The city’s smoking ban soon may change the look of historic downtown streets.

City commissioners on Tuesday will consider a proposal that would allow smokers, with beer in hand, to take refuge from the city’s smoking ban on downtown sidewalks.

“It may add some interesting ambiance to downtown, but I think it can enhance the flavor of downtown,” said City Commissioner Sue Hack, who was the lone commissioner to vote against the current ban. “For me it has never been about being pro-smoking. It has been about coming up with some options for businesses.”

After negotiations with bar and restaurant owners, city staff members are now recommending that commissioners consider loosening the standards that govern whether a bar or restaurant can have outdoor seating on a city sidewalk. Currently, 70 percent of a business’ sales must come from nonalcoholic items in order to qualify for a sidewalk dining permit.

Commissioners will consider eliminating that requirement to more easily allow bars to accommodate patrons who smoke.

Not all bar and restaurant owners are thrilled with the city’s proposal. They point to two restrictions that city staff members are recommending. The first is that the food sales requirement would be lifted only for bars and restaurants that were in business prior to July 1 when the ban took affect. The second is that only bars and restaurants that can’t feasibly build their own patio, deck or outdoor smoking area on their own property would qualify for a city permit.

“It doesn’t make sense to me,” said Jerry Neverve, owner of the Red Lyon Tavern, 944 Mass. “Just because you have a patio in the back doesn’t mean you wouldn’t like to have an area out front. We’re in the social business here. People might want to sit out front and watch the people go by.”

But commissioners may not be in the mood to further loosen the restrictions. City Commissioner David Schauner said he was interested in exploring the idea of sidewalk drinking and smoking areas, but he said he was concerned the areas could hurt the downtown ambiance.

Patrons of restaurants with sidewalk dining are allowed to take their drinks to outdoor dining and smoking areas, but Schauner noted there could be a difference between someone enjoying a couple of drinks over dinner and a bar patron who spends an afternoon drinking.

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“I haven’t decided whether I’m for or against it yet,” Schauner said. “I want to hear what safeguards would be in place.”

City Commissioner David Dunfield said he also was interested in exploring the idea. He said commissioners may need to receive some assurances that existing downtown restaurants wouldn’t eventually convert into bars.

“I think the number of areas we would be adding is actually pretty small, and I would want that number to remain pretty small,” Dunfield said. “We do not want downtown to become Aggieville (in Manhattan), is what you commonly hear. We don’t want to become exclusively a nighttime dining area.”

City staff members have determined that there are 30 bars or restaurants in the downtown area that do not have sidewalk seating areas. About half the establishments have the food sales currently required to receive an outdoor permit. The other half likely would not meet current requirements to receive a sidewalk permit.

City commissioners also are considering another change to the ban to make it easier for employees of certain businesses to smoke indoors. Commissioners received a request from Hallmark Cards to allow the manufacturing company to begin reusing a smoking break room for its employees. The room, built prior to the ban, has a special ventilation system that removes smoke and vents it outside.

Commissioners will consider altering the ban to allow Hallmark workers to use the break room again, as long as no employees are required to enter the room to clean or service the area while there are smokers in the room. Hallmark also would be required to maintain a separate break room for nonsmokers.

Neverve said if city commissioners granted that exception to Hallmark then bars and restaurants also should be given opportunity to create special ventilated rooms that patrons could use, so long as employees were not required to enter the room while there was smoking taking place.

But commissioners showed no interest in changing the ordinance to allow businesses to create specially ventilated rooms.

“I think it would create just a totally unenforceable situation,” Schauner said. “I think it would just gut the law.”

Commissioners will discuss the issues at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.