seem to be able to point fingers or fight and declare winners and losers," Bradley said.

Holding a pile of petitions containing the signatures of about 5,300 people opposing the smoking ban, Jerry Neverve, owner of the Red Lyon, listens as Phil Bradley, right, delivers a live speech on 6News. About 20 bar and restaurant owners gathered at City Hall on Friday to voice their opposition to the smoking ban. Rick Younger, owner of Rick's Place, and Billy Long, co-owner and manager of the Jet Lag, are in back.

The coalition's decision not to pursue a public vote upset some of the people who had signed the petition.

"I think that if we cared enough about reconsidering the ban to sign the petition, they should have cared enough about us to go forward with it," said Lawrence resident Tiffany Vale, who signed the petition.

Jerry Neverve, manager and co-owner of Red Lyon Tavern, 944 Mass., said the 30-member coalition met for three hours Wednesday night to discuss the petition. The group initially was split evenly on whether to pursue the public vote, he said.

As long as the possibility of compromise existed, he said, the petition would get in the way.

"This kind of puts a sense of getting the ball in motion (for a compromise)," Neverve said. "The petition polarizes things."

The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce also issued a statement urging both sides and city officials to find a compromise on the issue.

"The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce is aware of business impacts upon Chamber members as a result of the current smoking ordinance," the statement said. "These impacts reach across business categories and have created unintended consequences."

Several businesses have blamed the smoking ban for decreased sales since July 1.

Compromise sought

Bradley said the group didn't base its decision on a hunch the ban would be upheld if it went to a public vote.

But Kathy Bruner, coordinator of Clear Air Lawrence, the group that spearheaded the ban, said she thought that was the case.

"It would appear to us they were concerned about turning in their petition because they didn't think it would succeed," she said. "And with a predominance of nonsmokers in this community, I think they were right."

The coalition approached city officials last month, asking for a compromise. The proposal would require the city to test air nicotine levels at businesses that allow smoking three times a year.

The average of the test score would be posted at the entrance of the businesses, and businesses that scored above a yet-to-be-determined nicotine level would not be allowed to keep their smoking permit.

The City Commission is scheduled to discuss the compromise at its meeting Dec. 14.

No change planned

But the four commissioners reached Friday said they didn't plan to back off the ban as it currently stands.

"I haven't changed my mind about it," Dunfield said. "I felt the task force (that studied the ban) gave us a good range of options and alternatives, and the possibility for compromise existed then. I couldn't find the compromise that solves the basic question, and that's does it protect the health of employees."

Schauner, like the other three commissioners, said he wished the public would have had a chance to vote on the issue.

"It's been my sense for quite a while the ban would survive a vote," he said. "It would be a good, soul-cleansing exercise for the community."

Rundle said he was willing to consider one compromise: allowing front-patio drinking for bars. Currently, only restaurants are allowed to serve alcohol on front patios.

Asked Friday whether the coalition would have reached a different conclusion had it known commissioners weren't interested in a compromise, Bradley said he wouldn't comment.

"If pigs would fly, I would go out and try to catch one," he said. "I'm not going to comment on hypotheticals."

The decision not to pursue the public vote -- and the commissioners' reluctance to reconsider the ban -- will almost certainly mean the ban will be an election issue when Rundle, Schauner and Highberger are up for re-election in April.

"It's unfortunate it's going to be an issue," Schauner said. "It's certainly not the kind of issue Boog, Mike Rundle or I ran on last time."

-- Staff writer Jay Senter contributed to this report.